A review of the integrity management of subsea production systems: inspection and monitoring methods

Subsea production systems (SPSs) have dominated the exploration of oil and gas resources in deep water; however, failure of SPSs can lead to enormous economic loss, serious environmental pollution and even severe casualties. Hence, the safety and reliability of SPSs have become a major concern. To guarantee the high integrity of SPSs, investment should be made in inspection and monitoring of SPSs (IMSPSs) in order to prevent failures of the subsea equipment, as much as possible. This paper reviews the current progress in technologies for IMSPSs using non-destructive testing (NDT). The basic principles and features of four common NDT techniques used for IMSPSs are reviewed. Based on these NDT techniques, the current development of IMSPSs, as well as the latest advanced technologies, is then discussed. Furthermore, capabilities and limitations of IMSPSs are discussed. Finally, suggestions for future development of IMSPSs are provided.