Key points
- GE Oil and Gas advised Nautilus Minerals that assembly of the subsea slurry and lift pump (SSLP) will recommence in July.
- CEO Mike Johnston said the SSLP is coming out of storage and delivery of the finished pump is expected mid next year.
- The SSLP and riser system transfer mineralized slurry from the deep ocean to the production support vessel, where solids are removed and filtered water is returned.
- GE Oil and Gas normally builds these pumps for offshore oil and gas drilling, where they help recover drill cuttings for storage on land.
Nautilus Minerals Inc. has been advised by GE Oil and Gas that it will recommence assembly of the subsea slurry and lift pump in July this year.
Mike Johnston, Nautilus’s chief executive officer, commented: “We are delighted to have been advised that the SSLP will be coming out of storage shortly and its assembly will recommence in July of this year. The SSLP is a key piece of equipment in Nautilus’s plan to produce copper, gold and other metals from the deep ocean, with a very small environmental footprint. We look forward to taking delivery of the finished pump mid next year.”
SSLP — what does it do?
The SSLP and riser system transfer the mineralized material as slurry from the deep ocean up onto the production support vessel, where the mineralized solids are removed. The filtered return water is transferred back down to the pump through the auxiliary riser pipes, where it is released back into the same environment from which it originally came.
GE Oil and Gas produces these types of pumps for the offshore oil and gas industry, where, among other things, they are designed to help limit the environmental impacts of drill cuttings in deepwater drilling operations by helping recover the cuttings for eventual storage on land.
