Optimising production without simulators Gjøa Information Manager says “basically we’re happy” Using the same data for different purposes How plant information can help with safety Big screens – a great tool for decision making Event Report, Transforming Offshore Operations with Data, Dec 3, 2015, Stavanger
Special report
Transforming Offshore Operations with Data December 3, 2015, Stavanger
Event sponsored by:
COMOS Walkinside 3D visualization training software for offshore production installations www.siemens.com/comos www.siemens.com/comos
C OMOS W alkinside helps create create a realistic, realistic, engineer COMOS Walkinside engineer-ing-g rade vir tual en vironment ffor or oper ators of of ing-grade virtual environment operators offfshor e oil and g as pr oduction ffacilities, acilities, fr om topside topside to shore gas production from to subsea sy stems. systems.
COMOS Walkinside ’s Immersive Training Simulator (ITS) enables customized, scenario-driven, 3D workflow simulations for HSE training, emergency drills and SOP rehearsals. Business Benefits: • Faster ‘First Oil’ • Reduce ‘Lost Time Incidents’ during Operations • Reduce Field Operator Travel costs to construction yard • Rehearse maintenance inter vention while still onshore • Improved safety through training in the as-built environment
Transforming Offshore Operations with Data
Transforming Offshore Operations with Data Our Finding Petroleum ‘Transforming offshore Operations with Data’ conference in Stavanger on December 3 looked at better ways we can use data to improve safety and increase production rates for offshore operations.
Topics we covered included how to optimise production without using complex production simulators, how to keep an offshore information manager happy, how to get value from an integrated plant information system, How better data can help you manage safety, the benefits of 4000 pixel screens, and how to encourage staff to engage their ‘System 2’ minds when they see something going wrong. The full conference agenda, and links to download presentations and videos from the conference, is online at www.findingpetroleum.com/event/6ca14.aspx
This special edition of Finding Petroleum is an Event Report from our forum in Stavanger on Dec 3, 2015, "Transforming Offshore Operations with Data".
Event website
Sales manager
Digital Energy Journal
http://www.findingpetroleum.com/event/Tr ansforming-Offshore-Operations-withData/6ca14.aspx
Richard McIntyre
[email protected] Tel 44 208 150 5291
www.d-e-j.com
Report written by Karl Jeffery, editor of Digital Energy Journal
[email protected] Tel 44 208 150 5292
Conference produced by Karl Jeffery Layout by Laura Jones, Very Vermilion Ltd
Future Energy Publishing, 39-41 North Road, London, N7 9DP, UK www.fuenp.com
Cover art by Alexandra Mckenzie
Finding Petroleum - Transforming Offshore Operations with Data, Dec 3 2015
3
Transforming Offshore Operations with Data
Optimising production without simulators Start-up company Solution Seeker has an aim to make it possible to optimise production without using complex production simulators which, the company says, often get bought then left on the shelf Oil and gas companies have been using complex production simulators for many years, which model all of the flows in the wells and topside equipment, and can be used to calculate the optimum settings of the valves, and support ‘what-if’ studies, for example try to work out what the effect on the whole system will be if you open a choke valve slightly. The problem with production simulators is that they are often too difficult to use, said Vidar Gunnerud, CEO of Solution Seeker
He was speaking at the Finding Petroleum Stavanger forum on December 3, “Transforming Offshore Operations with Data”.
To use a production simulator, “you need expertise about the field, expertise about the simulator, which is a complex piece of software, and on top of that you have the optimisation algorithms,” he said.
It is powerful software, but the downside is that “it is just really tricky. In many places it is used less and less and just put on the shelf, I think that's common,” he said.
Without a production simulator, all production engineers have to work on is the production data itself – looking at the production flowrates and temperatures, and fiddling with the settings to try to get an improvement in flow.
This is not an ideal situation either. “Sometimes it is trivial to work out the best settings, sometimes it is not,” Mr Gunnerud said.
The reservoir is continually changing, and the surface equipment may be changing, for example if sections of plant are being maintained.
“One way of operating the field may be optimal one week, the next a bit different. It 4
makes the sweet spot for operating the field move around.”
Solution Seeker Solution Seeker aims to take the latest academic thinking in cybernetics (communication and control theory) to work out ways that the data generated downhole can be directly used to understand and improve flow.
As an example (explained in more detail below), its algorithms can get an understanding of the flow from an individual well, where flow is commingled with others, and the only flowmeter is downstream of the co-mingling.
Solution Seeker commercialises technology developed from academic research work at the Integrated Operations Center in Trondheim, an organisation sponsored by The Research Council of Norway, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), research organisation SINTEF and the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE).
Before starting Solution Seeker, Mr Gunnerud was working at NTNU as a PhD student and post doctorate researcher.
Bjarne Foss, Professor of Cybernetics at NTNU, is a board member and co-founder of Solution Seeker.
The Integrated Operations Center filed a patent in late 2012 for a technology for testing of wells without a long term shutdown (method described below), and Solution Seeker was created partly to commercialise the patent.
Solution Seeker was launched in early 2013. It has 7 staff, many with backgrounds in engineering cybernetics.
Optimising production Production engineers do not have many options to improve production – most commonly they can adjust the ‘choke’ (a valve located at the well head to adjust the flow of fluids from a well), or they can adjust gas lift parameters (the amount of gas being pumped into a well to help bring up the fluids), or the power of a downhole electrical submersible pump (ESP).
Finding Petroleum - Transforming Offshore Operations with Data, Dec 3 2015
They also have to work with constraints or ‘bottlenecks’, such as the maximum flow through a certain part of the system, maximum pump capacity, maximum amount of gas available for gas lift, and making sure the system doesn’t get blocked.
The input data is information about the wells (flow rates, temperatures and pressures, choke position, gas lift rate).
Sometimes you don’t have flow rates from individual wells, because flow from a number of wells is commingled, and the flowmeter is further downstream.
Production engineers study the data and see if they can spot any trends. Then they look for ways to tweak valves and pumps to see if production can be improved by 1-2 per cent, to get a better balancing of production system constraints.
Simplifying optimisation Solution Seeker’s approach is to find ways production engineers can work directly with well data to do optimisations, without having to use a complex production simulator.
This should make it easier for production engineers to improve the production parameters.
The computer software automatically generates data driven models for different types of fields, and these are improved continuously.
The data driven models are generated from analysis of historical production data, which is usually stored in data ‘historians’ such as OSISoft’s “PI”. It uses advanced data processing techniques developed by cybernetics to clean noise out of the data, and spot patterns in it.
The data processing techniques can also compress the data to about 0.1 per cent of its original size, taking the most useful elements out of it, and this data file is then much easier to work with. It generates a special database using just compressed data, which the company calls “Production Compass”.
Transforming Offshore Operations with Data Instead of calculating the optimised settings, it helps you understand the direction, which is “much simpler”, he said.
The software can propose production experiment which will generate useful data. It all helps to improve the ‘information content’ in the data, so it can help people make decisions.
The virtual well test One particularly useful process, summarised above, is for an oil company which has a number of wells with the flow commingled together, and it is only able to directly measure the flow downstream of the co-mingling, in other words it doesn’t know what the flow from the individual wells is.
This is a common situation in the oil and gas industry, for example with subsea wells having a commingled flow coming together to a platform, and only having a flowmeter at the platform.
The common way to find the flow from an individual wells is close the choke (ie switch off flow from the well) and see how the overall production changes. This leads to production loss and disruption, both expensive.
Solution Seeker’s method is to close and open the choke valve slightly (by 1-2 per cent), over a time cycle (open and close) of 6-8 hours, with the test carried out over 20-24 hours. This is basically putting a sine wave signal into one of the production streams.
This will lead to a small change in commingled production flow.
Using mathematical techniques based around the Fourier Transform (which can convert fixed parameters into wave data and vice versa), and analysing the commingled flow rate, the software can make a good estimate of the flow from the individual well.
The results are not as reliable as doing a well test (closing one well completely for a few hours to see the effect on overall flow), but much less expensive. Also the uncertainty in the reading can be calculated, and reduced if necessary, by increasing the length of the test or the size of choke adjustment.
Since all wells already have remote control chokes, the process doesn’t require any investment apart from software.
Several wells can be tested simultaneously, with a different frequency choke signal (different rate the valves are opened and closed).
The process has been tested on 3 fields, including a subsea production system with 1011 wells.
You can also look at gas and oil flowrates together and see how the ratio between them is changing.
It is possible that choking one well will lead to increased pressure in another one, for reservoir reasons.
This could be tested by looking at changes in well head pressure (upstream of the choke) and seeing if this is changing.
“It is emerging as a viable alternative to well testing,” he said.
Further information is on a YouTube video at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgwcH4d2cgo
Watch Vidar’s talk on video and download slides at
http://www.findingpetroleum.com/video/1393.as px
Finding Petroleum - Transforming Offshore Operations with Data, Dec 3 2015
5
Transforming Offshore Operations with Data
Gjøa Information Manager says “basically we’re happy” Engie (formerly GDF Suez E&P Norge) has been using Siemens’ “COMOS” software on its Gjøa platform for the last 5 years. The verdict from Information Manager Tor Ove Holsen is “basically we’re happy”
Engie Norway (previously GDF Suez E&P Norge) has been using Siemens’ “COMOS” plant engineering software on the Gjøa production platform, for all daily operations, for the past 5 years.
as well as an electrical cable. “[Communications] speed is OK, it is do-able,” he said.
Because the platform is very young, not many modifications are required. But the company would probably have implemented the software in a similar way if there was big modification work going on, he said.
Users work on it via normal desktop computers in an office environment, not in a collaboration centre.
Background
“Basically, we're happy,” said Tor Ove Holsen, Leader Document and Information Management with Engie, speaking at the Finding Petroleum Stavanger forum on December 3, “Transforming Offshore Operations with Data”.
Mr Holsen was asked if there have been any difficulties with the software. “Yes there have,” he replied, “but you kind of forget when everybody turns out happy in the end.”
The heavier users are the ‘technical organisation’, such as maintenance and engineering staff. The system is also used by operations staff – onshore and offshore.
The software is used for managing lifecycle data (the ‘Technical Data Library’), and planning maintenance. The platform is only 5 years old, so there isn’t much new engineering and project development going on.
As Leader of Document and Information Management for Gjøa, Mr Holsen’s role is ‘owner’ of the Technical Data Library part of COMOS. The company is using software version 9.2 and is testing version 10.0 at the moment.
COMOS is used both onshore and offshore, with a common database.
It helps that Gjøa is located close enough to shore to run a communications cable out to it, 6
Statoil managed the development of the platform and field, between 2006 and 2010, providing Engie (then called GDF Suez) with all of the information provided as ‘non intelligent’ documents rather than data which can be easily integrated and indexed, Mr Ove Holsen said. Engie loaded Statoil’s data into the Siemens COMOS software. Work to implement the software started in early 2009, going live in 2010.
It is possible to set up a system like COMOS for a plant which is already in operation, but it is still a major task, which can be difficult, he said.
New functionality Engie built some new software functionality for COMOS.
This included a ‘red line’ mark-up system to show changes – for example, if a door is changed so it opens outwards rather than inwards.
Also a ‘safety critical document’ workflow ensuring safety critical documents are handled quicker than others.
“We use workflow a lot, our experience is that it’s very useful,” he said. Engie also created systems for export-import of bulk data, to reduce the amount of manual updating of data required.
Master Data Library
The initial work involved redrawing over 600 piping and instrumentation diagrams, provided by Statoil as flat pdf files, into data files, he said.
The core function is as a ‘master data library’ storing the company’s master record about the plant, which everybody can access.
Once the diagrams have been described as data, the system can generate a Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P+ID) whenever it is required, similar to the way electronic map software can create a map from a live database.
The master database can be updated directly by the company’s modification contractor and instrumentation contractor. “For us, it’s a necessity they work [on the software] directly,” he said.
The same task had to be done for over 5,000 instrumentation loop diagrams.
The main benefit of COMOS is that it offers ‘intelligence’, in that it can provide more value from the documents by being able to connect them together and understand the relationships between them.
“To use COMOS you need to use the ‘COMOS intelligence’. If you don't, I don't see any special reason for using COMOS,” he said.
Finding Petroleum - Transforming Offshore Operations with Data, Dec 3 2015
The system contains 130,000 tags (lists of information about specific pieces of equipment).
There are many ways to work with the data.
It can be used to generate live 3D models of the platform, which users can ‘walk inside’.
This is useful for offshore workers, who want to use the system for find out where a certain pump is located.
It also means users can jump from looking at a piping and instrumentation diagram (P+ID) to looking at an actual 3D model.
Transforming Offshore Operations with Data There is a function to search for data, if you can’t find it through the indexes. “We don't find this search functionality to be any problem,” he said. “It is easy, it works fine, no problem. You need to know what to search for, that helps.”
Uploading new data to the library is a task which needs to be handled very carefully.
“You have to know everything you need to know before you start, and you never do.”
It is very important to track how information is being uploaded and where it goes, he said. “If you fail, you have a huge clean-up problem.”
Maintenance COMOS is used to plan, organise and keep track of maintenance work on the platform.
All work orders are managed through COMOS, including inspections, modifications to work orders. The software generates 70,000 work orders every year for maintenance.
The software can generate reports and calculate ‘key performance indicators’ for maintenance, and be used to demonstrate to the authorities that the facility is maintained safely.
The system also stores information about any ‘events’. It has stored 18,000 “events” related to maintenance over the past 5 years, which
are categorised as malfunctions, temporary repairs, program changes and modification proposals.
It integrates with company’s SAP human resources system for creating new users, and integrates with SAP for materials management. It also integrates with the company’s IPL integrated planning software.
The company recently linked the system with Connect@Plant, an IT security system which manages access to offshore installations. “That's another good story that we could tell you,” he said. “We won a prize for this.”
You can watch Tor Ove’s talk on video and download slides at
www.findingpetroleum.com/video/1392.aspx
Siemens – using the same data for different purposes One of the most useful aspects of Siemens’ “COMOS” plant information software is that it makes it easy to use the same piece of data for different purposes, explained Thomas Andersson look at it in the 3D model, in a document or in the hierarchical data view. Users can then find the object, for example a pump, in the 3D model, and bring up data about it. Examples of such data can be commissioning status, modification in parallel projects or operational as work permits or running hours.
Siemens’ plant information software “COMOS” is built around a single database where all data related to the same asset in the plant forms a unit – an object. The same object is then used through the whole lifecycle, across disciplines and work processes to manage data and documents.
All this data can be used in many different ways by engineering, operations and maintenance staff, said Thomas Andersson, Pre-sales Engineer, COMOS, speaking at the Finding Petroleum forum in Stavanger on December 3, “Transforming Offshore Operations with Data”.
You could have a ‘traditional’ multi database set up of information systems, where searching for information will result in duplicates, various unchangeable formats and even contradicting information. In other words poor data quality and availability for end user.
Or you could have a more sophisticated system where the object is the same regardless if you
Navigating from the pump to its representation of a Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P+ID) is done via a simple mouse click. The same navigation technique is used to follow the pump’s relation to other plant data. For example navigation can be made to the pump on the system control diagram (SCD), the single line representation of the power supply, to the spare parts or to the risk assessment.
There is still a need for manage documents in a data-centric plant information system, such as the configuration file for a frequency converter, manuals, photos, etc. These documents are naturally stored with the object keeping all data tied to the object and available at the fingertips of the user.
Maintenance management The maintenance management system in COMOS utilises the same objects in the same database adding on additional information into the object.
Maintenance planners can define a maintenance strategy for each component, for example whether it should have condition monitoring, and whether it should be ‘run to failure’ or replaced according to a regular schedule.
You can make an assessment of the likelihood of failure and consequence for different items, which could be used to generate a risk priority index, how critical a failure would be. All data used in the assessment is available and stored on the object thus adding more data to the same object as used in engineering.
The software can automatically generate ‘work packages’, lists of work which need to be done by a certain person or in a certain week, with all of the relevant information taken from the databases, he said.
It contains information about what kind of material you need, what equipment, whether you need to reserve certain equipment or certain specially qualified people to do the work.
If you need to do a risk assessment as part of planning a maintenance task, the data is readily available from the objects and checklists such as safe job analysis or base position lists.
When having all data in a maintainable format, it is then very easy to drill down and work with the data, twisting it into a context that 'is relevant for the current user.”
Finding Petroleum - Transforming Offshore Operations with Data, Dec 3 2015
7
Transforming Offshore Operations with Data Much information is stored as documents rather than data, particularly for old facilities, he said. This is something which needs to be efficiently managed and utilized with a strategic approach. We call it hybrid implementation where you ensure availability of all data by combining the modern data structure and object orientation with existing documents which may be very static.
Value for users is that data is available at their fingertips regardless of source and as objects are modified the old documents are modified, migrated or replaced creating even more value for future use.
How do you like to see pump information – on a piping and instrumentation diagram (left) or on a 3D model (right?) Probably, both views are useful
Built in tools for data management such as a query tool, report designer and status management ensures efficient management of data for both retrieval and update. Status can for example be visualised with colour-coding showing the status in the hierarchical structure, on 2D drawings and in the 3D model.
In one example, for a shutdown on a piece of equipment, you can select the item on a 2D diagram, and generate data about the standard operating procedure for the work, and then compile and practise the procedure in the training simulator.
Finding information Perhaps the biggest value for a system like this is still making it easier to find the right information and it is easier to trust.
With most software currently in use, engineers “spend a lot of time waiting for, searching for and validating information,” Mr Andersson said.
It is common that “data is often re-entered in multiple systems, so duplicate copies exist hopefully with the same value.”
“Companies still have silos of information and need to build systems to integrate them. These integrations consume resources and makes continuous improvements and changes in one system harder due to the interconnections”
Staff often have to work with a range of different software systems, all with different user interfaces, which they have to learn how to use. With COMOS it is one interface.
You can have a hybrid solution with some of your data in different formats at the same time, new and old together. “That is the case for most installations,” he said.
Building it When implementing a new plant information system, it is good to start with a ‘base’ creating the fundamental data model, and then implement and release small functionalities at a time on top of that, such as a commissioning system, P&ID, datasheets. “Our strategy is not to go all in in those full big bang implementations, especially since our systems supports stepwise configuration and is only using a single database.” he said.
Having an open configurable platform as COMOS gives our customers a foundation to make data work. Watch Thomas’s talk on video at
www.findingpetroleum.com/video/1591.aspx
Intergraph – how plant information can help with safety The most important processes in offshore operations are process safety management, maintenance, ensuring reliability, and doing modifications. Better plant information software can help with all of these, Intergraph says In a customer survey, oil and gas operators say that the most important activities in production operations are process safety management, maintenance, reliability, modifications, said Jens Olav Nordanger, Sales Manager of Intergraph.
“If you want to be good at this you need to have good quality and trustworthy information,” he said. 8
Finding Petroleum - Transforming Offshore Operations with Data, Dec 3 2015
One research company established that having poor data costs a company the equivalent of 1.5 per cent of annual sales, Mr Nordanger said.
These costs could be further segmented into operational delays, reduction in availability, modification projects more expensive, more expensive maintenance costs, plus an impact on safety.
Transforming Offshore Operations with Data “It is something that has an impact on our day to day business,” he said.
“A lot of companies have a vision where you have a trusted source of data that you can re-use, all linked together,” Mr Nordanger said.
But in most plants today, “a lot of the documentation is not up to date, and scattered around different sources,” he said.
Over half of the respondents said they use over 20 per cent of their time searching for data. “The ability to search for data is really important,” he said.
SmartPlant Fusion Intergraph produces the “SmartPlant Fusion” software, which is designed to help companies integrate all of their existing ‘old’ data and documents.
The software includes optical character recognition (OCR) tools to scan the text out of the documents.
There are tools to compare different versions of documents to help you work out which one is the ‘master’.
Once you’ve identified a ‘master’, it will search the document to find the objects mentioned (pumps for example) and then link to other documents which mention the same item.
Once everything is indexed you can see where your gaps and inconsistencies are. You can have a single point of access.
Doing more with data The technology can be used together with laser scan data.
Leica Geosystems, a sister company with Intergraph (they are both part of Hexagon AB) is a major producer of laser scanning devices.
By combing structured data with laser scan data, you can see the tag numbers of individual components shown up together with a laser scanned image of them, and then click to bring up the relevant documents.
This could be part of a workflow, such as choosing an item to do maintenance on, clicking on it, and generating a work order and maintenance instructions.
The system could provide data to ‘augmented reality’ 3D headset device, and be used for someone to practise doing the work they are about to do.
For example, Intergraph integrates with software from Netherlands based eVision Industry Software.
Integration with mobile
It can pull the permit to work from the company’s work management system (such as SAP), and pull relevant data from Intergraph software, for example the 3D scans, the piping and instrumentation diagrams, and the data sheets associated with the valve.
For field work, Intergraph has created a mobile tool which can be used to report observations. Observations can be photographed or written down and entered into the system.
The same system can be used for carrying and displaying documents related to the task you are doing. You can ‘drag and drop’ relevant documents onto the mobile device, and then view them offline when you go out to the field.
New data can be uploaded when you get back to the office.
As an example, imagine a field worker finding a leaking valve, then creating a report on his handheld computer.
He can use a laser scan image of the plant to identify to his supervisor which valve it is, and register if the leak is low medium or high, or add photos if necessary.
The supervisor can tell the maintenance department that they have a problem with a valve with a specific tag number, and a plan can be put into place to fix it. The supervisor can check the piping and instrumentation diagram to see if any of the piping needs to be isolated before the valve is repaired and how that should be done.
When a maintenance technician goes to repair the valve, it is easier for him to find the right valve. When you reach the valve, you can see the notes by the previous field worker about what was wrong.
You can mark the problem on a live piping and instrumentation diagram.
You can see if the line is high pressure, or if there is any other critical information to check.
Finally the field change request can be filed.
Safety The software can be used as a basis for sophisticated safety management systems.
The eVision software can be used to help ensure safety when a maintenance task is being done.
It visualises where the work will take place on the plant.
You can see if anything is happening nearby which might add to the risk such as hot work.
There is a step by step ‘wizard’ which will work out if a new risk assessment is applicable or not. If the task requires isolation (cutting off flow of fluids to and from the valve), you can make an ‘isolation plan’ to do this using the piping and instrumentation diagram.
You can work out which valves you need to turn to isolate the leaky valve. You can see all the isolation points on a 3D model of the plant.
Once this is done, it can be copied back to the Intergraph software for final checks.
To make sure valves are not open by mistake, you can hang a physical label on the valve saying it is switched off, and scan the valve, so data is updated in the permit office. Once it is OK to open the valve, the instruction can be given.
Once everything has been approved, the job can be executed, and de-isolation team can go to the field.
“This is a huge time saving for the workforce,” said Kasem Challiou, Global Alliance Manager, eVision Industry Software, who was jointly giving the talk.
The main business benefits are increasing safety, and improving efficiency of offshore workers, increasing their ‘hands on tool time’, and reducing preparation time.
Some clients say ‘hands on tool time’ is as little as 20 per cent.
There can be big delays, for example if a worker has to drive a long distance to reach a well and then can’t do the planned work.
Finding Petroleum - Transforming Offshore Operations with Data, Dec 3 2015
9
Transforming Offshore Operations with Data
Big screens – a great tool for decision making Big screens, showing up to date 3D models of the plant can be a great support for decision making, said AVEVA’s Harald Gunnerod
Most of us are familiar with 4,000 pixels, or “4K” screens, these days.
The data is also useful in an emergency if you can find what you need faster. You can click on a pump or any other item and see all the documents associated with them, such as instrumentation diagrams.
The business benefit is that it will help staff make the right decisions quickly about any operational changes, including modifications, which need to be made, Mr Gunnerod said.
Laser scanning “You probably have one in your living room,” said Harald Gunnerod, Senior Account Manager with AVEVA, speaking at the Finding Petroleum conference in Stavanger on December 3, “Transforming Offshore Operations with Data”. As well as being used for home movies, the screens can also be used to support offshore decision making, if they make it very easy to see a detailed and up to date 3D model of the plant, and look in detail at anything you want and bring up associated data.
They are touch screens, which means that the image can be moved around by wiping your hands on the screen, similar to how you swipe on a tablet computer.
The model is uploaded to the graphics card. This means the response of the system is instantaneous and you can manipulate huge 3D plant models. You can even make live cuts into the model to look at the inside of the structure in realtime.
Mr Gunnerod showed a 3D model of an offshore platform, which was developed together with Shell. The model is connected to the master plant information database, in this case AVEVA.net.
You can look at the offshore asset with many different views – for example you could see piping colour coded for the fluid it is carrying.
If you are planning a purchase of spare pipe, you can see how much piping you have on the asset which is a certain diameter as a visual image.
You can see equipment tagged by vendors. If you find one vendor has supplied poor quality products, you can see where all of the products they have supplied are. “It gives a unique ability to understand that great amount of data,” he said. 10
Laser scanning technology has improved a great deal in recent years, Mr Gunnerod said.
The basic idea is to point a laser around in the plant, and it records how far away different items are, and their location.
The technology has improved a great deal in resolution, now about to calculate millions of points very quickly, and record colours, so it is “as good as a photograph,” he said.
The laser scan devices are handheld, so you can scan the plant, or a new addition to the plant, just by walking around with a 3D laser scanning device.
The computer image processing has developed so it can allow you view the plant from any position and in any direction you like, even if the plant was not actually laser scanned from that specific point.
If you record a scan of your plant from a few different points, “You have a very good 'as is' model of your situation,” he said.
E3D AVEVA has updated its modelling software E3D to take advantage of the improvements in laser scanning.
You can see the laser image (known as a ‘point cloud’ because it is made up of millions of points), superimposed on the 3D model (which has been created from the plant design data).
So if there are any modifications to the plant, and you don’t have a model of the modified plant from the designer, you can just take a laser scan of it, and incorporate this update on your 3D model.
Finding Petroleum - Transforming Offshore Operations with Data, Dec 3 2015
You can make sure you have a completely updated model, made up of a mixture of laser scans and original plant designs.
This can be used to plan future modifications, for example making sure that any new equipment you plant to install will fit.
The 3D data is also easy to manipulate, so you can see what the plant would look like with a certain item removed. The work can be done on a normal computer workstation.
The design files can be web hosted, so people can work on it around the world.
If you are working in a large design team (for example on a FPSO), you can assign ‘owners’ to different pieces of equipment. If you want to make a hole in the design for a certain piece of equipment you need to ‘request it’ from the owner of the equipment.
Lifecycle Over the asset lifecycle, the oil company aim is to maintain a single digital version of what is going on, rather than different disciplines putting out different information and trying to figure out afterwards what is right.
A good place to start connecting the different disciplines is to connect the P+ID from process engineering with the 3D model created within area engineering. It is critical that these two deliverables remain consistent through the engineering and later operation phases of the lifecycle.
You can track changes and in the P+ID that will affect the 3D model. This can be shown with colour coding showing anything which has changed.
If they are not connected, that means that you need to keep a manual list of changes to the P+ID diagram since the plant was constructed. For this, most people use Excel. “That's not a good tag management system due to the lack of history or connection to the design tools,” he said. Watch Harald’s talk on video and download slides at
http://www.findingpetroleum.com/video/1598.aspx
Transforming Offshore Operations with Data
Big data to increase production Oil and gas companies would really like to use what they have to get more out of current investments. How do we get there? Eldor’s Bjarne Andrè Asheim has some ideas Software modelling There have been many advances in software modelling which can really help.
Software modelling can help to find out the root causes, not just recognise symptoms, as alarms do.
A pathway to increase production is to reduce effects from “unplanned situations” by using real time data, new modelling and rule based technology to help operators handle abnormal situations with limited effect said Eldor’s Bjarne Andrè Asheim, speaking at the Finding Petroleum Stavanger forum on December 3, “Transforming Offshore Operations with Data”.
We need to provide more value to operations from the data we already have which means that we need innovative technology to preprocess raw data so that we can deliver data that gives real time decision support to operators of these highly complex engineered systems, he said.
“The overall goal is to deal with all the upsets upfront as early as possible.”
Business case The business argument is that better abnormal situation management could lead to an increase in production of 5 per cent. “That’s what we believe in,” Mr Asheim said.
Studies of “abnormal situations” on plants have shown that they can lead to losses of between 3 and 10 per cent of total production every year, according to the ‘Abnormal Situation Management Consortium”, with members including Chevron, BP, Total, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell and Sasol.
ASMC studies have also shown that 50 per cent of unplanned situations are due to lack of situation awareness, for the control room operator and for the team around the control room operator,” he said. “They also say 90 per cent can be preventable.” Things tends to happen that affects production and in many cases it´s very difficult for operations to understand complexity of the situation fast enough to avoid losses, he said.
For example, “if you have a high pressure on a tank, the high pressure is not the root, it’s a symptom of something else. The operator has to think, what is causing this high pressure, and what should I do.”
Better software will also guide the operator to the right answer, rather than tell her what it is.
“We want to show the operator what is the consequence of what is happening, what will happen next.”
Compared to e.g. the automobile industry we´re far behind in preprocessing data with advanced sensor technology to advise operators, Mr Asheim said.
Functional modelling The best method for understanding complex systems is to use ‘functional modelling’, which basically breaks the engineered system down into functions.
For example, your living room light is a fairly simple function. If there is no light, you should be able to find a switch. If the switch doesn’t turn it on, probably the fuse is broken. “We think in functions as human beings.”
“That's also how the operator is thinking when he is trying to find the reason behind this high pressure. He is also thinking in functions. He's not trying to follow the P&ID,” Mr Asheim said.
So a useful software tool would “model the means, ends and the goals of functions, we put these functions together,” he said.
By understanding the functional models, “we can check the root cause, consequences, and create a dynamic counteraction plan for all situations.”
Visual interface Eldor has also been experimenting hard at developing more useful ways the information can be visualized on screen.
“We have been looking into how information can be displayed in a way where we use the advantages of the human brain” he said. “We are looking into using symbols instead of text.”
“Most likely we need more than one user interface because people are different.
“I've seen that many times, an operator has one set of screens, there is a shift change, and the new operator changes nearly all the displays and are working in a different way. It is amazing to see,” he said.
You might expect that since both operators are doing the same task with the same data, they would want the information to be displayed in the same way, but this is not the case.
Eldor works together with a local multidisciplinary design studio to design the user interfaces. “We want something new, up to date, made by designers, not engineers”, he said.
Eldor Eldor is a small engineering company established in 2006, focused on the oil and gas industry, based in Forus, Stavanger. It employs around 40 engineers.
Main focus is on telecom, control and safety systems, industrial IT systems, and onshore operation center including control rooms.
The company is currently looking for oil companies interested in forming a ‘joint industry project’ to develop software for optimal real time decision support. You can download Bjarne André’s slides at
http://www.findingpetroleum.com/event/6ca14.aspx
Finding Petroleum - Transforming Offshore Operations with Data, Dec 3 2015
11
Transforming Offshore Operations with Data
Finding Petroleum: Transforming Offshore Operations with Data Stavanger, Dec 3 2015, Attendees Johanna Rasmussen, Geophysicist Børre Heggernes, CTO, Amitec AS Sigve Hamilton Aspelund, Entrepreneur, Aspelund Consulting Energy Offshore Development International & National Harald Gunnerod, Senior Account Manager, AVEVA Johan Jotun, Technical specialist, AVEVA Jarle Soland, Chairman of the board, Avito AS Derek Göbel, CEO, Avito Loops Scott Simpson, Formation Evaluation Service Coordinator, Baker Hughes Yoseph Ghezai, Reservoir Application Manager, Baker Hughes Sheena Smith, Document Control Lead, BG Group Stein Roalkvam, Senior Consultant, Bouvet AS Johannes Stavland, Manager, Bouvet Norge AS Tetyana Kholodna, Capgemini Italo Chirico, Director of Engineering & Technology, Cofely Fabricom Michael Sund, Sales Director, Computas Roar Fjellheim, Director, Computas AS Tram Tran, Entrepreneur Founder Information Data Petroleum Innovator, Consultant Mehmet Fidan, COP Bjarne André Asheim, Managing Director, Eldor Hafrun Hauksdottir, Eldor Mohamed Anwar Khodair, Project Manager, Emerson Tor Ove Holsen, Leader Document and Information Management, Engie (GDF Suez E&P Norge) Kasem Challiou, Global Alliances Manager, eVision Software
“ “
Joe Chesak, CEO, Fablabs AS Richard McIntyre, Sales Manager, Finding Petroleum Karl Jeffery, Editor, Finding Petroleum Terje Hundvik, Owner, Forthun AS Atul Mehta, Operations Leader, Halliburton Geir Lerfall, Managing Director, IKM Operations AS Jonathan Franklin, Business Manager, Infoplus Jens Olav Nordanger, Senior Sales Executive, Intergraph Gaute Madsen, Sales Executive, Intergraph Mari Helgeland, Marketing and Sales, Intergraph Norge AS Øystein Drivflaadt, CTO, IntOp Karl Ernst Karlsen, Consultant, IO Konsulenten Pål Hjertholm, MD, IOSolutions AS Jone Aase, Consultant, JA Consulting Annette Larsen, Manager, Logtek Marie Austdal, Researcher, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Gladys Hovland, IT Manager, Ocean Installer Tone Sleveland, LCI Supervisor, Omega Arild Nystad, CEO, PetroManagement AS Mikhail Smirnov, Sales Engineer, Roxar Flow Measurement AS Hector Escalona, Senior Production Engineer, Schlumberger Gordy Shanor, Owner & Principal Consultant, Shanor GeoSolutions AS Elisabeth Molz, Marketing Manager, Siemens Industry Software Thomas Andersson, COMOS PreSales Engineer, Siemens Industry Software
“ ”“ ”
Christian Elmose, Project Executive, Siemens Industry Software A/S Nigel Sams, Executive Sales Manager, Siemens Industry Solutions - COMOS Vidar Gunnerud, CEO, SolutionSeeker Ole Martin Bakken, Statoil Peter Scott, Senior Advisor, Tellmann EA Arne Beyer, Senior Advisor, Tellmann EA Karen Oldenziel, Project Coordinator, TOTAL / Bouvet Ida Marie Kastrud, Head of Methods & Tools in Field Operation, Total EP Norge as Arvind Keprate, PHD Student, UIS Elbarra Elbadri, UMST Jane Bråtveit Terje Amundsen Adiyaman Daksinamoorthy, CEO, VIAAN AS Jared Hanscom, Executive Sales, VisCo Tore Kvam, Manager, Visco Einar Bekkevold, Business development, Visco Øystein Stray, CEO, VisCo AS Alisa Smerdova, Senior Consultant, Webstep Arve Gruehagen, Maintenance Engineer, Westcon Solveig Bjørheim, Enterprise Content Management Lead, Wintershall Norge AS Viviann Grønnevik, Information Management Coordinator, Wintershall Norge AS Frode Adelsten Jensen, Advisor Information Management, Wintershall Norway
“ ”“ “ ” ” ” ”
What did you enjoy most about the event? New relevant information - and establishing contacts for further discussions Terje Hundvik, Forthun AS
These types of workshops on hot and critical topics are an efficient and interesting half day including lunch refreshments. You manage to gather a good network. Arild N. Nystad, PetroManagement AS
Interesting topics around Optimizing Production Operations and augmented reality.
Interesting to see the future possibilities in the field. Although most of what was presented is available today I guess only the future will show if the industry will be willing to see the value and do the necessary investments.
The high quality of the presentations and the discussions between participants and presenters. Very relevant and to the point. Christian G. Elmose, Siemens Industry Software A/S
The attempt to show actual business value for operations in the different systems.
Cross section of relevant industry players. I liked Karl's comments after each presentation. All in all a well run event. VisCo
Finding Petroleum - Transforming Offshore Operations with Data, Dec 3 2015
13
Increased production through better utilization of production system bottlenecks. ProductionCompass: A new decision support tool for your production engineer OPTIMIZE your daily production The oil industry has come a long way in establishing efficient production routines. However, there is still a great potential to squeeze out more barrels by making fine-tuned production decisions on a daily basis.
“SIMPLIFY & AUTOMATE”
Solution Seeker presents a novel concept aimed at extracting this untapped potential. An annual production increase of 1-2 % can sum up to more than USD 60 mill (500 million NOK) for a single large asset. A recent study on actual production data from a typical field in Norway showed that one single recommendation from ProductionCompass would have resulted in additional production worth USD 15 000 (120 000 NOK) per day.
The innovation lies in better utilization of historical and real-time production data through advanced analytics, data learning techniques and a smart simplification of the production optimization problem. This enables a higher degree of tailor made automation and better decision support for your expert personnel, ensuring continuous and sustainable use of the technology, available to a broader user base.
MORE INFORMATION in your data
Acknowledge the UNCERTAINTY
It is a well-established fact that gathering information about your production system can be very costly, e.g. performing shutdown well tests or installing expensive multiphase meters. Updated and accurate information is a prerequisite for rate allocation and being able to perform daily production optimization.
How wells respond to operational change is inherently uncertain. Solution Seeker acknowledges this uncertainty, and is developing innovative ways to calculate and represent this uncertainty in the recommendations to better assist decision makers in oil producing assets.
Solution Seeker has developed a neat set of concepts and tools that aim to reduce the cost of gathering information about your production without the need to invest in any new and expensive hardware, made possible through the application of “big data” and machine learning techniques.
Preliminary tests of ProductionCompass have already shown how uncertainty gives the information another dimension, and ultimately helps oil companies to save money, e.g. by cutting shutdown test lengths or better utilizing test separator capacity.
