Italian oil and gas industry contractor, Saipem, and French oil major, Total, have signed a co-ownership and exclusive commercialization agreement for SPRINGS, a subsea deepwater treatment technology.

Saipem said on Friday that the agreement will see the industrialization and commercialization of the technology which was developed with Total and water treatment specialist Veolia.

SPRINGS, short for Subsea Process and Injection Gear for Seawater, is a nanofiltration-based sulfate removal unit designed for subsea use in deep water environments.

The company stated that a deepsea test was successfully completed last year to show the validity of the technology in a relevant environment offshore West Africa. Laboratory testing conducted by Saipem shows that the SPRINGS ultra and nanofiltration membranes can withstand up to 300 bars of operating pressure.

Saipem stated that the SPRING technology, presented at the SPE Offshore Europe in 2015, has been under development since 2007 but now can be considered for deepsea application.

The company also added that the technology is a ‘cost effective alternative to conventional topsides water treatment and injection units.’ Furthermore, SPRINGS moves the sulfate removal process subsea thus eliminating water injection sealines which produces savings in terms of topsides weight and deck space. It also frees up vital topside space for production equipment, eases brownfield retrofits, especially on FPSOs and makes distant, deep injection wells, economical.

Saipem’s Chief Executive Officer, Stefano Cao, said: “The signing of the agreement is in line with Saipem’s commitment to develop innovative technologies and deploy its capabilities in the subsea environment with a view to reducing Clients’ overall costs and enabling new business opportunities.”