The Internet of Things (loT) has paved the way for significant efficiency gains in the oil and gas industry. One concept that has garnered significant attention is the "digital twin". However, there remains a great deal of confusion surrounding what a digital twin actually is and how it can be harnessed to add value to oil and gas operations. Some use digital twin as a synonym for their 3D plant models, others for their predictive maintenance solutions, or their simulation models. The bottom line is that the digital twin is all of these and more and unless operators look at it holistically, they are likely to miss out on some of the benefits. Digital twins afford companies a number of advantages that would otherwise not be possible, including the ability to run risk analyses, health assessments, and what-if scenarios in real-time; the ability to train personnel in a 3D immersive, risk-free environment; and the capability to detect faults early before control limits are reached. This paper/ presentation will elaborate on how digital twins can be used to enhance efficiency and will address their use in the wider context of the oil and gas industry – with a particular focus on its impact on reducing risk and cost during both the project and operational phases of the asset lifecycle. The objective is to demystify the digital twin, outline the advanced capabilities it enables and illustrate how oil and gas operators can use this concept to improve their competitive advantage.
Nearly all oil and gas operators and engineering companies in the offshore sector today are engaged in programs to advance concepts for low-manned and/or normally unattended production installations (NUIs). When it comes to the design of these facilities, topsides rotating equipment and electrical, instrumentation, control, and telecommunications (EICT) packages represent key areas of interest for decision-makers, owing to the significant impact they can have on required manning levels. Over the past decade, the author's company has worked closely with major Operators in the U.S. and the North Sea to look at how existing technologies can be applied in these areas to safely facilitate de-manning of both brownfields and greenfields. This paper provides insight into these efforts. It also presents projected manpower and cost savings from de-manning, using data derived from both studies and real-world projects.
This paper is based on an ongoing multi-participant study which focuses on the development of concepts for unmanned or "Normally Unattended Installations" (NUIs) that can be used for the economic recovery of stranded oil and gas reserves considered too small for traditional floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, and too far away from existing facilities for tie-backs. The primary objective of the study is to apply existing technologies in novel ways and to utilize recent advances in digitalization to develop low manning concepts by facilitating remote control, remote monitoring, and reducing maintenance requirements. The study engaged key technology vendors and operators, who provided operational expertise and defined future operation philosophies. Concepts are being validated by classification societies, yards and installation contractors. The specific NUI concept explored in this paper is an unmanned production buoy that proved to be technically and economically feasible for the recovery of small hydrocarbon pools in deeper water. The case study is a realistic approximation of a small deepwater offshore development in the North Sea, however, it is not based on any specific prospect. The case study Basis of Design (BoD) has been defined to cover a range of API gravities, ensuring that the resultant topsides design concept is robust and applicable to a range of real field developments in the future without significant re-configuration. The study into the technical and economic feasibility of the unmanned production buoy considered alternatives for gas compression, treatment, separation; heating and cooling, power generation, automation systems, and digitalization. This paper presents the outcomes with respect to production buoy design, operating philosophy, automation and digitalization.
This paper outlines an approach for de-manning brownfield offshore production installations. It discusses how the latest advancements in rotating equipment, electrical & automation systems, and digitalization can be applied to reduce operating costs, lower breakeven prices, and extend the lifetime of existing/aging fields. The approach is value-rather than technology-driven and focuses on prioritizing investments based on return on investment (ROI) to enable low-manned operations as a stepping-stone towards unmanned installations. The paper discusses key facets of a holistic de-manning strategy, including: Remotely controlled production operations Predictive analytics to reduce unplanned downtime and extend mean time between overhauls (MTBO) Automated inspections Remote collaboration Unified data management Change management The concepts presented in the paper are derived from the authors’ company's work implementing digital solutions for customers in both onshore and offshore oil and gas, and power generation industries. It also draws on the results of an in-depth onshore field de-manning study that was conducted for a major Middle East national oil company (NOC).
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