Subsea riser separator system

An apparatus for separating fluids from a multi-phase fluid source, said apparatus located at a water depth of at least about 1,500 feet from a surface location, said apparatus comprising:

• a fluid separator capable of operating at an internal pressure of about ½ of the external pressure or less and having a nominal vertical dimension larger than a nominal horizontal dimension, said fluid separator comprising well tubular sections and having at least two fluid outlets and at least one inlet fluidly connected to said multi-phase fluid source;
• an upper fluid outlet of said fluid separator fluidly connected to a riser assembly that extends from said fluid separator to a near-surface location;
• and
• a centrifugal pump fluidly connected to a lower fluid outlet of said fluid separator, wherein the operational speed of said pump is at least in part controlled by a fluid level interface within said fluid separator.

A process for recovering fluids from a subsea well comprising:

• fluidly connecting said subsea well to a fluid inlet of a subsea vertical separator;
• fluidly connecting a riser assembly to an upper fluid outlet of said subsea vertical separator;
• fluidly connecting a hydraulically-driven pump to a lower outlet of said subsea vertical separator separator;
• determining a fluid level within said subsea vertical separator;
• and
• controlling the internal pressure within said vertical separator to ½ the external pressure or less and controlling the operational speed of said hydraulically-driven pump using at least in part said determined fluid level.