ValveTrack™ Supporting Structured Valve Operations during the Skarv Satellite Project

Introduction

The Skarv Satellite Project (SSP) is a multi-location subsea tie-in development in the North Norwegian Sea. It connects three satellite fields (Alve Nord, Idun Nord and Ørn) to the Skarv FPSO operated by Aker BP. As part of the project scope, Subsea7 installed 22 subsea components, including the full umbilical system, and managed valve status control for 342 subsea valves distributed across the locations and barriers. 

Managing valve operations at this scale requires control, transparency, and seamless collaboration between operator and contractor. To ensure safe execution, structured data management and trusted valve data, Subsea7 and Aker BP used ValveTrack as the dedicated system for the project. 

Challenges 

Valve operations were traditionally managed using spreadsheets. While functional, this approach limited visibility, increased the risk of inconsistencies, made the data difficult to trust and made structured handover of valve data between contractor and operator more time consuming. 

With 342 manual valves spread across three locations, and parallel activities taking place, Subsea7 and Aker BP required improved overview and a reliable method for updating and trusting valve status. They needed to get the complete operational history, and standardised documentation throughout the project until handover to Aker BP. 

Solution 

ValveTrack™ was implemented as a dedicated subsea valve management system and integrated into standard valve operation procedures. It replaced fragmented spreadsheet-based processes with one unified and robust system for planning, executing, tracking, and documenting valve operations. 

Through a consistent digital workflow, valve data was captured in ValveTrack, with the digital logbook function maintaining a complete historical record for each valve. This enabled a structured collaboration between Subsea7 and Aker BP. It also ensured that valve operation data was accessible, consistent, and trusted across organisations. 

In addition, ValveTrack automatically retrieved valve document references from Aker BP’s internal document management system (PIMS) linked via functional location. Document references were synced daily simplify the use in ValveTrack, ensuring that up‑to‑date relevant reference material was always available – usability in focus. This eliminated manual searching and linking, significantly reducing engineering effort and saving time and driving quality. 

Objectives 

The main objectives were to establish a structured digital approach to valve management, improve visibility and control of valve operations, and enable secure and efficient handover of valve data between contractor and operator. 

In addition, the project aimed to support simultaneous operations across multiple locations and provide reliable documentation to support future offshore campaigns. 

Results 

The results of using ValveTrack for Subsea7 and Aker BP are: 

• A unified and trusted system for planning and executing valve operations 
• Future savings of 1–4 vessel hours per valve survey, corresponding to up to 16,000 Kg CO2 emissions reduced per survey 
• Coordinated multiple simultaneous operations and parallel workflows  
• Seamless data handover between Operator and Contractor

Conclusion 

This case demonstrates the value of using a dedicated system for subsea valve management, not just as a standalone tool but as part of a broader digital ecosystem that aligns valve data across multiple systems. 

While spreadsheet-based processes can be functional, they introduce a higher risk of errors and offer limited traceability. Additionally, they are also time-consuming, particularly when multiple stakeholders are involved. Tracking changes and comments made on the fly, ensuring version control, and maintaining confidence in the data can become challenging. 

By implementing ValveTrack, contractor and operator benefit from improved control and transparency. Contractors gain trusted documentation to support re-visits for reduced vessel time, while operators capture data closer to the source and ensure a structured, seamless handover of valve information. By automating the retrieval and linking of valve documentation from Aker BP’s internal systems, ValveTrack reduced manual effort and saved valuable engineering time. 

Rather than serving as a standalone replacement for Excel, ValveTrack contributes to an integrated and trusted data foundation for subsea valve operations.