OneSubsea, Oil Majors Complete All-Electric Subsea Technology Project in Brazil
October 22, 2026
OneSubsea has completed a joint industry project in Brazil with TotalEnergies, Equinor, BP and Chevron to develop and qualify fully electric subsea production technologies for applications in water depths of up to 3,000 meters.
The Brazil All-Electric Joint Industry Project (JIP), supported through the Brazilian National Petroleum Agency's (ANP) research and development regulation, focused on integrating electric subsea equipment, well completion technologies, topside controls and digital systems.
The project qualified electric components and control systems for deepwater applications and demonstrated an integrated production architecture extending electrification beyond the subsea tree.
Unlike conventional subsea production systems, which rely on hydraulic pressure to operate valves and chokes, all-electric systems use electric motors, eliminating the need for hydraulic fluids and associated distribution infrastructure.
The project also demonstrated interfaces with newly developed and qualified SLB electric completion technologies.
A purpose-built master control station connects subsea equipment with topside control and digital systems, allowing the different components to operate within an integrated architecture.
According to OneSubsea, the technology could simplify subsea field layouts, reduce infrastructure complexity and provide greater flexibility for longer tiebacks, remote developments and increasingly autonomous operations.
"Completing this project is an important step toward expanding the role of fully electric technology in future deepwater developments. By working closely with operators to define requirements and qualify the technology, we are creating new possibilities to simplify subsea infrastructure while providing greater control, monitoring and access to data,” said Darcy Ryan, Product Manager, OneSubsea.
The completed project builds on more than 15 years of subsea electrification experience and more than five million operating hours with electrified subsea systems, according to OneSubsea.
Separately, the company's all-electric subsea production technology is progressing towards commercial deployment at Equinor's Fram Sør project offshore Norway, which includes 12 all-electric subsea trees.
OneSubsea, a joint venture backed by SLB, Aker Solutions, and Subsea7, said the Brazilian project targets deeper-water and more integrated applications than the Fram Sør programme, although both use common electronic control modules.
The Brazil JIP has completed technology qualification and demonstration work, rather than the installation of a fully electric subsea production system at an operating offshore field.
