Model-based design and analysis of a subsea high integrity pressure protection system (HIPPS)

Developed in this paper is a model-based procedure for the design and analysis of a subsea High Integrity Pressure Protection System (HIPPS). Offering an alternative to the conventional design requiring the use of pipelines rated to the well shut-in pressure, the installation of HIPPS with low pressure-rated pipelines downstream of its location enables considerable savings in the project CAPEX making the development of high-pressure-high-temperature (HPHT) wells with a long tieback cost-effective without compromising the safety. The proposed design procedure is based on a low-dimensional two-phase flow transient model to evaluate the effect of the HIPPS on the subsea architecture. A case study demonstrates that the installation of HIPPS can result in savings up to 42% of the total pipelines procurement cost if compared to the conventional approach.