This document provides guidelines for the design, installation, operation, repair, and decommissioning of subsea production systems. The elements of subsea production systems included are wellheads (both subsea and mudling casing suspension systems) and trees; pipelines and end connections; controls, control lines, and control fluids; templates and manifolds; and production risers (both rigid and flexible). Other sections cover operations, quality assurance, materials, and corrosion.

This is intended as an umbrella document to govern other parts of the subsea document suite of standards dealing with more detailed requirements for the subsystems that typically form part of a subsea production system. However, in some areas (e.g. system design, structures, manifolds, lifting devices, and color and marking), more detailed requirements are included herein, as these subjects are not covered in a subsystem standard.

The complete subsea production system comprises several subsystems necessary to produce hydrocarbons from one or more subsea wells and transfer them to a given processing facility located offshore (fixed, floating, or subsea) or onshore, or to inject water/gas through subsea wells. Specialized equipment, such as split trees and trees and manifolds in atmospheric chambers, are not specifically discussed because of their limited use. However, the information presented is applicable to those types of equipment.