Sustaining Remote Operations Adoption Post Pandemic: A Major Key to a Net Zero Future

Abstract

The North Sea has always been a pioneer for the adoption of remote operations services (ROS) in offshore drilling applications. Drilling services such as Measurement While Drilling (MWD), Logging While Drilling (LWD) and/or mud logging (ML) have been performed with an element of ROS for over the last two decades. Early adoption of these remote services delivered initial benefits to operators such as reducing HSE risks related to the travel and accommodation of field service employees at offshore rig sites. Meanwhile service companies were able to explore the added efficiencies gained by having multi-skilled employees providing a higher level of support to customers while also gaining additional agility to manage their personnel through tighter market cycles. The mutual benefit of this early adoption created a solid foundation for ROS to expand the scope of influence in drilling operations to include Directional Drilling (DD). Despite the maturity of ROS within a select community of operators in the North Sea, the industry standard for service delivery in offshore operations has continued to require field service employees to perform DD, MWD, and LWD services at rig sites until this past year. With the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, operators and service companies were quickly and abruptly confronted with the challenges of new HSE regulations, travel restrictions, and increased financial scrutiny. ROS presented a tailored solution to not only sustain business continuity but also create added efficiency, consistency, and risk management. Over the course of 2020, adoption of ROS rapidly accelerated across offshore operations in the North Sea and reached up to 100% penetration in key sectors. This tremendous achievement has made a significant impact on project performance and HSE efficiencies by ensuring on time service delivery while reducing personnel on board (POB). In addition, as more operators and services companies explore ways of reducing their carbon footprints and achieving a net zero future, ROS has proven to be a way to significantly reduce carbon emissions associated with transportation and utilities of offshore personnel. This paper discusses the methods that enabled a record high adoption rate for ROS and explores the critical components of its success. It illustrates the management of change in service delivery processes, the introduction of new technology to unlock greater productivity and synergies, and the new approach to design the core competencies needed to support ROS. It also describes the need for flexible ROS service models to meet the specific project needs of various operators. The paper concludes with the numerous benefits realized through ROS such as improved performance and consistently reliable service delivery. The paper also examines the resulting carbon emission reduction, how to quantify it, and the role ROS plays in achieving a net zero emissions future.

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