European Technology Report.5dcecb4a25432
European Technology Report.5dcecb4a25432
European Technology Report.5dcecb4a25432
Technology
Report
INDUSTRY 4.0
This sustainable outlook is reinforced by the developments to manufacturing capa-
bilities within the CoE, in particular when it comes to subsea trees. It has the capac-
ity to design, manufacture, and test a complete subsea tree, all under one roof. And
not just any tree, for the first time a complete subsea tree system can be built and
shipped with the most advanced technology systems in the world.
Production machinery is digitally connected to advanced systems so that data
can be downloaded in real time, and then programed to create an optimization algo-
rithm. In turn this enhances the process, making each product in the most efficient
and productive way possible.
Taking the impact of digital technology further still, the power of virtual reality has The campus features virtual reality systems
galvanized the technology research and development process. It gives the CoE team and digital platforms.
the ability to recreate and simulate the assembly procedures of a product, time and
time again, with improvements made and elements thoroughly tested in the virtual Developing a subsea project today is
world at every stage of design. no mean feat. Mature areas, remote loca-
This means that more than simply testing and assembling trees, the CoE team can tions, arctic temperatures, high pressure
simulate the engineering design upfront; continuously optimizing and refining the and temperature, and marginal reser-
design and ultimately eliminating defects before the physical assembly of any piece voirs mean that every project has its own
of equipment. unique set of challenges.
The CoE has further innovated tree manufacturing by introducing additive manu- New infrastructure needs to be more
facturing (3D printing) capability for the first time. This was inspired by aviation – an robust than ever before, and requires expe-
industry that shares a need with the energy industry, to continually evolve to create safe, rience and technology to be able to con-
efficient and technologically advanced components. Because of that, until now, many sistently adapt to everything the industry
companies have tried to minimize unscheduled downtime by maintaining large stores throws at it. This CoE is not just about man-
of critical spare parts. The process, therefore, allows for simplified manufacturing of ufacturing efficiency, it is about building
components that can reduce costs and enhance performance accelerating the product a sustainable industry through advanced
development through rapid prototyping and shortening the development cycle of oil design and manufacturing. Bringing ben-
and gas components, thereby reducing the time it takes to proceed with full production. efits now and well into the future. •
WINTERSHALL DEA’S Mittelplate drilling and production with the information they need to make better informed deci-
platform in the German North Sea and nearby Dieksand land- sions and increase long-term profitability. To help achieve this
based facility are getting a digital twin. The aim is to optimize Wintershall Dea has formed a strategic partnership with Nor-
the operations and production of the Mittelplate oilfield and wegian-based technology company Cognite.
improve maintenance and work processes on Dieksand by mak- The Mittelplate platform, which started production in 1987,
ing all necessary data available and usable so that advanced is in the Wadden Sea tidal flats off the Schleswig-Holstein
analytic and predictive tools can be deployed. This requires coast and is connected to Dieksand land via two pipelines,
new technology and new ways of working. one exporting the field’s oil, the other returning associated pro-
The digital twin will provide a complete virtual represen- duced water for re-injection. The platform, which is protected
tation of operational reality, with both real-time and historic by 11-m (36-ft) tall sheet piling, is effectively an ultra-shallow
data, making it accessible to anyone regardless of their loca- water artificial island.
tion or device. The objective is to gather all data, bring it into Mittelplate and Dieksand were chosen as a lighthouse dig-
context and visualize it using dashboards in combination with ital twin project at Wintershall Dea as the field is well-known
powerful analytical tools to provide engineers and operators beyond Germany for its high environmental and safety standards
design like a brand new one, which is the typical scenario pre-
sented at technical conferences today. However, at Mittelplate
and Dieksand the company is making significant progress and
is proving that digital transformation is achievable on any asset
regardless of its age.
Like many oil and gas companies, the problem Wintershall
Dea faced was that access to data is cumbersome as informa-
tion such as sensor data, equipment history, and other doc-
umentation are locked away in multiple systems potentially
with different data owners and system experts. This meant
that equipment alarms and personal experience were driving
maintenance analysis and decisions – not necessarily data. Of
the many problems that face data-driven decisions, a lack of
liberated, usable, and sharable operational data stands out. This
The Mittelplate platform features separate living, drilling and was one problem management wanted to tackle together with
process areas. (Courtesy Wintershall Dea) experts from the asset.
The company decided to partner with Cognite because of
as well as its long extended reach production wells. The fact its cloud-native Cognite Data Fusion technology where data
that Mittelplate is more than 30 years old does not change is not just stored but also contextualized and available as a
what the company is setting out to achieve. In fact, there is a service. Furthermore, digital transformation is not only about
benefit in being able to draw upon skilled personnel with the technology, it is in fact largely about organizational transforma-
domain knowledge needed to develop valuable digital solutions. tion. This was another area where Cognite could help as they
Of course, it is a different dynamic with an older asset. There are adept with agile ways of working, something that manage-
is not the luxury of implementing digital capabilities into the ment was eager to implement.
In May 2019, two crews were assembled consisting of domain All trends and documentation can be viewed by simply taking
experts, data scientists, data engineers, and solution architects a picture of the equipment tag number.
to develop digital solutions for the Digital Twin project using For the Smart Operations crew, another application was
Scrum methodology (an agile way of working typically used for deployed known as Asset Data Insight - a desktop application
software development). This was done from a central innovation that allows the workforce to view and compare data trends,
environment in Wintershall Dea’s office in Hamburg. create their own dashboards and infographics, and find all
With one crew, related equipment
the focus was on documents, events
the use of hand- The Digital Worker crew and time-series
piloted explosive-proof
held devices (Dig- data. Furthermore,
hand-held iSafe mobile and
ital Worker) to tablet devices on Dieksand the crew also built
help with mainte- with Cognite’s Operations decision support
nance-related tasks Support application. tools for critical
(Courtesy Wintershall Dea/
in the field; with the equipment such as
Achim Multhaupt)
other it was making multi-phase and
effective use of avail- injection pumps
able data for next as well as a com-
generation equip- prehensive main-
ment monitoring tenance overview
and maintenance tool. Having such
operations (Smart an overview of crit-
Operations) using ical equipment and
dashboards and incorporating a
analytical tools. For system of rules and
the Digital Worker alerts empowers the
crew one important engineers and oper-
The Mittelplatte
topic was to improve platform in the German ators giving them a
the way we work. North Sea. (Image better oversight of
The back and forth courtesy Wintershall their equipment.
process of checking Dea/ Christian Bruch) This will ultimately
equipment, print- increase the life-
ing checklists and time of equipment
P&IDs (piping and and reduce mainte-
instrumentation nance costs.
documents), long Prior to this proj-
walks between the ect, the project team
field and the office, had live data stored
scanning and send- in one system, main-
ing emails is very tenance information
time-consuming. in SAP, and other
Our goals were to documentation in
help workers free Documentum and
up time, rethink and file drives. Now all
reshape routines of this has been
and enable them to ingested onto Cog-
focus on more important tasks. nite Data Fusion and contextualized so that all data sources
At the end of July, the Digital Worker crew piloted explo- are connected and linked to individual pieces of equipment
sive-proof hand-held iSafe mobile and tablet devices on Diek- within an asset hierarchy all the way down to individual sensor
sand with Cognite’s Operations Support application as well as data. Having all this data structured and in context makes it
other standard Office applications. Operations Support is a much easier to deploy advanced analytical and machine learn-
web-based application and can be accessed both in the field ing tools going forward.
and office. It enables field workers to view live and historic data In addition, a 3D model of the Mittelplate and Dieksand facil-
trends of equipment, maintenance history, equipment docu- ities was also implemented, enabling users to view the platform
mentation and upload photos directly from a mobile device. and its equipment in a 3D visual environment. This allows users
to, for example, click on a piece of equipment within the Mit- the entire organization via live demonstrations on Wintershall
telplate 3D model and get instant access to live streaming data Dea’s learning platform.
as well as historic data trends and equipment documentation. The Mittelplate Digital Twin project has now been running
At the EAGE exhibition in London in June, I presented a for close to one year and many lessons have been learned. The
small 3D printed model of the Mittelplate platform, created most important lesson is maintaining close collaboration with
via taken from a smartphone. This was done using a process the asset and building strong relationships, something that was
known as photogrammetry – similar to the technology used to underestimated at the beginning. Their knowledge is essen-
create Google Maps. It demonstrated the ease of updating the tial and going forward we plan to be present in the asset every
actual 3D model of Mittelplate where workers could use this week in order to create products they feel comfortable with.
technology onsite to update it regularly. The neat part is that The crews are now in the process of deploying further use cases
if the photo picks up the tag number of the equipment then all consisting of analytical and decision support tools for turbine
data will automatically be available for that piece of equipment. monitoring, gas distribution optimization, well monitoring and
Photogrammetry is one technology the company is consider- inspection applications for hand-held devices where they have
ing for updating its 3D model, if it can identify use applications begun collaborating with Inovex, a German-based IT company
of significant value. focused on digital transformation services.
The products that each crew has developed were built in an Next year the project team plans to extend into the domains
iterative way. The crews shared their results with end users and of production and drilling optimization, where it can learn from
experts from Mittelplate and Dieksand every fortnight where ongoing digital activities on Wintershall Dea’s Brage field plat-
they could test applications and prototypes, provide feedback form in the Norwegian North Sea, which is also working on a
and help the team define the next iteration of the product. The digital twin. There is also a plan to scale the solutions already
idea of building products in such an iterative way is to help the developed to operations in Egypt, which are already showing a
crew catch problems early before the final product is developed keen interest - particularly with the hand-held devices. With the
making the product development much more efficient and second Supersprint now under way, the project team hopes to
cost-effective. Results were also presented to colleagues across showcase the new digital solutions it is developing in early 2020. •
AKER SOLUTIONS claims its new ‘Intelligent Subsea’ project engineering lead times. The effects
approach can halve the cost of subsea field developments of standardization has reduced engineering
and reduce the time needed to generate optimized subsea hours by 60-70% in some areas, cut assem-
field layouts by 75%. Offshore spoke to Knut Nyborg, the com- bly hours 25% and reduced procurement
pany’s Executive Vice-President, about the background to the cost and lead time. These kinds of efficien-
development and how the company plans to persuade the cies are only possible through standard,
industry of the benefits of this new approach. configurable products. Our latest genera-
tion of subsea equipment is standardized,
Offshore: What is Intelligent Subsea all about? Knut Nyborg smaller, lower cost and simpler - ensuring
predictable quality, repeatable volumes,
Nyborg: Intelligent Subsea enables us to define, execute, and and accelerated delivery.
operate tailored and optimized subsea solutions based on stan- Standard, configurable product platforms based on stan-
dardized components, providing real total cost optimization dardized hardware components (Product Catalogue) is a key
over the life of the field. It brings cost, schedule, and quality enabler in Intelligent Subsea. Combined with our automated
improvements from re-using standardized products, and field engineering and configuration software (Insight) we can auto-
optimization potential from applying bespoke solutions. The mate more of our execution and reduce project engineering
combination of automated engineering software, configurable lead times.
product platforms and standardized hardware components
mean we can automate more of our execution and thus reduce Offshore: Can this approach be adapted to changes in
the subsea system, which can be frequent as the design Offshore: Is the concept being pitched mainly at the
evolves? company’s established clients in the North Sea area?
Nyborg: Digitally-enabled design helps us drive efficiency Nyborg: Intelligent Subsea is relevant worldwide. The core
and standardization in our design processes to rapidly cre- value of this approach is found in the intersection of three
ate, test, and adjust design concepts based on standardized themes - integrated system design, which encapsulates the
products and components, with each field development pro- complete system not just subsea; accelerated field develop-
posal costed. Changes to the subsea system are seen in the ment, through standardized design and manufacturing; and
context of corresponding efficiencies in topside facilities and maximized performance, through life of field via advanced
wider infrastructure to ensure the most efficient design possi- condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, enhanced
ble. Our digital tools can reduce concept selection timelines recovery solutions, and simplified system extensions. The
dramatically. Software applications in ix3’s Concept Insight company does have a strong track record on the Norwegian
and Engineering Insight portfolios shorten the time it takes continental shelf as well as West Africa and Brazil. We are
to select the best subsea layout by 75%. applying this integrated system thinking with customers in
Using our Subsea Configurator, we can rapidly search our many regions, and we believe it is the right approach for deep-
product catalogue to find standardized components and prod- water developments. It directly solves performance issues with
ucts that fulfill a specific field configuration and related design fit-for-purpose products designed for installability and flow
parameters such as pressure, temperature, water depth, fluid assurance, both essential in deepwater.
composition and so on. This significantly improves speed,
consistency, and accuracy. Offshore: Does the concept work best with new or bolt-on
During execution, our configuration and design automa- offshore developments?
tion tool can cut engineering hours by up to 90%. In the case
of wellhead systems, we have developed a configuration and Nyborg: It works equally well for greenfield projects and for
design automation tool which can cut engineering hours by up brownfield projects. The core of Intelligent Subsea is still the
to 90% and lead time by half. The end result is a cost-effective automated design using standard configurable product plat-
product that reduces time to first oil. During the operations forms. This is valid for any type of field. For example, our Subsea
phase, our digital insight, predictive maintenance, standardized Alliance with Aker BP and Subsea 7 supported the brownfield
equipment and enhanced oil recovery techniques, can drive development of the Alvheim area in the Norwegian North Sea.
lower operating costs, increased uptime and extended field life. This involved the development and tieback of mature fields
to an existing FPSO to ensure high capacity utilization. With
Wellhead manufacturing in Aker Solutions’ Port Klang, Malaysia, facility. The company claims to have developed a configuration and design
automation tool for wellhead systems that can cut engineering hours by up to 90% and lead times by half.
our digitally-enabled approach, and cooperation with our alli- field where we have delivered the controls, but the trees were
ance partners, we were able to shorten the schedule from 22 delivered by a different vendor. Through our own alliances,
to 13 months and deliver a 30% cost reduction. we are used to dealing with products from a mix of vendors.
Look at marginal tiebacks in general. One of the key driv- By applying our digital tools in the front-end phase, we can
ers is maximizing capacity utilization on an existing topside define optimized field design solutions and accommodate
facility. By applying our system thinking approach we can aspects such as installed infrastructure and use of existing
optimize the field design, taking into account all client priori- spare parts and tool sets.
ties, both topside and subsea. Capex and schedule often have
a huge impact on the subsea production system (SPS) devel- Offshore: Is full alignment needed among all major par-
opment case; while both are important drivers for the top- ties in a project, from start to finish, for the concept to
side facility, it is also critical to design potentially new topside work?
equipment according to size and weight requirements for the
dedicated topside in addition to existing capacities for power Nyborg: No, major parties do not have to be fully aligned from
and utilities. And to ensure that execution of the work can be the outset – but what makes a difference is early engagement
performed in planned revision stops or with a minimum of in the front-end phase. Understanding the interfaces between
‘hot work’, which requires shutdowns of ongoing production. the parties in the front-end phase and ensuring that inter-de-
pendencies are taken into consideration when establishing
Offshore: Is the concept applicable solely to Aker Solu- different field solutions are both critical.
tions subsea products?
Offshore: Can you outline some of the benefits of stan-
Nyborg: Our digital technologies are applicable to multiple dardization that this new approach provides?
vendor products. For example, ix3’s Subsense field condition
and performance monitoring tool is monitoring a UK subsea Nyborg: We have standardized many deliverables that would
have been variable between projects a few years ago. For client drivers enables different field designs and with these
example, our vertical trees are absolutely standard but at the digital tools we can now us this experience to create a set of
key function or component level. A client may, for example, different field solutions. And when we put in the field-specific
select a 5-in. outlet for an oilfield and a 7-in. outlet for a gas design parameter, for example, pressure, temperature, water
field. Both outlets are standardized, and both have the same depth, our digital tools will populate the field solutions with
interfaces. This means they can be configured to different feasible technology within our database.
field conditions and functional requirements by simply select- In other words, our front-end field modeler and subsea con-
ing the best suited standard components for each function. figurator apps, part of the Concept and Engineering Insight
The Vectus control system is also standard on every proj- portfolios, work together with our other automation tools to
ect with field variability done only at a software level. Using help engineers’ decision making. Multiple fully-costed scenar-
the SCM configurator software tool has been proven to cut ios can be trailed in a short space of time.
engineering hours by 90%. The engineer is guided through a
set of configurations based on the product structure, gener- Offshore: Aker Solutions is working on a project in the
ating hydraulic and electrical schematics as examples. Years Barents Sea involving a 190-km (118-mi) subsea tie-
ago building a project could take many hundreds of hours but back of a gas system. Is Intelligent Subsea assisting this
this can now be done in minutes, with the added benefit of development?
predictable and repeatable quality and delivery.
The standardized approach means that subsea fields can Nyborg: Intelligent Subsea can be used for any field. The
be easily extended and upgraded as the field matures. In the Concept Insight tool is used to develop, test, and cost alter-
case of the Troll field in the North Sea which has been in pro- native field configurations. For long tiebacks it is important
duction since 1995, Aker Solutions more recently applied its to consider two main aspects - one, the flow assurance aspect
subsea configurator tool to prove examples of reduced well- of transporting hydrocarbons across long distances and two,
set installation costs by up to 70% through rigless operations. ensuring capacity for power (hydraulic and electric), utili-
We introduced Vectus controls, enabling seamless phasing in ties and communication. Intelligent Subsea interfaces both
of future expansion tiebacks and data-driven insight with Sub- multiphase flow simulators, integrated production modeling
sense condition performance monitoring software. tools as well as normal steady state process simulation tools.
These are used to define the overall field configuration as well
Offshore: For marginal tiebacks, Aker Solutions claims as defining the relevant field design conditions. This provides
to be able to achieve a 50% capex reduction with a new input to the Subsea Configurator when searching for stan-
subsea pumping solution. How is this achieved? dardized and proved products and components.
This particular project is an example of the company’s
Nyborg: When the FASTsubsea X multiphase pump module integrated system thinking approach, meaning we chal-
is qualified and deployed, FASTsubsea estimates that capex lenged assumptions, rapidly trialed multiple scenarios
for a pumping system can be reduced by 30-50% compared of a full field system, applied innovative technology, and
to conventional subsea pumping system costs. The rapidly adapted our solution to use the existing infrastructure. This
deployable FASTsubsea multiphase pump solution has no allowed the reduction of the capex and opex costs, mainly
need for topside infrastructure, therefore offering significantly by avoiding the need for a topside production platform.
reduced capex. The project was established in April 2019, and
we are currently approaching potential JIP partners for funding. Offshore: Can you comment on some of the other prod-
uct innovations relevant to Intelligent Subsea?
Offshore: Can you explain some of the benefits provided
by the company’s digital tools and ix3’s ‘Insight’ mod- Nyborg: The company has developed a configuration and
ules, as applied to Intelligent Subsea? design automation tool that cuts engineering hours by up to
90% and lead times by half. Standardizing on component level
Nyborg: We have a range of advanced recovery enhance- and enabling configuration of the wellhead system to meet
ment technologies that boost recovery and extend the life of the field requirements are key to achieving these efficiencies.
the field as reservoir pressure drops and recoverable reserves Standardization enables us to use the design automation tool
become harder to reach. Re-applying the configurator apps to generate the drawings required. This results in repeatability
in ix3’s Concept Insight portfolio, working with our front-end and volumes for our engineers, manufacturing and suppliers,
teams, and using the latest innovation of intelligent prod- as well as predictability when it comes to quality and delivery.
ucts, we can re-invent the field both subsea and topside and The sixth generation of the Vectus controls system is being
extend production. deployed for the first time this year. It is central to Aker Solutions’
Aker Solutions has a long history and extensive experience condition monitoring and predictive maintenance offering. •
with field designs across all regions. Prioritization of different
The jackup Maersk Intrepid is working for Equinor on the Martin Linge
project in the North Sea. (All images courtesy Maersk Drilling)
MAERSK DRILLING is converting the harsh-environment jackup Norway’s NOx Fund, an industry scheme dedicated to cutting
Maersk Intrepid for ‘cleaner’ and more efficient drilling operations. NOx emissions on the Norwegian continental shelf, is funding up to
The rig, currently contracted to work for Equinor until August 2020 80% of the upgrade costs, and Equinor is providing further support
on the Martin Linge project in the North Sea, will soon become the via its compensation format arrangement for emission-reducing
first ‘hybrid’ low-emission rig in the contractor’s fleet. The upgrades measures. Assuming a successful outcome to the project, Maersk
include installation of a new battery-based hybrid power solution Drilling will seek to extend the upgrades to other rigs in its fleet.
that makes more efficient use of the engines, thereby lowering car- The Maersk Intrepid, a CJ70 XLE design jackup that entered
bon dioxide (CO2) emissions; selective catalytic reduction (SCR) service in 2014, is equipped for year-round harsh environment
systems that minimize nitrogen oxide (NOx) and soot emissions; operations.
Energy Emission Efficiency software that monitors and optimizes Offshore spoke to the rig’s Technical Superintendent, Mikkel Son-
all energy use onboard; and implementation of the NOVOS drilling dergaard Pedersen, and to Maersk Drilling’s Chief Technical Officer,
system to help the drill floor team execute processes more consis- Frederik Smidth, and Senior Mechanical Engineer Jan Hoffner, about
tently, with interfaces to third-party algorithms to further improve the background to the conversion and the progress achieved to date.
drilling performance.
Pedersen: The rig had worked previously for Equinor on the Sleipner
field in the North Sea, and its first ever job was in fact on Martin
Linge back in 2014, when the field’s operator was Total. The cur-
rent upgrade program has led to further enquiries from Equinor
regarding energy efficiency and we have an ongoing dialogue on
further initiatives.
Pedersen: Yes, we are looking at other solutions that will contrib- next CJ70 is in the pipeline for a similar upgrade and we are also
ute to a further reduction in CO2 and NOx emissions. For example, considering these solutions for semis and drillships. Our drillships
Maersk Drilling has initiated an internal campaign that encourages have been designed with energy storage in mind, so they could be
all employees to submit suggestions for potential fuel savings. The equipped with these new measures with only minor rig modifica-
tions. We are seeing more and more focus from our clients for these
kinds of solutions and we are assessing the possibilities for some of
our long-term drilling program proposals.
HEEREMA MARINE Contractors has developed and proven flexibility. Decks can be dispatched from a yard to the off-
a pioneering installation technique for giant platforms. QUAD shore installation location fully integrated; alternatively,
Lift, which is equally applicable to decommissioning, involves deck modules can be ordered from various fabricators in
parallel deployment of two of the company’s semisubmers- different countries and then integrated at a yard or a float-
ible crane vessels to speed up installation/mating at the field ing barge near the site for subsequent shipment to the field
location. Thialf and Heerema’s new flagship vessel Sleipnir for QUAD Lift installation.
will jointly provide the capability through their four cranes The new procedure was first demonstrated in October
to quickly install integrated decks weighing up to 30,000 2018 in the US Gulf of Mexico when Thialf and Heerema’s
metric tons (29,762 tons), via their respective 14,000 and Balder operated in tandem to lift a test structure. The trials
20,000-metric ton (15,432 and 22,046-ton) lifting capacity. fully validated the modelling that had been undertaken at the
According to the company, this capability gives design company’s new Simulation Center in Leiden, the Netherlands.
houses greater freedom early on in a project to optimize plat- When Transport and Installation Director Michel Hen-
form designs, also providing spin-offs in terms of fabrication driks started working for Heerema over 30 years ago as a
young engineer, the company had two semisubmersible crane
vessels, Balder and Hermod. “Even then, we were thinking “With this facility,” Spanjers added, “there was no need
of using the vessels’ four cranes to double their capacity,” he for conventional tank tests to simulate the vessels’ motions.
said, “and that thought remained with the company for a long The full digital twin of the vessels gave us a realistic experi-
time. But in those days the vessels were new, and we had to ence of how they would perform working in parallel under
get to know their capabilities. And they were operating only dynamic positioning. When we launched Sleipnir this sum-
with anchors – Balder did not get dynamic positioning (DP) mer, its first job [installation of the topsides for Noble Ener-
until the late 1990s, and that too took time to fully master. gy’s Leviathan platform offshore Israel] was fully successful,
Then we added Thialf, which had DP from the outset.” proving that what we had seen had been very well mimicked
According to Coen Spanjers, Engineering Manager T&I in Leiden. The digital twin provides a hydrodynamic data-
Projects, the real impetus for QUAD Lift came in late 2014 base of all the sea states that we may work in: it allows you
when the company sanctioned construction of Sleipnir and to change wave height and wind speeds and to observe how
started thinking in earnest of combining two heavy-lift ves- the cranes move. Many of our clients have come to visit the
sels for the same project – coinciding with the period when center to see it in action.”
the industry was entering its severest downturn for decades.
“Oil and gas is a very cyclical business,” Hendriks explained, GOM TEST RUN
“and Heerema is not only driven by how the world might look QUAD Lift is said to suit a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and
tomorrow. The vision of the owner is to develop technology weights of topsides and jackets. The two vessels’ four offshore
for future application.” cranes can boom up to follow the contours of the largest and
“QUAD Lift has also been about harnessing the power widest structures, irrespective of the orientation or the foun-
of digitalization via the Simulation Center, which opened dation type. Working in tandem the cranes lift the topsides
four years ago. This has two crane domes, each replicating cargo from the transport vessel at the field location, position
all aspects of the vessels in exact detail, a bridge and con- it above the jacket and lower it securely into place. Following
trol rooms. That technology helped speed up the develop- set-down, one of the vessels departs while the other typically
ment and gave us the confidence that we could do QUAD remains at the site to perform remaining installation activi-
Lift successfully.” ties such as bridges or flares.
For last year’s trial run in the Gulf of Mexico, Heerema used a 400 ft barge which
was outfitted to serve as a 4,000 metric ton test weight for the QUAD Lift operation.
“The trial program was designed to confirm all the DP requirements and com-
munication protocols, as modelled in the simulator,” Spanjers explained. “It started
with Thialf and Balder opposite each other, stern to stern. Next, the two vessels
performed a ‘DP dance’, including a full simultaneous rotation without any loads
in the cranes. They then executed the 4,000-t QUAD Lift with the barge, which first
was lifted out off the water and thereafter repeating the DP tests.
“Some of our clients that witnessed the trial, asked us why we hadn’t used a
heavier test structure, of around 10,000 t, to more accurately simulate a heavier
deck lift? In fact, the procedure is harder with a lighter structure: with QUAD Lift,
the heavier the load, the slower the response. That makes the cranes and the wires
stiffer, and the system therefore more stable.”
“It’s a master-slave arrangement,” Hendriks added, “in which one of the two boats
(the master) leads while the other (the slave) follows, and increased stiffness of the
system makes the operation easier for the following vessel.
“One of the bigger challenges we were expecting ahead of the trial was the com-
munications: how do you ensure coordinated co-operations between the two ves-
sels’ captains, two superintendents, four crane drivers and two DP operators? So,
we called in people from aviation to develop strict communications protocols in
order to manage the operation effectively.
“But this is all part of a learning process that goes back to when I first went
offshore for Heerema in the late ’80s. As the company’s fleet has expanded, it has
always been a case of understanding how a new vessel operates and its response
capabilities. From this latest trial, we learned that we had 100% confidence in the
QUAD Lift concept, and DNV GL, which witnessed the tests, has certified the pro-
cess to TRL 6 state of readiness.”
According to Spanjers, “there may be a perception that the process involves
having two heavy-lift vessels available for the full duration of a project. In fact,
we would typically only need two vessels at the field location for a single day. For
virtually any project we would expect to complete the actual installation process
within less than a day.”
The sole reason Balder participated in last year’s trials with Thialf was that
Sleipnir had at that point not yet been delivered. For topsides of a certain weight,
the concept works equally well with any combination of the three vessels, Spanjers
Simulated lifts in 3D
Heerema Marine Contractors describes its Simulation Center in Leiden as a real-time,
virtual offshore environment that allows it to integrate clients’ proposed project activities
into a 3D view of operations. The crane and vessel controls and the simulated weather
and sea swell patterns are said to provide authentic visualization and a ‘feel’ for all as-
pects of how the planned operation might pan out.
The Simulation Center can be used to assess and test offshore installation programs
prior to going offshore, allowing designs to be ‘frozen’ earlier. This helps speed up en-
gineering and onshore fabrication, ensuring a greater likelihood of timely delivery of all
installation components and required hardware. In addition, the facility can be used to
test new approaches for existing or future projects, or to scrutinize critical planned oper-
ations in order to check for potential trouble spots.
Heerema can adapt a wide range of 3D models of, for example, jackets and topsides
to run realistic scenarios, including single, repetitive or dual-crane lifts, and float over
operations. The engineering department develops 3D drawings for each project, incor-
porating the selected equipment characteristics in order to recreate the components’
natural behavior, uploading the results into the Simulation Center system. The offshore
crew will then come in to perform a dry run of the planned operation for the benefit of the
client and project team, helping all parties anticipate any technical issues or potential
failure modes that might occur.
CT SCANNING
Operating along the same general prin-
ciples as CT scanners used in hospitals A good calibration test can help ensure the complete success of a Discovery subsea
pipeline inspection campaign. (Courtesy Tracerco)
worldwide, Discovery is a non-intrusive
external scanning technique designed The principle behind Discovery (and CT scanning) is relatively simple – the inspec-
specifically for subsea pipeline inspec- tion beam passes through a material and the density of this material can then be cal-
tion. As it is non-intrusive, it does not culated by how much the beam is weakened (this is the attenuation coefficient of the
affect the operation of the pipe, or require material). Reconstruction models then take this information and use it to generate
removal of any external coating applied an accurate image of the scanned item. As CT scanning produces a complex grid of
to the pipe prior or during inspection. It data, it is often likened to a sudoku puzzle, except one which can only be “solved”
is adept at scanning through 50 mm (2.17 using computers and iterative algorithms. While this analysis is complex, the advan-
in.) of heavy concrete weight coats as it is tage of CT over other inspection techniques is that it can generate information about
at scanning through micron-thick fusion the pipeline wall thickness and integrity, the product flowing conditions and the con-
bonded epoxy coatings. dition of any coating applied to the pipeline, all in a single scan.
ZACHARY T. WARD, NIRUPAM PURKAYASTHA, FELIX HOEVELMANN, JONATHAN J. WYLDE, DIRK LEINWEBER, CLARIANT
WHILE OIL PRICES have settled down from the volatility seen A.
POLISH CONSORTIUM MEWO S.A. and Pro Geofizyka OBN receivers. To avoid exceeding the OBN battery time it
Kraków has completed the first 3D ocean bottom node (OBN) was necessary to maintain a sufficiently high shot repeti-
seismic survey in the Polish Economic Zone of the Baltic Sea. tion rate (2,800 shots per day) on the Sercel GI gun seismic
The Wolin 3D seismic project is a first stage of prospect- source which was fired every 50 m (164 ft).
ing in the offshore concession After the source acquisition,
acquired by Central European a Seaeye Falcon ROV was used
Petroleum in 2017. The con- for OBN recovery.
cession is in the southwestern Due to the ultra-shallow
part of the Pomeranian Bay in water, vessel choice was criti-
the Baltic Sea. Carried out from cal. The vessel had to have shal-
May to June 2019, the project low draft but large enough deck
consisted of 48,500 source posi- space and payload capacity to
tions over 125 sq km (48 sq mi) install the compressed air sup-
in water depths of 2-15 m (7-49 ply for the air gun source. It also
ft), with some 22,800 man-hours had to have accommodation
recorded on site. Because of port for 20 people, data acquisition
traffic, shallow water, yachting rooms, workshop and techni-
and fishing activity 785 OBNs cal facilities as well as supplies.
were deployed as receivers. Being able to manage this all on
Six vessels dedicated to a single vessel platform saved
specific tasks such as deploy- cost and time.
ment, source, equipment recov- During the survey work, high
ery, guard and multi-task were standards were maintained to
based in the port of Świnoujście. protect the natural environ-
The first stage of the cam- ment and minimize any impact
paign included pre survey per- on it. A passive acoustic moni-
formed by a Reson SeaBat 7125 toring system for detecting and
multi beam echo sounder. This identifying potential marine
allowed accurate bathymetry mammal presence, source soft
and seabed quality of the area start procedure, and an acous-
to be determined. tic deterrent device were all
The next stage was to pre- employed to ensure the distur-
pare the 785 OBN receivers bance of marine life was mini-
(OBX 750E from Geospace Tech- mized. During the main seismic
nologies) with appropriate gain acquisition, the onboard marine
settings determined during a mammal observers did not
test on site. Then the OBNs were TOP: The source vessel Imor was one of six vessels used in the detect any marine mammals
deployed on the seabed in a reg- project. BOTTOM: OBX 750E nodes ready for deployment. (All
images courtesy MEWO S.A.)
in the vicinity of the operation.
ular 400-m x 400-m (1,312-ft x While the final processing of
1,312-ft) grid. Then the seismic source line acquisition was the seismic data is yet to be completed the acquisition and
carried out over predetermined lines. initial results point to a highly successful survey outcome
This acquisition phase, despite marine traffic, fishing, for Poland’s first ever offshore 3D OBN seismic survey. •
pleasure yachting, marine mammals and weather, had to
be completed within 60 days due to the battery life in the
The digital portal for Lundin
Norway’s drilling operations
went live in September.
(Courtesy Eigen)