Field development has often followed a more-is-better approach, engineering for every possible contingency and incorporating technology at the outset that may not be needed for years.
The strategy has, for the most part, worked well enough. But it requires considerable up-front capital expenditure, which can be difficult to justify in a low oil price environment. Operators today are seeking lower cost options — smaller platforms, more reliance on existing infrastructure, and modular systems that can be incorporated at a later stage of a field’s life without involving extensive modifications to structures.
For
