API 17N

Recommended Practise for Subsea Production System Reliability, Technical

Risk & Integrity Management
The standards for Subsea Technology Readiness Levels
Very important for screening of technologies
principles are applicable industry wide, having been adopted from similar applic
ation by US DOD and the Space industry
API RP 17N provides a structured approach which organizations can adopt to manag
e risk and uncertainties related to reliability and integrity performance throug
hout the life of a project. This may range from the management of general projec
t risk through to the identification and removal of potential failure modes in p
articular equipment. The basic approach is simple and consistent, and when appli
ed correctly has the potential to greatly reduce the financial risk of designing
, manufacturing, installing and operating subsea equipment and/or systems. This
paper presents the principals and approaches used in API 17N, what it is in gene
ral, and why it was written. It will describe the status of its update, includin
g the reasons for the revision and the addition of Integrity Management. It will
not cover the detail of the RP, but instead it will describe the underlying par
adigm and key processes and how it is being written to facilitate and enable wid
er application to other technical disciplines. Finally the paper will outline it
s relationship to other API documents, standards and industry initiatives and wh
at we have learnt from the recent events.
The application of subsea technology in the offshore oil and gas industry demand
s large capital investments and significant operational expenditures. The value
of using subsea technology depends on its production availability (see 3.17) whi
ch is a reflection of its reliability and maintainability (RM).
This API recommended practice (RP) aims to provide operators, contractors and su
ppliers with guidance in the application of reliability techniques to subsea pro
jects within their scope of work and supply only. It is applicable to:
standard and non-standard equipment,
all phases of projects from feasibility studies to operation.
This RP does not prescribe the use of any specific equipment or limit the use of
any existing installed equipment or indeed recommend any action, beyond good en
gineering practice, where current reliability is judged to be acceptable. It is
also not intended to replace individual company processes, procedures, document
nomenclature or numbering; it is a guide. However, this RP may be used to enhanc
e existing processes, if deemed appropriate.
Users of this RP should gain a better understanding of how to manage an appropri
ate level of reliability throughout the life cycle of their subsea projects. Ind
ustry wide, users should be able to:
recognize the trade off between up front reliability and engineering effort vs.
operational maintenance effort,
provide better assurance of future performance of subsea systems,
effectively manage the risks from using novel equipment and standard equipment i
n novel applications,
schedule projects with sufficient time to address all the technical risks.

Overall, this should lead to better understanding of technical risk and, therefo
re, greater confidence in economically or technically challenging developments.
Furthermore, this RP provides the industry with a common framework and language,
compatible with ISO 20815, Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries Pr
oduction assurance and reliability management, for the specification and demonst
ration of reliability achievement between operators, contractors, and suppliers.
Reliability is a topic which is best addressed through industry wide cooperation
in terms of best practice, managing failures that do occur and the collection a
nd analysis of performance data. This RP aims to provide a starting point for de
veloping common understanding and cooperative progress within the subsea oil and
gas industry.
The achievement of improved subsea equipment availability requires good engineer
ing and management processes, practices and behaviors at an organizational level
to manage and minimize the potential for equipment failure.
The focus of this RP however, is on specific activities (or tasks) that can be i
mplemented within projects to achieve immediate and tangible improvements to sys
tem performance.