Chevron has contracted Aker Solutions to support delivery of a subsea compression system for the Jansz-Io gas field, 200 km (124 mi) offshore the northwest coast of Western Australia.

Aker will perform front-end engineering and design (FEED) of a subsea compression station to boost gas recovery.

The FEED scope will also cover an unmanned power and control floating platform and field system engineering services. The field control station will send power from the shore to the subsea compression station. 

Subsea compression system should help Chevron recover the gas more cost-effectively and with a smaller environmental footprint than a conventional semisubmersible compressor solution, Aker Solutions said in a press release

“Aker Solutions has worked closely with its partners MAN Energy Solutions and ABB to reduce the size and cost of the compression system,” Luis Araujo, CEO of Aker Solutions said in a statement. “Australia will be the first place outside of Norway to use the subsea compression technology.”

Compression should help maintain plateau gas output over time as reservoir pressure declines. Placing compressors on the seafloor, close to the wellheads, improves recovery rates and reduces capital and operating costs, Aker Solutions said.