4Subsea, a Norwegian technology company specialised in production riser systems and subsea well systems, has launched Portable Annulus Tester (PAT), a product that automates integrity testing of flexible risers.

According to the company, PAT is an “Engineer-in-a-box” solution that removes the requirement for mobilising dedicated third-party personnel offshore for annulus testing.

The objectives of the annulus tests are to verify the flexible riser outer sheath integrity and the functionality of the ventilation system. The hand-carried test unit performs complete annulus tests, and algorithms are enabling the operator to take immediate action if anomalies are detected, 4Subsea explained.

This fully automated, patent pending solution has reportedly been used and proved on offshore operations for Statoil and one more operator in the North Sea.