Deepwater Operations 2 - June 2012

Optimizing recoveryOne of Norway’s most powerful women, NPD Director Bente Nyland is in a position many would envy her. page 24

DEEPWATER OPERATIONS2nd edition – July 2012 / Published by Brodd Communication

INDU

STRY

08 STATE OF THE ART NATION / 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING / 38 INcREASEd- ANd ENHANcEd OIL REcOVERy

The OG21 strategy aligns the Norwegian petroleum industry around a common direction and ambition regarding technology challenges and opportunities. The main goal is to ensure a coordinated national effort on research, development, demonstration and commercialization. OG21 was established by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in 2001.

OG21 is divided into four Technology Target Areas (TTA’s) with their respective sub-strategies and visions:

OG21 – Oil and Gas in the 21st century

TTA 1: Energy efficient & environmentally sustainable technologiesVISION: “Become the most energy efficient oil and gas industry in the world”

TTA2: Exploration and increased recovery VISION: “Make the Norwegian Continental Shelf a leading technology driven province by 2020”

TTA3: Cost-effective Drilling & Intervention VISION: “Enable economic advancement for Norway the next 100 years through 1st class technology development and application”

TTA4: Future Technologies for production, Processing and Transportation VISION: Technology for safe and environmental friendly production from any field

The strategies can be downloaded at www.og21.no

Photo: Geir Otto Johansen - Statoil

Photo: Øyvind Hagen - Statoil

Photo: Statoil

Photo: Harald Pettersen - Statoil

www.og21.no

4 / brodd communication - july 2012

Solutions for the oil and gas industry

Siemens Subsea SolutionsEnabling enhanced recovery and reduced lifting costs

Operators are moving into deeper water environments and expanding oil and gas production into remote regions such as the arctic. Siemens is a driving force in making these field developments technologically and economically possible. With power supply from topside or onshore, in-field subsea power distribution, control, surveillance and processing technologies, we are en-abling field developments in the most challenging locations while improving recovery rates.

Combining this with advancements in engineering and quality for improved realiability and advanced monitoring, Siemens also offers best-in-class OPEX minimization. As an example, our industry leading subsea power systems integrate medium voltage switchgear, step-down transformer and variable-speed drives, enabling wider adoption of large-scale processing equipment in the subsea domain.

www.siemens.com/oilgas

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Solutions for the oil and gas industry

Siemens Subsea SolutionsEnabling enhanced recovery and reduced lifting costs

Operators are moving into deeper water environments and expanding oil and gas production into remote regions such as the arctic. Siemens is a driving force in making these field developments technologically and economically possible. With power supply from topside or onshore, in-field subsea power distribution, control, surveillance and processing technologies, we are en-abling field developments in the most challenging locations while improving recovery rates.

Combining this with advancements in engineering and quality for improved realiability and advanced monitoring, Siemens also offers best-in-class OPEX minimization. As an example, our industry leading subsea power systems integrate medium voltage switchgear, step-down transformer and variable-speed drives, enabling wider adoption of large-scale processing equipment in the subsea domain.

www.siemens.com/oilgas

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6 / brodd communication - july 2012brodd communication - july 2012

www.MaximizeRecovery.com

TWO AWARDSfor subsea separation:

MARLIM & PAZFLOR

Recent data from analyst Rys-tad Energy predict operators spending in the global subsea market to grow from US$bn 32 in 2010 to 75 in 2015. For the pe-riod 2012-2015 they expect to see 1600 new trees onstream, on top on the installed base of

4500 by the end of 2011.

Opportunities also pose challengesExpected market growth demands access to more qualified personnel. My concern is that the forthcoming growth starts from a high level, and qualified recourses are scarce. In the years to come I expect to see the demand for equipment and services way beyond the capacity of the supplier indus-try. This will cause challenges both for the operators and the suppliers. There are two ways forward, both necessary in order to be successful in providing industry needs and secure energy supply in accordance with the growing demand.

Access to funding for innovation and R&D Access to funding for innovation and R&D is of vital importance when recourses are is of vital importance when recourses are scarce. Lack of funding opportunities will scarce. Lack of funding opportunities will most likely result in companies spending all most likely result in companies spending all their available recourses on delivering prodtheir available recourses on delivering prod-uct and services as demanded by the maruct and services as demanded by the mar-ket. A triple helix model should be encourket. A triple helix model should be encour-aged, utilizing a tight cooperation between aged, utilizing a tight cooperation between government, R&D and industry. Incentives government, R&D and industry. Incentives for innovation and R&D in specified areas, for innovation and R&D in specified areas, e.g. IOR and technology increasing HSE pere.g. IOR and technology increasing HSE per-

formance and reducing manpower needs, should be prioritized.

Bringing new talent into the industryCan we bring unskilled and untrained per-sonnel into our industry in order to increase the volume of products and services deliv-ered and still have the high quality stand-ards and HSE performances expected and demanded? The challenge is not solved by industry alone. Governments, universities and training/education institutions around the world must prioritize to establish ad-ditional and more relevant education and training programs for students. Companies must have structured and professional in-ternal training programs to bring new em-ployees up to quality and HSE standard.

An extra effort should be applied to avoid «hijacking» employers from each other, and rather focus on bringing new talent into the industry. To recruit from your competitor, supplier or even customer is like putting out a fire with gasoline, it only makes the prob-lem worse. The worst case scenario is that the lem worse. The worst case scenario is that the cost of doing business becomes so high that it is not competitive. We can avoid it if we co-operate – government, R&D, education and companies.

Subsea growth:

How to make it happen?Just a few years ago, the subsea industry was in decline. Now it is back to full speed, maybe even in overdrive. Subsea markets will be blooming.

introduction / trond olsen

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TRONd OLSEN GENERAL MANAGER,NORWEGIAN CENTRE OFEXPERTISE SUBSEA

14 InsIghTRobots and drilling

– Should an accident occur, evacuation begins. Robots don’t care if there’s a fire, in fact, they can be deck hands that fetch water to put out the fire. They can be sacrificed, says Kenneth Søndervik at RDS.

20 InsIghTReservoir surveillance

– You assume a certain productivityand the performance of each layer when you manage a reservoir. You need to be able to determine how each layer is doing individually and this has inspired the development of new surveillance technologies, says Brock Williams at RESMAN USA.

42 nEWsMaking brave decisions

– When it comes to risk management, the important thing is that employeesand leaders have deep operative knowledge, so-called hands on expe-rience, says Norwegian Veritas’ Chief Operating Officer Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen.

we recommend

dEEPWATER OPERATIONS, IN ASSOcIATION WITH OG21

Maximized recovery means maximized return on investment. And FMC’s subsea separation technologies, combined with water injection and boosting, represent a whole new way to maximize the reserves you can economically recover across a wide range of challenging conditions. So stop leaving all that oil in the ground. Discover the results only subsea processing can deliver. Learn more at www.MaximizeRecovery.com

TWO AWARDSfor subsea separation:

MARLIM & PAZFLOR

dEEPWATER OPERATIONS, IN ASSOcIATION WITH OG21


inspiration / state of the art nation

WELL ANcHOREd. – The OG21 strategy is well anchored in the pe-troleum industry since it is established by tech-nology gap analyses carried out by the indus-try parties themselves, says Andreas Sandvik, director of OG21.PHOTO: STiG JArneS



In 2001, falling oil prices and the lack of new oil discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf, spurred the creation of OG21- Oil and Gas for the 21st Centu-ry. Initiated by the Minister of Petrole-um and Energy, OG21 is a research and development task force consisting of universities, research institutions and

operators and suppliers from the petroleum industry. OG21’s main objective is to assist the petroleum industry in formulating a na-tional technology strategy for added value in the oil and gas industry, as well as increasing the export of technology.

Andreas Sandvik, director of OG21, says part of their mission is to advise the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on the prioritisation of public R&D funding.

– We make recommendations to the MPE as to how the public R&D funding should be pri-oritised and used through the Petromaks and Demo2000 programmes, which are managed by the Research Council of Norway. The OG21 strategy is well anchored in the petroleum in-dustry since it is established by technology gap analyses carried out by the industry par-ties themselves. Petromaks covers most of the petroleum-oriented research including both long-term basic research and applied research,

while Demo2000 is a programme for demon-stration of new technologies, says Sandvik.

Five main areas of the futureAccording to Sandvik, the industry is facing various challenges in the foreseeable future. He mentions five key areas that need special attention in research and development.

– To ensure the continuing development of the Norwegian continental shelf, we are now focusing on the areas of subsea power trans-mission and distribution, integrity manage-ment technology, extended multi face trans-port, high performance subsea separation and real time condition monitoring technol-ogy. As we move further and further offshore, we have to develop new technologies to be able to operate in remote areas, for instance the North East Barents Sea. We also have to ensure environmentally sustainable opera-tions, says Sandvik

Senior Vice President of subsea and marine technology in Statoil, Bjørn Kåre Viken, elab-orates.

– Production on the Norwegian continental shelf started out in shallow waters and from there, expanded further north and further out. In areas with very deep water, the use of float-ing production facilities became favourable. From the time the first subsea production facil-ity was started back in 1986, the improvement

Norway is an industry leader in developing subsea technology for the offshore industry through the cooperation of a wide range of institutions. The joint effort has attracted international attention.

Success through collaborationPIA PEDERSEN, [email protected]

/ inspiration


and development of this technology has signifi-cantly improved. Thanks to the operators’ will-ingness to take risks and their courage to em-ploy new technology, we’ve seen rapid develop-ments in this area, says Viken.

Over the years the offshore industry has got a lot of attention, engaging a wide range of skilled and talented people. The manner in which the Norwegian government has organised activity on the Norwegian conti-nental shelf from the early stages has proved worthwhile.

– They wanted research environments in-volved from a very early stage. They facilitated this and made it happen through applauding innovative solutions and technological devel-opment, says Viken.

collaboration leading to a common strategyOne of the reasons OG21 has attracted a lot of international attention is that the effort has led to joint strategising. Institutions collabo-rate on various issues, deciding on the direc-tion to take and this is very beneficial for com-panies within the sector, according to Sandvik.

– The Norwegian oil industry has quite nat-urally taken the front seat because of the chal-lenges we have faced in the North Sea. We have to construct robust and innovative installations and have therefore invested in a lot of new tech-nology. This has been made possible thanks to the willingness to take risks from companies

like Statoil and Hydro Oil & Gas. The close coop-eration between the operators and the technol-ogy sector with active support from the govern-ment has been essential, Sandvik adds.

A fast-growing industryDuring the past few decades, the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea have been experimen-tal laboratories for the use of big gravity based platforms on shallow water, as well as in deep-er water with floating structures and the use of subsea installations. The Norwegian export of offshore technology is growing rapidly and has passed NOK 120 billion per annum, says Sandvik.

An increasing amount of oil fields discov-ered on the globe will be located deeper and

deeper offshore and in more and more re-mote areas. Subsea technology will become increasingly important and Norway is in a good position to take advantage of this, says Bjørn Kåre Viken.

– Statoil is ranked as leader in subsea tech-nology because of our advanced competence in the field. Over the years we have crossed some technology barriers and driven technol-ogy development in collaboration with sup-pliers. We see cutting edge work every day. We also find it exciting that companies we have worked with now are going global, says Viken.

Business opportunities Although the focus on research and sophisti-cated equipment is an important and inter-

inspiration / state of the art nation

»» A visionary government that applauds innovation and technological development.

»» Enterprising oil companies that have shown a willingness to invest and try out new technology.

»» collaboration among a wide range of institutions and a free flow of information.

FACTsa state of the art nation

Norway has become a state of the art nation in subsea technology. The essence behind this achievement involves three main factors:


esting aspect, Viken points out that it is nec-essary to remind ourselves of the fact that it’s all part of a strategy to develop business op-portunities. As we explore more remote are-as with more sophisticated equipment, the costs of intervention and maintenance will increase. It’s crucial that we are able to de-velop new technology with a high level of ro-bustness in a cost effective manner.

– So far, we’ve seen that most of the in-stalled equipment has delivered as promised. Our ambition is ‘Longer, Deeper, Colder’. Our strategy is to continue developing the tech-nology needed to innovate the subsea factory – a subsea processing facility on the seabed. I’m convinced that we will achieve this, Vik-en concludes.

/ inspiration

Q&A

»» What is OG21? – OG21 stands for Oil and Gas in the 21st century. It’s essentially a task force that consists of operators and suppliers from the oil industry, research institutes, and universities. OG21 was established by the Min-istry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) in 2001.

»» How is OG21 organized, and what is your objective? – OG21 consists of a board estab-lished by the MPE and a secretariat reporting to the board. The board reports to the Ministry of Petrole-um and Energy and advises how the MPE’s R&D funding should be used and prioritised through the Petromaks and Demo2000 programmes. We also act in an advising capacity for the government and the industry.

»» What is your strategy? – Our strategy is to encourage that all parties involved share information and work towards a common goal on na-tional technological challenges and possibilities in the petroleum industry. – We look at real challenges and col-laborate and cooperate to find a con-sensus based solution. We outline strategies for governmental practice and for commercial businesses. By following our strategy, you ensure you are in line with the national industry needs. The strategy has led to a co-ordinated national effort within re-search, development, demonstration and commercialisation. The strategy is divided into four sub-strategies, so-called Technology Target Areas (TTAs):

»» TTA1: Energy efficient and environmentally sustainable technologies. »» TTA2: Exploration and increased oil recovery (IOR).»» TTA3: Cost-effective drilling and intervention.»» TTA4: Future technologies for produc-tion, processing and transportation.

with ANdREAS SANdVIK, director at OG21

Bjørn Kåre Viken, Statoil

From the time the first subsea produc-tion facility was started back in 1986, the improvement and development of this technology has sig-nificantly improved.

cOSTS WILL INcREASE.– As we explore more

remote areas with more sophisticated equipment,

the costs of intervention and maintenance will in-crease, says Bjørn Kåre

Viken, Senior Vice Presi-dent of subsea and marine

technology in Statoil. PHOTO: STiG JArneS


In his work Rønnevik combines 15-20 year old seismic data with new informa-tion. – We do tests and gather new data, and then make use of the best analysis and processing technology. We’re a team, consisting of a number of specialists - who all complement each other. We con-sider ourselves a learning community

with a steadily increasing knowledge base.

Always searching for new technology– To be leaders within our field, we have to con-stantly be on the cutting edge of technology, says exploration Vice President Rønnevik.

Rønnevik explains that the company he

works for, Lundin Norway, is an avid beta us-er of the latest technology. The company also helps with financing, while experimenting with a wide array of the newest equipment.

Seismic experiments A good example of Lundin Norways techno-savviness is their testing of broadband seismic products. – We were the first ones to use them in 2009, and are currently using broadband seis-mic-technology from across an area of 2800 square kilometers. Again, this is a first, which came about after doing a test survey in the Sver-came about after doing a test survey in the Sver-came about after doing a test survey in the Sverdrup region last fall, Rønnevik explains.

High hit rate – We have around 40 percent commercial success. This is very good in an international context.

The company is behind 10 findings on the Norwegian continental shelf and uses NOK 2 billion a year on exploration. The secret is a balanced portfolio along with a high risk de-velopment strategy.

news / experienced exploration

SYNNE HEDLO, [email protected]

HIgH HIT RATES DEmAND bOTH ExPERIENcE AND NEW TEcHNOlOgy

»» The largest oil and gas reserves were discovered during the 1970’s and 80’s.

»» These discoveries have commanded large investments, research, development and comprehensive use of new technology.

»» Before 1995, 75% of all reservoirs were turned into commercial drilling sites.

»» The success rate for discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf has in-creased in the last 40 years.

»» The results the past 10 years have yielded findings in 50% of every well ex-plored. However, the number of findings has decreased by 33%.

»» Experts suggest that future findings in available areas will be minimal.

FACTscommercial discoveries

Addressing key industry challenge

- Integrity & Well Specialists

add energy is an international and independent competence house of Integrity and Well Specialists with three main business segments; Integrity Assurance, Well Management and Risk & Well Engineering. The company is an international provider of competence, software and software supported services and solutions to the energy industry. The vision is to be the preferred supplier of competence and innovative solutions in niches of the energy market.

→ Well Control Incident Response→ Blowout Contingency Planning→ Dynamic Multiphase Flow Simulations→ Environmental Management & Control→ Environmental Software Solutions→ Well Project Management→ Safety & Risk Management→ Crisis/Emergency Management & BCM→ Maintenance Management for licence to operate→ Equipment Reliability & Technical Integrity

Solutions→ Subsurface & Well Engineering→ Drilling & HSE Consulting→ Operational Support→ Training & Simulation→ Operational Consultancy Services→ Communication & Reputation Services

25 years of experience and commitment in creating and increasing value while maintaining the energy sector’s license to operate – well assured!

www.addenergy.no

NORWEGIANACCREDITATION

MSYS 001

To obtain high oil discovery hit rates, compa-nies need skilled and experienced exploration officers. One of them is a geologist and the man behind the so-called elephant discovery in the north sea last year, hans Christen Rønnevik.

ON THE cuTTING EdGE. – To be leaders with-in our field, we have to constantly be on the cutting edge of technology, says Lundin norway’s exploration Vice President Hans Christen rønnevik.

Addressing key industry challenges

- Integrity & Well Specialists

add energy is an international and independent competence house of Integrity and Well Specialists with three main business segments; Integrity Assurance, Well Management and Risk & Well Engineering. The company is an international provider of competence, software and software supported services and solutions to the energy industry. The vision is to be the preferred supplier of competence and innovative solutions in niches of the energy market.

→ Well Control Incident Response→ Blowout Contingency Planning→ Dynamic Multiphase Flow Simulations→ Environmental Management & Control→ Environmental Software Solutions→ Well Project Management→ Safety & Risk Management→ Crisis/Emergency Management & BCM→ Maintenance Management for licence to operate→ Equipment Reliability & Technical Integrity

Solutions→ Subsurface & Well Engineering→ Drilling & HSE Consulting→ Operational Support→ Training & Simulation→ Operational Consultancy Services→ Communication & Reputation Services

25 years of experience and commitment in creating and increasing value while maintaining the energy sector’s license to operate – well assured!

www.addenergy.no

NORWEGIANACCREDITATION

MSYS 001

insight / drilling


søndervik is Vice President of sales and marketing in RDS - formerly Seabed Rig. The company uses solely robotic machinery in the actual drilling process. Time is of

the essence during planning.– You can simulate each and every action,

thus gaining immediate and accurate in-formation regarding how long the opera-tion itself will take.

One concrete example is the logistics of using an elevator set up to move pipe of varying width. Usually this involves man-ual labor and resulting pauses to change pipe width. While this now takes approx-imately 15 minutes each time width is changed, on a robotic drill deck this pro-cess would be ongoing and automatic.

Another example is during the retrac-tion of drill pipe. Today this is dependent on the expertise and constant focus of the personell. Meters of pipe retracted over time varies during shifts and between teams. With a robotic drill deck you will know the exact rate per meter in advance, also guaranteeing that restrictions and regulations posed by operations and ser-vice companies are followed to the letter.

Health, safety and environment improvedMuch of the work in the North Sea can be both repetetive and heavy - thus increas-ing risk. When machines do these jobs, what used to be potentially dangerous can be done again and again without risk of personal injury.

– It makes crush and fall injuries redun-

dant. If something accidentally strikes a robot, the consequences are relative-ly minimal. Getting hit in the head with a wrench can be potentially fatal.

Robots can be life saving in the case of major accidents. Not only don’t they need to be evacuated, but they can keep working as long as this is possible.

– Should an accident occur, evacuation begins. Robots don’t care if there’s a fire, in fact, they can be deck hands that fetch water to put out the fire. They can be sacri-ficed, says Søndervik.

changing infrastructureOn a robot run rig, the infrastructure is different. Machines can stand clos-er together, there is less need for offices, rooms, hallways etc. Søndervik says rigs will become smaller.

– Robots and the way they move can be designed in a much more compact man-ner. When we shrink these elements, the size of the rigs themselves will shrink.

He is, however, aware that machines don’t last forever. They need service, and there are areas that require specialization. Human workers will, in other words, still be in demand.

Supporters of robotic drilling methods claim robots save time and money - also during the project planning phase. – You never know what is in the ground, but with robots you know how long the operation will take, says Kenneth Søndervik of Robotic Drilling Systems (RDS).

RObOTS AREEFFIcIENT

Kenneth Søndervik, Vice President of sales and marketing in rDS

If something accidentally strikes a robot, the con-sequences are relatively minimal.

What are the benefits of using robots in the drilling process?Kenneth Mikalsen, CTO in Robotic Drilling Sys-tems sums up which advantages one can expect.

01 INcREASEd EFFEcTIVITyRobots receive instructions for specific job duties, who they will interact with and who they should look out for. One of the largest areas of savings is how the machines inter-act with one another. The machines in the well communicate with those over the well, who then interact with geologists.

02 IMPROVEd HEALTH, SAFETy ANd WORK ENVIRONMENTAn oil rig is a hazardous workplace and platform worker’s jobs involve some risk.


/ insight

Q&A

»» What makes continuous Motion Rig (cMR) technology so «green»? – it reduces CO2 and nOX emis-sions by over half. The reason for this is that the time needed to drill a well is cut in half. Power consump-tion is also 25-35percent lower because the the rig moves continu-ously without stopping. There’s no acceleration and breaking involved.

»» How does cMR reduces the risk of oil and gas related catastrophes? – Since CMr moves continuously, there isn’t any pumping going on in the well, avoiding gas suction from the reservoir. This also pre-vents gasses from seeping to the top which can potentially lead to an explosion with consequences for human health and lives as well as environmental damage.

»» How can you say ‘cMR makes drilling geothermic wells sustainable’? – Today geothermic energy isn’t sustainable because drilling for energy is too expensive. By cut-ting drilling costs in half, you cor-rect those margins.

»» you also claim that ‘cMR technology will lead to increased expertise as well as business opportunities for green energy in Norway. How so? – if the norwegian offshore in-dustry would facilitate a trans-fer of technology and innovation, so that we can deliver competi-tive products and services, that in itself will lead to an increase in expertise as well as new possibi-lites for businesses in the green energy market.

cMR – GREEN dRILLING TEcHNOLOGy OF TOMORROW

Odd B. Skjærseth, WDP CeO

Minimizing accidents saves lives. Much of the risk involved comes from working at night, irregular work/sleep schedules and lack of sunlight. repetitive duties can lead to concentration problems and stress injuries. robots can take over these high risk jobs.

03 WORKFLOWnot all teams deliver equally when it comes to quality and performance but robots provide consistent results. They are also able to troubleshoot some of the potential human errors that can cause project delays. A need to evacuate in the event of an accident is pre-vented. robots work until the job is done.

04 cONTROLLING cOSTSit becomes possible to calculate the cost of

projects by measuring the amount of time a robot will use to complete a task. robots also provide information on which parts need shifting. An example of this would be discovering that pipe number 467 has worn threads and needs to be replaced.

05 FOcuSING ON THE PROcESSemployees can then turn their focus on what is happening in the wells with a sense of certainty that the job is being completed correctly. issuing commands means not having to think about how to do the job, it just gets done.

06 INcREASEd PREcISIONThe use of robots on the drill floor increases the precision and predictability of the drilling program.


ROBOTIc SySTEM AT THE SEABEd.

Unmanned seabed drilling rig installed at

the seabed in arctic waters. Drilling is per-

formed by a robotic sys-tem at the seabed, while the rig is connected to a mud, control and power umbilical from a surface

vessel. Because the drilling operation is con-

ducted on the seabed, the surface vessel has

flexibility in its position.PHOTO: rDS


Recently, West Drilling Products (WDP) created the world’s first virtual, fully robot-ic drilling plant. The plant uses Continuous Motion Rig technology, enabling drilling in all types of wells continuously.

By utilizing Continuous Motion Rig (CMR) technology, it’s now possi-ble to continuously drill, continu-ously circulate and to connect drill-ing pipes without halting operations.

The technology also enables the development of a fully robotic drilling rig which drills in all types of oil wells without the need for stopping during the process. The technology enables the develop-ment of a fully robotic drilling rig, which also has the potential to not only cut drilling costs in half, but also Co2 and NOX by half as well.

Odd B. Skjærseth, Mads Grinrød and Bjørn Eilertsen are the men behind the innovation WDP is now developing. Skjærseth is the com-pany’s CEO.

WdP virtually tested the technologyThrough industry collaboration costing NOK 20 million between Statoil, ABB, WDP and In-novasjon Norge, WDP was able to build the CMR technology virtually on a scale of 1:1. The virtual rig will be used in the designing and testing of future models.

The virtual machine becomes a realityWDP is now building the CMR Pilot project, in cooperation with Statoil, Shell, Conoco Phil-lips and ABB The oil companies will also con-tribute with financial support as well as opera-tional and rig management expertise. The pro-ject is partly funded by the Norwegian Research Council through the DEMO 2000 program,

achieving the highest funding for any one sin-gle project funded under this program ever.

ABB, a world leader in robotics, will deliver the robotic control and automation. Thus the CMR pilot will be the world’s first fully robotic drilling plant and will be placed at Ullandhaug in the Stavanger region beside today’s Ullrigg.

In cooperation with othersThose responsible for the development of the pilot are cooperating with several others to see the project through construction, fabrication and to get the Rig operating. The collaboration with Ullrigg and IRIS is essential for the pro-jects success. The research environment at Ul-landhaug is a world leader in drilling and wells.

– For our company, it’s important to uti-lize the oil clusters in the region, says Odd B. Sjærseth. The rig will be fully robotic and there will be no personell on deck. There will be no risk of personal injury.

The world’s first

VIRTUAl drilling plant delivered

insight case / drilling

»» The city of Stavanger, situated along the North Sea, is Norway’s oil capital.

»» Statoil, Norway’s largest oil company, has their headquarters here. Several in-ternational oil companies also have their Norwegian headquarters in Stavanger.

»» Petoro, who safeguards the business relations with the government’s involve-ment in the petroleum sector on the Nor-wegian continental shelf, is located here.

»» Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) is one of the largest exhibitions of it’s kind in oil and gas. More than 1350 exhibitors and close to 50.000 visitors from all over the world find their way to the exhibition.

FACTsnorway’s oil capital

Comparing the two actually reveals a number of similariti es. Compared to drilling, for example, the driller and driver are synonymous in that they both master rotati ng mechatronic

machinery operati ng in varying terrains, while relying on experience as well as support from more or less automated sub-systems. Furthermore, both rely strongly on effi cient, robust and safe systems since consequences may be severe in case of poor performance or accidents.

With our background from automotive development and experience from other industries the last ten years, we have learned that exchange of methods and soluti ons across domains is very valuable. A bold statement perhaps, but we believe that subsea could benefi t from the systemati c approach to product development that automoti ve has been forced to learn under extremely competi ti ve conditi ons. Future subsea drilling and producti on architectures will be more interconnected and require a higher degree of autonomy. They involve ever more sensors, actuators, soft ware and processing power. This will be true for both existi ng and remote future wells.

For example, In-Vehicle communicati on networks in cars, such as CAN and LIN, secure minimum copper wiring and full availability to important data – across supplier platf orms and according to agreed industry protocols. Every criti cal component or system module is conti nuously monitored and analyzed by an on-board diagnosti c system (OBD), and their status reported to the master electronic control unit (ECU).

During development or aft er a road problem a record (read black box) is available for asserti ng and learning. Subsea is currently moving toward this level of detail integrati on, realizing that getti ng there is a questi on of more than just standardizati on.

When the well and production system is properly instrumented and actuators of sufficient reliability and bandwidth are in place, extended autonomy through integrated automation is possible. A Lean Systems Engineering approach to planning and realizing new automation, such as within managed pressure drilling (MPD) or subsea well boosting, is desirable. Such a process should start with careful definition and analysis of customer needs, followed by clearly understood specifications where requirements are traceable and linked directly to FMEA’s, system architectures, and validation programs. Ownership to the requirements must be defined and compliance enforced throughout. This assumes tight cooperation between the field operator and suppliers and supports successful development all the way to the optimal system architecture. This may sound tedious but experience shows that such a coherent approach leads to the right product performance, cost and timing.

It is in such a context we believe Devotek can contribute with valuable competence: Cooperation with several different branches gives us a unique opportunity to bridge technologies between branches.

Safety actuator for BMW, Audi and Mercedes - and where the same concept is being used in other industry sectors as well

Control system for defl ectors used in the seismic industry

Badger Explorers semi-autonomous drilling probe

A few other projects where Devotek has contributed actively are

www.devotek.com

Which synergies may be found between technologically demanding solutions for automotive versus subsea oil & gas systems? Dr. BÅRD VESTGÅRDManager Technology

cONTINOuS MOTION RIG (cMR).

The new and faster Super Double

CMr Land rig from West Group.

PHOTO: WeSTGrOUP


Comparing the two actually reveals a number of similariti es. Compared to drilling, for example, the driller and driver are synonymous in that they both master rotati ng mechatronic

machinery operati ng in varying terrains, while relying on experience as well as support from more or less automated sub-systems. Furthermore, both rely strongly on effi cient, robust and safe systems since consequences may be severe in case of poor performance or accidents.

With our background from automotive development and experience from other industries the last ten years, we have learned that exchange of methods and soluti ons across domains is very valuable. A bold statement perhaps, but we believe that subsea could benefi t from the systemati c approach to product development that automoti ve has been forced to learn under extremely competi ti ve conditi ons. Future subsea drilling and producti on architectures will be more interconnected and require a higher degree of autonomy. They involve ever more sensors, actuators, soft ware and processing power. This will be true for both existi ng and remote future wells.

For example, In-Vehicle communicati on networks in cars, such as CAN and LIN, secure minimum copper wiring and full availability to important data – across supplier platf orms and according to agreed industry protocols. Every criti cal component or system module is conti nuously monitored and analyzed by an on-board diagnosti c system (OBD), and their status reported to the master electronic control unit (ECU).

During development or aft er a road problem a record (read black box) is available for asserti ng and learning. Subsea is currently moving toward this level of detail integrati on, realizing that getti ng there is a questi on of more than just standardizati on.

When the well and production system is properly instrumented and actuators of sufficient reliability and bandwidth are in place, extended autonomy through integrated automation is possible. A Lean Systems Engineering approach to planning and realizing new automation, such as within managed pressure drilling (MPD) or subsea well boosting, is desirable. Such a process should start with careful definition and analysis of customer needs, followed by clearly understood specifications where requirements are traceable and linked directly to FMEA’s, system architectures, and validation programs. Ownership to the requirements must be defined and compliance enforced throughout. This assumes tight cooperation between the field operator and suppliers and supports successful development all the way to the optimal system architecture. This may sound tedious but experience shows that such a coherent approach leads to the right product performance, cost and timing.

It is in such a context we believe Devotek can contribute with valuable competence: Cooperation with several different branches gives us a unique opportunity to bridge technologies between branches.

Safety actuator for BMW, Audi and Mercedes - and where the same concept is being used in other industry sectors as well

Control system for defl ectors used in the seismic industry

Badger Explorers semi-autonomous drilling probe


www.devotek.com

Lexus LFA - Where Devotek has

developed transmission actuation and

control system, has created synergies

which also advance subsea sollutions.

Which synergies may be found between technologically demanding solutions for automotive versus subsea oil & gas systems? Dr. BÅRD VESTGÅRDManager Technology


news / environmental monitoring

The leader of environmental monitoring in OG21, Helge Skjæveland, believes authorities may very well demand that all wells in Norwegian waters be monitored.

Predicts demands for environmental monitoring

The group Helge Skjæveland leads at Tech-nology Target Areas (TTA1), has set out to establish a national strategy for energy ef-fectiveness and environmentally friendly/sustainable technology in the oil sector.

The oil and energy ministry has previously initiat-ed OG21, as a coordinated effort within the petrole-um sector to combine education, research, innova-tion and commercialization.

The cold creates problemsNorthern areas of the Norwegian continental shelf are especially environmentally sensitive. Thus oil explo-ration in the Barents Sea has not yet been launched.

– Due to the delicate environment, the distance from existing infrastructure, its freezing climate and the ice in this area, cleaning up potential oil leaks would be very difficult. The risk of accidents must be reduced further before operations there can be allowed. But if this does happen, real time monitoring will be essential, says Skjæveland.

The main problem is that hydrocarbons take longer to break down in cold climates.

– Had the Deepwater Horizon accident hap-pened in Svalbard, the oil wouldn’t have been bro-ken down so quickly, according to the TTA1-leader.

Many of the oil fields in the North Sea are already monitored and controlled from land. This develop-ment will continue, and in the future the inclusion of systems and sensors on both the ocean floor and along oil pipes that discover potential leaks imme-diately, will most likely become standard.

Launching in 2015In 2011, Statoil joined forces with Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies on a project costing NOK 150 mil-lion. As partners, they are in the process of develop-ing the world´s first Environmental Management System for the oil and gas industry.

– We have partially tested this technology on the subsea level of the Norwegian continental shelf. An integrated environmental management solution will be ready for launch in 2015, says Mona Låte, head of R&D in Environmental Management in Statoil.

Låte believes there are huge advantages for doc-umenting environmental data in real time and in-tegrating the information in day to day operations.

– The biggest advantage is that we can discover small leakages earlier and prevent larger accidents.

Measuring changes in the environmentLåte says the company thinks in terms of life cycle processes when it comes to surveying the environ-ment. An analysis comprises facets of mapping, the exploration phase, the drilling phase and fur-ther operations. Statoil monitors Norwegian wa-ters with cameras and thermometers and observes changes in light, salt, electricity, turbidity and chemical parameters. Off the coast of Brazil, the company monitors algae calcium deposits to keep track of environmental changes.

– The deposits change colors when they experience stress and are an early warning if something is wrong.


had the Deepwater horizon accident happened in svalbard, the oil wouldn’t have been broken down so quickly.

»» One of the main priorities of the Norwegian Petrole-um Safety Authority for 2012 is that the industry has as a goal to prevent accidents that can lead to acute emissions. Considering the accidents with Deepwa-ter Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Montara oil field in Australia, it is clear that prevention of large accidents starts with the surrounding environment. This is why the Authority authority encourages all forms of preventative measures.

FACTsnorwegian petroleum safety authority

Helge Skjæveland,OG21

Innovative research and future value creationIncreased oil recovery has been one of IRIS’ (Internati onal Research Insti tute of Stavanger) key research areas for years.

Increased oil recoveryIncreased oil recovery at IRIS covers both reservoir technology, drilling- and well technology - two areas where technology- and environmental research are linked together.

The goal of our research is to contribute to increased oil recovery and at the same ti me keeping safety, environment and cost effi ciency as a top priority. To improve the fi nancial feasibility and minimize the environmental impacts, are two sides of the same coin, Berg explains.

The research insti tute was a key actor in transforming the drilling industry from a manual to a mechanical workplace. It’s now playing a similar role as the industry moves towards automated drilling. An automated approach enables fast and reliable early detecti on systems that prevent blowouts or other industry problems that cause costly disrupti ons in producti on. New downhole sensors provide more data to be processed and analyzed in real ti me and is highly suitable for decision making, says Berg. We believe automated drilling is the future.

IRIS has developed two diff erent soft wa-re tools supporti ng the drilling process that are available on the market today- DrillTronics and DrillScene. One of IRIS’ daughter companies, Sekal, owns and provides services using these tools. Statoil recently signed a framework agreement with Sekal to use DrillScene for Statoil’s drilling acti vity.

Testing, training and developmentOutside IRIS’ headquarter there is a full scale drilling rig (ULLRIGG) suitable for testi ng a vast variati on of technologies - both hardware to soft ware. Testi ng in a real and safe environment helps shorten the ti me between research and development and its implementati on off shore. Currently ULLRIGG is beeing upgraded and modernized making it fi t to serve the industry for years to come.

Environmental safetyEnvironmental safety is a priority amongst all businesses in the off shore industry and IRIS has ongoing studies regarding the ef-fects of the petroleum sector on living orga-nisms, both in the water column and on the sea fl oor. IRIS, along with support from the industry, is developing innovati ve environ-mental surveillance methods and biological models to predict the eff ects of drilling.

-We integrate field observations with experiments involving fish, shellfish and coral while using biological models to gain further insight into the environmental effects. We supply a basis to create sustainable development in offshore activities, says Dominique Durand, Director of IRIS Environment.

Coral reefs are important to the entire ecosystem at deep sea levels off the Norwegian coast. IRIS’ researchers are interested in getting solid indications of what state of health the coral reefs are in.

-How deep sea coral will adapt to a changing world is still unclear but the combination of industry and increased CO2 in the ocean does put a strain on these ecosystems, says Durand.

New strategical developments lead to a strengthening of IRIS’ core research areas within oil exploitation. Together with the Norwegian Research Coun-cil, the petroleum industry and the European Commission the division is heavily involved in long-term theore-tical and operative projects, some of which have openings for new affiliates and sponsors.

The institute has an innovative profile and our role is to support the industry’s value creation, taking safety and environmental impacts into account.” Aina M. Berg, Director of IRIS Energy

fi [email protected] | www.iris.no

ULLRIGG is a full scale drilling rig used for testi ng , training and development.


Innovative research and future value creationIncreased oil recovery has been one of IRIS’ (Internati onal Research Insti tute of Stavanger) key research areas for years.

Increased oil recoveryIncreased oil recovery at IRIS covers both reservoir technology, drilling- and well technology - two areas where technology- and environmental research are linked together.

The goal of our research is to contribute to increased oil recovery and at the same ti me keeping safety, environment and cost effi ciency as a top priority. To improve the fi nancial feasibility and minimize the environmental impacts, are two sides of the same coin, Berg explains.

The research insti tute was a key actor in transforming the drilling industry from a manual to a mechanical workplace. It’s now playing a similar role as the industry moves towards automated drilling. An automated approach enables fast and reliable early detecti on systems that prevent blowouts or other industry problems that cause costly disrupti ons in producti on. New downhole sensors provide more data to be processed and analyzed in real ti me and is highly suitable for decision making, says Berg. We believe automated drilling is the future.

IRIS has developed two diff erent soft wa-re tools supporti ng the drilling process that are available on the market today- DrillTronics and DrillScene. One of IRIS’ daughter companies, Sekal, owns and provides services using these tools. Statoil recently signed a framework agreement with Sekal to use DrillScene for Statoil’s drilling acti vity.

Testing, training and developmentOutside IRIS’ headquarter there is a full scale drilling rig (ULLRIGG) suitable for testi ng a vast variati on of technologies - both hardware to soft ware. Testi ng in a real and safe environment helps shorten the ti me between research and development and its implementati on off shore. Currently ULLRIGG is beeing upgraded and modernized making it fi t to serve the industry for years to come.

Environmental safetyEnvironmental safety is a priority amongst all businesses in the off shore industry and IRIS has ongoing studies regarding the ef-fects of the petroleum sector on living orga-nisms, both in the water column and on the sea fl oor. IRIS, along with support from the industry, is developing innovati ve environ-mental surveillance methods and biological models to predict the eff ects of drilling.

-We integrate field observations with experiments involving fish, shellfish and coral while using biological models to gain further insight into the environmental effects. We supply a basis to create sustainable development in offshore activities, says Dominique Durand, Director of IRIS Environment.

Coral reefs are important to the entire ecosystem at deep sea levels off the Norwegian coast. IRIS’ researchers are interested in getting solid indications of what state of health the coral reefs are in.

-How deep sea coral will adapt to a changing world is still unclear but the combination of industry and increased CO2 in the ocean does put a strain on these ecosystems, says Durand.

New strategical developments lead to a strengthening of IRIS’ core research areas within oil exploitation. Together with the Norwegian Research Coun-cil, the petroleum industry and the European Commission the division is heavily involved in long-term theore-tical and operative projects, some of which have openings for new affiliates and sponsors.

The institute has an innovative profile and our role is to support the industry’s value creation, taking safety and environmental impacts into account.” Aina M. Berg, Director of IRIS Energy

fi [email protected] | www.iris.no

ULLRIGG is a full scale drilling rig used for testi ng , training and development.

PIA PEDERSEN, [email protected]

Without across the reservoir surveillance, these predic-tions are based on a lot of as-sumptions. The need for this information has inspired in-

novative technology development in reser-voir surveillance information.

– With the current state of technology it’s fairly easy to measure downhole pres-sure. It’s commonplace to deploy a pressure gauge right above the reservoir interval but in deep waters the reservoirs consist of a big package with a series of reservoirs. A down-hole pressure gauge deployed at the reser-voir interval will provide information about the rate of depletion from the whole reser-voir but not how each individual layer is per-

forming, says Brock Williams, General Man-ager at RESMAN USA.

– You assume a certain productivity and the performance of each layer when you manage a reservoir. You need to be able to de-termine how each layer is doing individually and this has inspired the development of new surveillance technologies, says Williams.

Good, but not good enoughOne solution is integrating fibre optic cable into the completion equipment across the reservoir but, according to Williams, this has proved elusive for deepwater completions.

– Fibre optics have been challenging to in-tegrate in deepwater wells. Electronic based temperature sensors have also been developed for deployment across the reservoir interval. Both of these require continuity to transmit the signal from across the reservoir to the sur-face. This presents a lot of challenges.

The production logging tool, also known as the PLT, is also an intervention based solution.

– This is a very good tool for understanding how each individual layer is performing. It’s a very sophisticated electronic device that gives good information. However, it can cost several million dollars to perform one survey and it’s a risky operation, says Williams.

Information is the keyTo enable operators to manage oil and gas res-ervoirs properly, enough reliable information is vital. With new, wireless surveillance technol-ogy, information gets through without the risk of damage to wires.

The surveillance technology monitors the inflow of oil and water. This is important in-formation, giving operators an important understanding of well performance from clean up to steady state production. They obtain the necessary data to manage their field strategy and update their well and res-ervoir models, says ed Leung, VP of Well Technology in reSMAn.

Optimal reservoir management involves predicting the flow rate and depletion rate of each layer within a multi-layered reservoir interval.

There are four ways to survey all the layers in a reservoir:

RESERVOIR SURVEIllANcE TEcHNOlOgy

insight / reservoir surveillancePH

OTO:

reS

MAn

Brock Williams, RESMAN USA

You assume a certain produc-tivity and the performance of each layer when you manage a reservoir.

20 / brodd communication - måned 2012

»» Fibre optical equipment, deployed into the completion equipment deployed across the reservoir.

»» Electronic based temperature sensors, also deployed across the reservoir.

»» PLT, intervention faced, deployed at the end of the cable while the well is flowing.

»» Wireless surveillance system using sensi-tive tracers without any communication lines necessary.

FACTsways to survey all the layers in a reservoir

We asked Brock Williams at RESMAN USA to fill us in on the topic of reservoir surveillance.

/ insight

– Without surveillance it isn’t possible to man-age the field properly nor maximise recovery. With reliable surveillance information, it be-comes possible to identify well integrity prob-lems or the location of water breakthrough. This enables operators to make informed de-cisions to work over the well knowing precise-ly where the problem occurs, says Leung.

New, wireless technologyToday’s technology involves communica-tion lines from the surveillance technology to surface. Wires risk being damaged or broken during installation. The reSMAn technology eliminates this problem completely.


– There is no risk involved with an inflow trac-ing system. instead of using fancy, electronic devices that could easily fail, we have intel-ligent chemical tracers that release either to oil or water which can be sampled at topside to determine what fluid is flowing where and how much across the production intervals, says Leung.

– We now have over 100 installations working flawlessly around the world since the system was successfully piloted in 2007. As long as the well flows fluids to surface, RESMAN will always be able to provide surveillance infor-mation, says Leung.

Q&A

»» Why is it important to have surveillance of a well, and extractinformation from all the layers? – Because gross intervals can exceed 1000 ft thick, if you have a pressure gauge on top of the package, it’s im-possible to determine each of these layers individually. In a typical deep water reservoir, the water displaces the oil. It drives the oil through the reservoir.

With water pushing through the rock, the water will at some point, start to enter the well. If you only have a sin-gle pressure gauge located on top, it isn’t possible to determine which layer is the source of the water pro-duction. Knowing which layer is the source of water production allows more efficient management of the water flood.

»» How does surveillance help the operators? – When you manage a reservoir you predict how each layer will perform. A lot of the predictions are assump-tions formulated before drilling has begun. Surveillance will help assess how good of a job has been done.

When a well is performing below expectations, surveillance informa-tion can help determine whether the cause is geology or completion effi-ciency. The root cause of the problem is then utilized to make changes in that and future wells.

»» How frequently do operators acquire across the reservoir surveillance in-formation from deepwater wells?– The majority of operators never ac-quire across the reservoir surveillance due to the current state of technology adds significant complexity and risk. This is spawning developments in wire-less reservoir surveillance technology.

RESERVOIR SuRVEILLANcE


How has the Norwegian offshore industry come so far?

Which aspects should be prioritized in order to become even more cost efficient?

What should the industry do in order to defend their market leader position globally at NcS?

continuously search for improved solutions and new technologies; stay attractive to the major oil companies. The industry should be a pioneer for oil industries in other parts of the world

continue the path developed since the late 1960’s: Be predictable, of-fer exploration incentives, active acreage management and possibly looking at the overall tax level as complexity (deep water, HTHP, re-mote etc) shifts more risks to oper-ators who should get return on this “know-how” based risk-taking.

The companies with the best inno-vative nettwork making the fastest and best risk managed decissions will win. Specialist competence have to be closer to the demand and the customer have to be even more demanding. Safety, efficiency and technology development is a win-ning stragtegy.

Since the oil industry began in Nor-way, the requirements set out by the government have challenged the industry, forcing it to continu-ously improve technically with-in the areas of organizational set-up and safety. The know-how and working attitude has contributed to a world wide industry.

A rich shelf and wise political de-cisions creating The Norwegian Model with a stable fiscal and reg-ulatory framework developed to optimize our shelf’s resources in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. Plus later tax incentives for exploration, license rounds, and our harsh environment requiring technological edge.

The demanding customer was adapt-ed by Statoil and later Gassco from the Norwegian Authorities. The people on the west coast of Norway has been used to adapt to changes over decades. A demanding cus-tomer served by suppliers willing to adapt, compete and find solu-tions is a powerful toolbox.

The number of dry wells needs to be reduced. Technology must be further developed and models to improve potential optimized. High activity level on the NCS dilutes the competence level. This should be given higher focus both with respect to safety and operation.

Fast track developments, subsea- and tie back solutions and life extension combined with trans-port-infrastructure developments, sourcing of cost-efficient capacity and skill from abroad, transfer of practice and standardization. And of course continuous R&D.

Standardization of technology off-shore and subsea will require more use of simulation tools and validat-ed models which will lead to more cost effective technology and op-erations. Operators requiring fuel efficency for offshore vessels wich will lead to a stepchange in global maritime fuel consumption.

sTIg h. ChRIsTIAnsEnCeO, Add energy Group AS

QUEsTIOns FOR ThE PAnELdeepwater operations

gUnnAR BIRKELAnDCeO, Polytec

TORMOD VEIBERg Drilling Superintendent, AGr

panel of experts / a recipie for success

www.resman.no

ONS, Stavanger, Norway

SPE ATW “Pushing the Envelope in Sand Control, Barcelona, Spain

Rio Oil & Gas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

SPE ATW ‘’ Integrated Intelligent Completions’ ’, Bali, Indonesia

SPE ATCE, San Antonio, Texas

SPE Asia Pacific Oil & Gas, Perth, Australia

AUG. 28-31

SEPT. 10-13

SEPT. 17-20

SEPT. 23-26

OCT. 8-10

OCT. 22-24

• Do you know if all your zones are producing?• Do you know where water breakthrough is occurring?• Do you know how your production profile is evolving over time?

Learn more about our intervention-less, risk free solutions.RESMAN will be presenting & attending at the following events:

If not, we can help.

For buyers - a free and open online service:Effective distribution and management of enquiriesGlobal Sourcing: update on potential suppliers, new products, services and technology

For sellers - with M&E membership:Listings in The Procurement Wheel to receive more enquiries from more buyers worldwide.Launching of new products, services and technology

Sign up for membership at www.maritimeandenergy.comContact: [email protected]

The New Procurement Wheel

www.maritimeandenergy.com

brodd communication / 23www.resman.no

ONS, Stavanger, Norway

SPE ATW “Pushing the Envelope in Sand Control, Barcelona, Spain

Rio Oil & Gas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

SPE ATW ‘’ Integrated Intelligent Completions’ ’, Bali, Indonesia

SPE ATCE, San Antonio, Texas

SPE Asia Pacific Oil & Gas, Perth, Australia

AUG. 28-31

SEPT. 10-13

SEPT. 17-20

SEPT. 23-26

OCT. 8-10

OCT. 22-24

• Do you know if all your zones are producing?• Do you know where water breakthrough is occurring?• Do you know how your production profile is evolving over time?

Learn more about our intervention-less, risk free solutions.RESMAN will be presenting & attending at the following events:

If not, we can help.

For buyers - a free and open online service:

For sellers - with M&E membership:

The New Procurement Wheel

www.maritimeandenergy.com


Bente Nyland enjoys her job as Director General of the Nor-wegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD). No wonder. Ever since day one, oil and gas reserve estimates have been on the rise. After a lull, new discov-eries have been made and in-

creased recovery is now possible even in old-er fields. – The high price of oil has made de-cisions to keep exploring and to develop old-er finds easy. Even discoveries from the 70s have now been developed and made profit-able, she says.

– Each day is different; there are always new challenges to deal with. Every discovery and every field is also different, so every solu-tion has to be tailor made, she explains about her job. Nyland, a geologist by profession, originally dreamt of going into biochemistry. At one point, however, she realized that “eve-rybody else” was thinking along the same lines, and changed her mind.

A passion for geologyInspired by other geologists, she decided to give geology a try. After one semester, there was no going back. – If there is anything I re-gret, it’s not getting into geology sooner, she says about her career choice. Oil and gas, however, was not yet on her mind. That hap-pened later. And at time of hire, there was a great need for geologists on the Norwegian

Continental Shelf (NCS), as there is today.– There is a lot yet that needs to get done,

Nyland says about future hiring needs. An entire generation of professionals will be re-tiring in the next few years, which gives her some concern. Alternatives include import-ing professionals, accomplishing more with fewer people or just plain doing less. For per-spective, 70 fields are kept in production to-day with the same number of people needed to keep 20-25 fields going twenty years ago.

Nyland is disappointed, however, that sci-ence and technology are not among kids’ top educational choices. With a solid foundation in the sciences, they’d have more choices lat-er. – It’s important not to close any doors, she stresses. She has great faith in teachers’ abili-ty to inspire—which is what happened in her own case. To her, good science teachers are crucial for future recruitment.

Teaching important– I emphasize teaching everywhere I go, to the point that I get tired of repeating my-self. Though, for many the topic is new. It is a complicated topic, but it’s important to assure the public that we are managing the resources wisely, that we are serious about safety and the environment, and that this is worth doing, she says.

Nyland loves a challenge. In fact, problem-solving is the favorite part of her job. – We [NPD] operate at the crossroads between poli-tics, administration and industry. Operating within that nexus provides perspective, she

explains. Decisions made here, often have significant consequences. Not too lousy when those consequences involve more money “in the bank” [Norway’s pension fund].

– You also come to have some understand-ing of political processes and ways of think-ing, she continues. – Technology and nature cannot always be managed through law-making, so finding the best possible solution is always interesting.

InnovationNyland especially enjoys watching solutions being developed at home, before being intro-duced on the global market. That includes subsea technology, which is now common-place. – We have accomplished a lot, she says. One example is developing smaller fields such as Ormen Lange, which requires long-distance subsea pipelines. – That will only be-come more common, she predicts.

Nyland has witnessed her share of inno-vations during her twenty-eight years in the profession. Production life-time has been ex-tended for many existing fields. Just one per cent increase means a considerable increase in production. Besides, improvements in seismic modeling make new discoveries pos-sible where they had been overlooked before.

– This is one of the most important recent developments, she argues.

Sharing the knowledgeYet another favorite is NPD’s involvement in Oil for Development under NORAD. For one,

Passionate about her work, NPD Director General and geologist Bente Nyland loves a challenge. After five years on the job, she is well-liked and respected. And with twenty-eight years in the field, she has seen her share of excitement.

A passion for oil

portrait / bente nyland

GUNN IREN KLEPPE, [email protected]

KEEP ALL dOORS OPEN. – it’s important not to close any

doors, nyland stresses. She has great faith in teachers’ ability

to inspire—which is what hap-pened in her own case. To her,

good science teachers are cru-cial for future recruitment.

PHOTO: STiG JArneS

/ portrait



she finds learning how other cultures deal with different challenges, very interesting. – You can’t just copy-paste Norwegian solu-tions to other nations and expect them to work, she points out. The fact that some de-veloping countries are starting to see some success, is very encouraging to her—especial-ly when it benefits a country’s entire popula-tion instead of a privileged few.

Any free time at all? – Yes, she assures us. That often means

reading for Nyland, who admits lagging be-hind. – Whenever I travel, the first thing I do is to find a bookstore, she continues. This summer, reading is first on the agenda. Trav-elling is also enjoyable, and cities with histo-ry are of special interest.

A different breed of touristAccording to Nyland, geologists prefer “exot-ic” destinations. This, to them, means areas with interesting geological features. Offshore geologists especially enjoy seeing geological features on shore, which they cannot other-wise see under water. This includes Svalbard and Greenland, where the continental shelf can be viewed above sea level. Spain is anoth-er favorite—not for the reasons most people enjoy the destination, but because of its geo-logical features. – If you ask a geologist for the most exciting destination worldwide, they’ll say the Bahamas. Its geology is just like that of the Barents Sea….

– Geologists have a terrible sense of time, she jokes. Short term means a million years,

long-term a hundred million. Nyland doesn’t worry about the near future, however. In fact, she is quite optimistic. – It all comes down to demand. What will future energy demands be like? There will certainly be a greater ener-gy mix. The question is how much energy can wind, wave and solar produce? I do see a grow-ing energy demand, and there is a growing population. Until we have efficient distribu-tion of alternative energy, oil and gas are quite efficient.

Forty more for sure– Norway should be able to deliver for a long time, but we are past the peak. Production is bound to decline, but we will see a long, slow decline into the future, she predicts. – Our re-

portrait / bente nyland


sponsibility is to make sure production goals are met and to increase recovery whenev-er possible. Once you shut down a field, the game is over. The question is profitability ver-sus costs. An important consideration is how long can you keep production going.

This year, NPD is celebrating its 40th anni-versary. – NPD will definitely be around for the next forty years, Nyland assures. – At the time when I took over as Director, the situation was quite dire. I suspected that I would be the one to close it down. Today, I am confident that this will still be an important industry after I retire.

So, how will you spend your retirement? – I see myself in Provence, enjoying a glass of

good wine, reading books I haven’t yet read, per-haps even painting a bit. We’ll see what happens.

40TH ANNIVERSARy. The nPD celebrated their

40th anniversary on June 14th with a “birthday party” in the canteen for

all the employees.PHOTO: MArie VOn KrOGH

/ portrait

You can’t just copy-paste norwegian solutions to other nations and expect them to work.

Born: 1958

Education: MS, Geology, University of Oslo, 1984

Experience: Director General of NPD since 2007. Senior Geologist since 1984, leader-ship role since 1989. Previously at Statoil (5 years)

In the news: Considered one of Norway’s most powerful women

profileBENTE NyLANd

What kind of leader would you want?

1Grow—and hire—future leaders.Trust and responsibil-ity foster growth. Show your people that you trust them and

give them responsibility. If some-body disappoints occasionally, bring it up separately—and in private.

Make sure you take time off!

2 Leadership does not have to equal 24/7 work. Show oth-ers the job can get done dur-ing regular office hours—

with minor exceptions, of course. Watch out for unnecessary extra work. After all, you have an organiza-tion whose task it is to execute the job. If you don’t limit yourself and take on too many responsibilities, you risk hitting the wall sooner or later.

delegate tasks!

3 This means you have to accept a job done differently than you would have done it yourself. Be conscious of

where you set your limits of accepta-bility. This is something you may have to learn as you go along. Be conscious of what tasks you delegate and which tasks you prefer to execute yourself.

Inspire people!

4A flat, hierarchical structure with cross-functional teams and few in top management works well for us, who have a

lot of projects going on. A short distance between team members and top man-agement inspires people and gives each person real influence.

Rotate leadership roles!

5This is important for pro-viding opportunities for ad-vancement within the organ-ization, as well as for provid-

ing dynamics and preventing rigidity. This organizational style fosters initi-ative but may not be ideal for the less independent individual.

TIPsBENTE NyLANd’S MANAGEMENT AdVIcE

Bente Nyland


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gas is compressed by adding energy to the well stream with a compressor. This adds pressure to the gas, resulting in low-er transportation costs and energy de-mands.

The driving principle behind subsea gas com-pression is to get more gas out of the reservoir. This is possible because of the naturally increased pres-sure at subsea levels, in turn making a higher de-gree of pressure at the receiving end possible. This also allows for postponing periods of lower capac-ity, but remains a constant challenge for instal-lations on the Norwegian continental shelf and many other gas producing areas.

Traditionally one has expanded the compress-ing facility on the platforms themselves. But at this point the gas has lost so much pressure that extra energy is needed in order to get the gas back to its original pressure levels for processing and transpor-tation. It is therefor immensely cost effective to com-press the gas as early in the process as possible, ex-plains Nils Arne Sølvik, Sales Manager for Pump and Subsea Process systems, WH, Framo Engineering AS.

– The trick is to use underwater compression in order to send as much gas as possible through the pipes and the processing facility. By compressing as close to the reservoirs as possible, in fact on the ocean floor, you increase energy at the point where there is least amount of decompression, says Sølvik.

Extremely robust and advancedCompressing gas right at the reservoir does create challenges, because unprocessed gas contains wa-ter, condensation and particles.

– We have designed an extremely robust com-pressor. It can handle everything from 100 % flu-id to pure gas. We are the the only company that

makes multiphase-compressors. Other solutions exist, but they need a larger subsea processing fa-cility to work.

Ongoing tests that compare subsea to top side compression, conclude that enormous savings and increased profitability are attainable by choosing the subsea solution.

– Modifying existing platforms is very expensive and isn’t as safe as a subsea solution. Ultimately we’re talking about making billions by going sub-sea, Sølvik explains.

The sophisticated subsea compression equip-ment is now being set up for use at Åsgard, Ormen Lange and the Gullfaks platforms, amongst others.

- Subsea facilities based on our technology don’t re-quire liquid pumps, gas separators or advanced pro-cessing equipment, and are therefor smaller, more cost effective and reliable. This is the most advance equipment Norwegian subsea industry has commer-equipment Norwegian subsea industry has commer-equipment Norwegian subsea industry has commercialized, something we are very proud of, Sølvik adds.

Advancements in subsea technology make the compression of gas in close proximity to the reservoirs possible. The savings are in the billions of kroner.

Expanding gas reduces the total capacity in the production system as a whole.

Compressing gas on the ocean floor gives enormous savingsCompressing gas on the ocean floor gives enormous savingsCompressing gas on the ocean

PIA PEDERSEN, [email protected]

news / multiphase-compressors

The trick is to use underwa-ter compres-sion in order to send as much gas as possiblethrough the pipes and the processing facility.

»» By compressing on the platforms, the gas loses a lot of pressure and extra energy is required to return the gas to it’s original pressure level. gas to it’s original pressure level.

»» By compressing gas on the ocean floorBy compressing gas on the ocean floor, you are only expending energy where the least amount of decomexpending energy where the least amount of decom-pression has occurred.pression has occurred.

»» Through the use of subsea gas compression,Through the use of subsea gas compression, Gullfaks C has seen an increase in exploits from 62% to 74%.C has seen an increase in exploits from 62% to 74%.

FACTsfactoids

Nils Arne Sølvik,Multiphase compression expert


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This spring, KonKraft presented their recommendations on IOR and cost reduction. KonKraft is a collaboration between the Norwegian Oil Industry Asso-ciation, the Federation of Nor-wegian Industries, the Norwe-gian Ship Owners’ Association

and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions. The group had been assigned the task of drawing up recommendations based on a recent report on increasing recovery (the Åm committee). In order to accomplish this, task forces were established in the areas of con-tracts & procurement, reservoirs & wells plus cost reduction & strategy.

Their recommendations include initiatives within technology, subsea, standardized con-tracts, continued improvement, cost reduc-

tion and life-time costs. – Those are some of the most important areas, KonKraft Leader Hans Petter Rebo points out. One example in-volves reviewing and updating existing stand-ard contracts in order to reduce contract ad-ministration, enable more suppliers to bid on contracts, and reduce smaller companies’ need for such expertise. – It is about contract efficiency and cost reduction, Rebo explains.

The Norwegian model– There are challenges and opportunities ahead in implementing the suggestions, he admits. It will require effort on part of all par-ties involved. – IOR decisions are often time critical, he continues. However, he finds the Norwegian model of collaboration between industry and trade unions very useful. – It is time consuming, but you gain a lot when de-cisions are made—and it is a means to stay competitive.

news / konkraft’s recommendations


Increased recovery represents a number of challenges – and opportunities – on nCs. Despite an already high recovery factor, enormous reserves are left behind and possibilities for value creation are missed.

IOR: cHAllENgES AND OPPORTUNITIES

»» Technology/R&D and piloting»» Reservoir characterization and modeling»» Managed pressure drilling (MPD)»» Enhanced Oil Recovery measures (EOR)»» Standardized contracts»» Drilling facilities»» Standardized procedures and equipment»» Cost efficiency and continued improvement»» Life-time costs»» ROI and regulatory issues to increase predictability in decision-making.»» Subsea implementation, including main-tenance and modification (MMO). This also entails establishing a task force to identify pros and cons of different MMO models.

FACTskonkraft’s recommendations

Initiatives are suggested in these areas:

cHALLENGES ANd OPORTuNITIES. – There are challenges and op-portunities ahead in implement-ing the suggestions, says Hans Petter rebo, Konkraft Leader.PHOTO: KOnKrAFT

The drive to convert hydraulic subsea applications to electricity, with all the benefi ts this would mean for many oil and gas fi elds, has gone on for many years. Oceaneering Subsea All Electric is at the forefront of this progress with cutting edge products and solutions.

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Oceaneering Subsea All Electric’s product portfolio meets the expec-tations and signal the oil industry requires for future subsea systems; Expanded use of electric sensor equipment and electric valve actua-tors. Infrastructure for under-ice and ultra deep water applications are challenging.

The efforts are focused on Subsea Electrical Actuation, distributed electrical subsea power, and inductive-contactless-galvanic sealed connection of power and communication. As future offshore developments will be dominated by subsea solutions in deep water, we know we are moving in the right direction: Subsea All Electric!

Anti Surge Actuator

The Anti Surge Actuator (ASA) is a High End Electrical Linear Actuator with built in Fail Safe Spring Package for accurate operation and positioning of Subsea Linear Control Valves.

3Stab

This is a connector for easy and reliable connection/ disconnection of ROV Tools and Subsea Equipment where hydraulic energy, electrical power and communication are required or desired

Subsea Power Bank system

The Subsea Power Bank system is a distributed power and control system. It is the cost effective way of extending instrumentation of your existing subsea installation. The system have multiple connections and can be hooked-up to, and communicate through, the existing subsea control systems.

The Subsea Future is All Electric

Benefi ts of “All Electric”

Using the “All Electric” subsea technology will reduce the response time dramatically and produce higher control accuracy. It provides increased opportunities for acquisi-tion of control data for monitoring the status and condition of subsea equipment.

Systems can be used without hydraulic umbilicals which provides huge opportunities for cost savings and increased effi ciency. No hydraulic also means zero environmental spill.

Oceaneering Subsea All Electric is well prepared and ready to contribute to the future of all electric subsea fi elds.

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insight / flow assurance

INGER LISE WELHAVEN, [email protected]

subsea systems and pipelines on deeper ground and through long-er distances require new think-ing, new technology and saf-er systems. Over the last years oil

and gas production has moved from big tra-ditional platforms to subsea installations. Per Gerhard Grini, chief researcher in Statoil and leader of the OG21 expert group of “Future technologies for production, processing and transport”, explains:

– We are moving into areas with deep and ultra deep waters and harsher environmen-tal conditions with strong winds and high waves. In the arctic there are long distances waves. In the arctic there are long distances to shore lines and interaction with ice. In ex-ploring more challenging regions, we require technology that secures safer operations.

In the forefrontLeading the development of long distance multiphase transport projects like Tyrihans oil-dominated multiphase transport, Snøh-vit’s gas condensate transport and the heavy-oil solutions being employed at the Peregrino field, Statoil has put the company in forefront of the development regarding flow assurance and multiphase flow.

– We are working to extend our NCS ex-perience to offshore operations worldwide through development of direct electrical heating methods, hot tap and flow line tech-nologies and extending simulation capabili-ties of advanced pipelaying, Grini states.

New methods requiredInstead of being shut down, older platforms continue their operations today through the connection of subsea installations. That re-quires new methods of assuring technical standards . We achieve this through an in-creased number of inspections and by meascreased number of inspections and by meas-uring constructions, pipelines and process-ing equipment, according to Magne Husebø, technology director in Christian Michelsens Research.

– In addition to flow assurance there is a need for more complex subsea integrity man-agement as the current situation represents a lack of models, analyzing tools and sen-sor technology. Tomorrows subsea wells and processing systems will be equipped with a broad specter of sensors surveying wear and tear and other conditions of concern. In areas with colder water and bigger depths it will be difficult, if not to say impossible, “to clean up the mess” when the accident or leakage has occurred and the damage is a fact. Therefore, operating in these vulnerable areas gives the industry only one option: zero emissions, states Husebø.

Main challenges in Flow Assurance

01 LONG dISTANcESWith pipelines over long distances on the seabed, the surrounding temperatures may impact the temperature of the fluid mixture. 02 REducEd TEMPERATuRESWith reduced temperatures, hydrate and wax crystals may form which again may potentially block pipelines during shut-down scenarios. Under certain condi-tions, the wax crystals may bond in net-works to form a gel. A research project in norway is currently developing new mod-els for wax breakdown so that one may be able to model the restart process of a blocked (gelled) pipeline.

As oil and gas production moves further north and into more vulnerable areas, the focus on safer equipment and systems is getting even stronger.

Per Gerhard Grini, chief researcher in Statoil

In exploring more challenging regions, we require technology that secures safer operations.

NEW THINkINg, TEcHNOlOgy AND SAFER SySTEmS


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/ insight

03 MIxING OF SEVERAL WELL STREAMS Smaller satellite fields tied in to a larger fa-cility may introduce additional challenges in the form of chemical and physical incompat-ibilities between the streams. The phenom-ena of one stream consisting of water with dispersed oil droplets, and another of oil with dispersed water droplets with the added com-plexity of surfactants, not to mention the pres-ence of gas and sand, is extremely complex.

04 SuRFAcTANTSSurfactants tend to migrate to the interface between oil and water and may stabilize emul-sions. This may have significant impact on both the transport and subsequent separation of oil and water. A good illustration is vinaigrette, consisting of olive oil and vinegar. Under nor-mal circumstances these will separate easily.

However, if you add mustard powder, the mix-ture may stabilize because the mustard acts as a surfactant and migrates towards the oil-vin-egar interfaces. Normal crude oils are signifi-cantly more complex than vinaigrette.

05 ASPHALTHENESThis is one of a large number in a crude oil com-position, and are relatively complex molecules. Combined with other parts of the composition, such as resins or waxes, the surface chemistry of crude oils is still an area needing more funda-mental research.

06 SANdSand is a general problem worldwide. Almost all crude oils are mixed with some sand and this may lead to corrosion and severe damage to the pipeline.

Q&A

»» How has Norway managed to be in the forefront of this development, Kristian Sveen? – Olga, the market leading software for Flow Assurance, was invented in 1980 by IFE and has been developed over 32 years with the cooperation of both international and national oil companies in addition to other national research institutions. Both Olga and the main competitor LEDAflow are pro-grams of the Norwegian Flow Assur-ance Cluster and examples of what can be achieved by working with Norwe-gian research institutions.

»» Where is the main focus on current developments? – Multiphase flows in general are ex-tremely complex, and the modeling tremely complex, and the modeling of pipeline transport over kilometers of distance requires that the models are simplified. The main focus is now on improving existing models, to in-corporate more of the physics of the real flow. This research field is incred-ibly difficult. We are not dealing with rocket science - Multiphase Flows are much harder than that! – The multiphase flow models used in Flow Assurance today are to a large ex-tent based on simplified models. These models do not consider the effect of surfactants that are constituents pre-sent in most crude oils and tend to mi-grate to the interface between oil and water. This process may stabilize emul-sions which may have significant im-pact on both the transport and subse-quent separation of oil and water.

HARdER THAN ROcKET ScIENcE

Johan Kristian Sveen,Project Manager of IFE and FACE.

– Flow Assurance has been a key area for Norwegian engineering compa-nies for more than three decades. It all started with Olga, who is still alive and developing, says J. Kristian Sveen, Project Manager of IFE and FACE.



insight case / flow assurance

To ensure safe transportation in future pipelines it is of extreme importance to understand how the oil or gas act and react under conditions such as ultra deep or colder waters with low-

er pressure. – To do this one has to go down to micro and even nano level, says Johan Kristian Sveen, Project Manager of Institute for Ener-gy Technology (IFE) and Multiface Flow Assur-ance Innovation center (FACE).

– Surfuctant behavior at nano and mi-cro scale directly impact macro scale behav-ior such as transport in pipeline and subse-quent separation. Each oil or gas field is dif-quent separation. Each oil or gas field is dif-quent separation. Each oil or gas field is different when it comes to the product itself. Even oil coming from wells in the same re-

gion and connected to the same production platform can be of different quality and com-position, making it important to be able to predict mixture behavior or avoid co-mixing altogether, Sveen explains.

The challenging location of many of the re-cent field discoveries has required a need to im-prove the models for vertical flow in long risers and wells and over long distances on the seabed. With reduced temperatures, hydrate and wax crystals may form and potentially block the pipelines during shutdown scenarios, and pres-ently a large focus is put on these issues.

Real time measurementAt the moment numerical models may sim-ulate process equipment in 3D and time. However, the measurement technologies for laboratory and field have not enjoyed the same leaps in development. Sveen sees a need for radical change in sensor technol-ogy capabilities.

– Real time measurement improves our

Flow Assurance modeling has increased the ability to tie in smaller satellite fields to larger facilities. however, new discoveries far from shore and in deeper waters challenge current models.

predictive models and our general under-standing of flow assurance issues. This leads to robust multiphase flow measurement which may significantly impact field opera-tions and ultimately enable production opti-mization, he says.

Magne Husebø, Technology Director at Christian Michelsen Research AS, emphasiz-es the need for sensor technology.

– Next generation complex subsea process-ing and long distance transport systems re-quire new sensor technology for the overall operation management. Condition monitor-ing based integrity management will, along-side real time sensor input to model based flow assurance, be the back-bone for safe and reliable subsea operation, Husebø states.

This is a priority area for Christian Michels-en Research and the industry owned UPTIME Centre of Competence, through the estab-lishment of “Real-Time Risk Management” as a methodology for maritime and offshore operation and maintenance.

mODElINg OPTImIzES AND REDUcES RISk IN FUTURE PRODUcTION

LAB TESTING. Peter Anderson at insitute for energy Technology is watch-ing one of his experi-ments at the lab.PHOTO: iFe / MiKe TULLey

Christian Michelsen Research AS hosts the UPTIME Centre of Competence. The industry-owned centre is focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship within maritime and offshore operation and maintenance.

Together with the industry, CMR aim to fulfillthe new OG21 strategies.

cmr.no

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One of the biggest challenges for subsea electrical connections is water ingress and an eventual breakdown of insulation. For land installations, the connections to e.g. transformers or motors are normal-

ly straightforward, standing next to the compo-nent during installation. For subsea installations at the seabed, remotely operated vehicles (ROV’s) are needed. Senior researcher at SINTEF Energy Re-search, Sverre Hvidsten, says that avoiding water ingress during connection and operation is crucial.

– The equipment can be operated under extreme-ly high hydrostatic pressure and it’s challenging to avoid water entering the system during installa-tion at the seabed. Although the experiences with the subsea power systems in operation are gen-erally good, electrical failures are often linked to bad connectors. A worst-case scenario is a power outage due to a connector failure stopping pumps and compressors used for subsea processing. That would be dramatic, says Hvidsten.

Higher demands Because an increasing number of oil fields are locat-ed at longer step-outs and in deeper waters, the de-mands on electrical components are getting high-er. SINTEF Energy Research has several clients that are interested in research enabling the transmis-sion of higher voltage and more power at even high-er water pressures.

– Researching how to make electrical compo-nents work better under more extreme condi-tions is becoming essential. Equipment is now be-ing placed in deeper waters where it is submitted to higher pressure. High voltage equipment is al-so placed closer to and even inside the actual well,

which increases the temperature. It’s challenging to make sure that the components can withstand these demanding environments, says Hvidsten.

Extremely importantTo ensure a reliable supply of energy to offshore and subsea installations, the service performance of the electrical components is extremely important.

– We have, within a large research programme, built a subsea laboratory that is quite unique. What’s particularly innovative is the possibility of perform-ing tests at high voltage, high pressures and temper-atures simultaneously. We are able to make electri-cal tests up to 1000 Bar equivalent to a water depth of 10 000 meters. Using this facility we can find the best materials for e.g. connectors and penetrators and study how they function at high temperatures and under high pressure. I’m confident that we’ll find the best solutions to ensure smooth operations in demanding environments, says Hvidsten.

Electrical machines for subsea processing operating at the bottom of the sea are dependent upon a reliable supply of electric power. The insulation failure of critical connecting components could cause a cease in production.

The power of connectorsPIA PEDERSEN, [email protected]

news / subsea power

Research on how to make the electrical components work better under extreme conditions is becoming essential.

»» In 2011, a total of 12 power outages were document-ed on platforms on the Norwegian continental shelf ranging from less serious to acute/critical.

»» The most serious outages on Sleipner B and Alvheim FPSO lasted 20-30 minutes but production ceased for longer periods due to evacuation of personell and not knowing the root cause. Fire was initially reported on Sleipner B. However, later the cause of electrical fail-ure actually turned out to be a node error in the B&G system.

SOUrCe: WWW.PeTrO.nO

FACTsfactoid: power outages during 2011

Sverre Hvidsten,Sintef

NCE Subsea is an initiative by the subsea industry for the strengthening and internationalization of business, R&D and education. We bring together and coordinate activities for the Norwegian subsea industry, which constitutes a world leading environment for subsea technology. The experienced and team spirited NCE Subsea Cluster is the Future of Solutions.

THE FUTURE OF SOLUTIONS

www.ncesubsea.no

Looking for a supplier or a new job?View cluster companies at index.ncesubsea.no

Subsea

Research relevant for new offshore oilfield development with the ephasis on Increased Oil Recovery (IOR) requiring reliable, compact and efficient subsea installatios and components.

Main applications• Ageing and qualification of materials and components• Characterization and testing

Pressure vessels• From 0.08 to 2000 litres• Up to 1000 bar (dependent of size)• Temperature control -20 °C to 200 °C• Voltage 0 to 150 kV

Technology for a better society

Laboratories

Contact: [email protected]



A recovery factor of 47 percent at the end of field life, still means 53 per-cent oil left in the field, says Erik Skjetne, OG21 Leader for Explo-ration and Increased Recovery

(TTA2) and Leader of Subsurface Business De-velopment and Innovation at Statoil. At pre-sent, there is about 46 percent immobile and 54 percent mobile oil left in Norwegian fields in production. Mobile oil can be recovered mainly by drilling more wells in each reser-voir. Immobile oil, however, cannot be recov-ered using standard water and gas injection. – It is a different game, he argues.

Need for innovationThe 90s saw an increase in the recovery fac-

tor, and most fields have larger reserves than initially estimated.

– On average 68 percent, he adds. Howev-er, the recovery factor has since flattened and new technologies are needed to spur another increase. NCS has been a driver in advanced geo- and reservoir modelling worldwide. New developments include a tighter and fast-er integration of advanced geo-modelling, 4D seismic reservoir monitoring and dynamic reservoir simulation, where history match-ing is used to predict future production. Good models are crucial to optimize well location in complex or depleted reservoirs.

Still potential– Water injection has given rise to enormous value creation, Skjetne points out. Ekofisk, for example, initially had a 17 percent recovery factor without water injection. Today the goal is 50 percent and higher. – We know that new technology works. However, many methods that we know work very well onshore, have yet to be implemented offshore, he explains. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) goes beyond standard gas and water injection, typically in-volving chemicals added to water or gas based methods like CO2 injection.

– If the price of oil remains high, there is still a great potential for further improve-ment. We need new—and more efficient and environmentally friendly—chemicals as well as improved reservoir simulation to reduce uncertainty and justify the high cost of new recovery methods, he concludes.

NCS continues to be a world leader in oil recovery. While the global average is about 36 percent, the NCS average is now 47 percent. Nevertheless, operators on NCS are aiming even higher.

gREAT POTENTIAl FOR INcREASED REcOVERy ON NcS

insight / increased- and enhanced oil recovery

»» TTA’s goal is to «develop new technology to add 7.7 billion bbl o.e. recoverable resources and reserves, including exploration technology.»

»» NcS average recovery factor for oil has flat-tened since 2004. Smaller oil fields hold the same average factor of about 30 % as in 1992. Larger fields have increased from 35 to 50 %.

»» Subsea compression on Midgard should bring the recovery rate from 69 to 86 %.

FACTssome recovery facts

SOUrCe: TTA2

EOR & IOR methodsEOR – MOBILE OIL»» Polymer water flooding: increases water vis-cosity. Used extensively onshore in China. Several oil companies are doing or prepar-ing for offshore field tests.»» deep water diversion: forces water to find new paths. Under field testing, not yet im-plemented on nCS. Used extensively on-shore in China.»» WAG: alternating water and gas used fairly extensively on nCS. Foam: reduces gas mo-bility, postponing gas breakthrough in oil pro-ducing wells. Field tested.

EOR – IMMOBILE OIL»» Miscible gas injection: high pressure

PHOTO: FMC TeCHnOLOGy


/ insight

Q&A

»» your thoughts on new trends and the need for innovation? – One very important technological development on NCS was the use of horizontal wells and later multilateral wells. Now there is a need for new offshore well design in low produc-tivity zones. Statoil currently has an average offshore recovery factor on NCS of 50 %. The company is eager to raise the bar higher, so Statoil is plan-ning a new Increased Oil Recovery research laboratory in Trondheim to bring oil recovery to the next level.

»» What are the challenges? – The difficulty with new recovery methods is that field tests are extremely costly. Including field modifications, a field test to fully qualify a new method may cost in the range of 16.5-165 mil-lion USD. However, a greater change in drainage strategy is often needed to get a large increase in recovery. Ini-tially, oil production on Troll was not be-lieved possible nor was water injection at Ekofisk. Increased recovery is very much about decision making. Chang-ing the drainage strategy of a field typi-cally involves large capital and opera-tional expenditures. The decision maker wants to be sure that huge costs are justified by added oil production. There-fore, some of the technology that needs to be developed is to reduce uncertainty in predicting the effect of new recovery methods. There are two main paths; to reduce uncertainty and increase effect.

»» Anything else of interest? – Quite a few smaller Norwegian hi-tech firms are doing quite well inter-nationally. They will play an important role in future innovation. In fact, some UK industry representatives say they consider NCS to be more open to in-novative solutions than the UKCS.

INNOVATION ANd TRENdS

Erik Skjetne, OG21 Leader for Exploration and In-creased Recovery (TTA2).

gas injection gets out almost all the oil. »» cO2 injection: not yet tested on nCS, good results expected. Modifying existing oil platforms is very costly. Used a lot onshore in the US.»» Low salinity water injection: used instead of sea water to modify oil-rock interaction. A couple of field tests completed on NCS. relatively low cost and good in combina-tion with other methods due to reduced chemical consumption.»» Surfactant flooding: fairly well tested, quite expensive. reduces oil/water surface ten-sion. Oil recovery up to 98 percent in core floods. Needs fine-tuning.»» Microbial EOR: bacteria produce soap, reducing oil/water surface tension. Used for extended time at norne. record subsea

field recovery 60 percent, though MEOR effect hard to estimate.

IOR & PROducTION OPTIMIzATION – MOBILE OIL»» Reservoir characterization combined w/4D seismic to locate remaining oil. Sea-floor embedded fibre-optic listening cables pro-vide further seismic enhancement.»» Infill drilling—new wells in existing oil fields. Current most common method for increased mobile oil recovery.»» Advanced well solutions: choking inflow of water/gas in long, horizontal (or multilateral) wells.»» Subsea gas compression: adds pressure, in-creases production. Method approach-ing maturation, ready for field testing. High cost, high potential.



Fluid Control is a leading service provider for high pressure equipment, hoses, fi ttings and related modules and services to the oil and gas industry and other marine players in Norway.

We offer fl exible solutions to managing fl uid control equipment including new product sale, providing fi rst-rate inspections and detailed maintenance of hoses and fl owline products. From simple on-site greasing services to complete asset management, Fluid Control’s integrated Services provide value through services, technology and applied competencies, while safely adhering to established standards.

www.fl uidcontrol.no

The leader in Subsea Hoses, Umbilicals and High Pressure Equipment

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Fluid Control is a leading service provider for high pressure equipment, hoses, fi ttings and related modules and services to the oil and gas industry and other marine players in Norway.

We offer fl exible solutions to managing fl uid control equipment including new product sale, providing fi rst-rate inspections and detailed maintenance of hoses and fl owline products. From simple on-site greasing services to complete asset management, Fluid Control’s integrated Services provide value through services, technology and applied competencies, while safely adhering to established standards.

www.fl uidcontrol.no

The leader in Subsea Hoses, Umbilicals and High Pressure Equipment

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RuNAR RuGTVEdT HEAD OF OIL AND GAS AT THE FEDERATION OF NORWEGIAN INDUSTRY

development of the norwegian continental shelf / insight

Petroleum resources on the Nor-wegian continental shelf have created a basis for a highly com-petent and internationally com-petitive oil and gas industry. Oil companies, suppliers in col-laboration with research and educational institutions have

found solutions to demanding conditions at sea. Large, complex development projects have forged new technological solutions. Strict de-mands for energy efficiency and air and water emissions have produced world-class technolo-gies and products. The past decade, Norwegian suppliers have exploded onto the internation-al market. Norwegian suppliers dominate the market of drilling technology and the market in subsea production and processing systems.

Globalization and the supplier industryThe globalization of the Norwegian supplier in-dustry has accelerated the past two years. Large Norwegian corporations, such as Aker Solu-tions and Aibel, have built significant networks and technology environments in both Europe and Asia. This gives them access to cost-effec-tive resources as well as close proximity to in-teresting markets. From a Norwegian perspec-tive, it’s important that this core expertise from the tech sector and suppliers is not only devel-oped in Norway but also stays in Norway. Here, it’s important that the authorities, together with industry professionals, accomplish this through competitive university studies. Devel-

oping research environments in businesses, at universities and in research institutions will at-tract both Norwegian and foreign workers.

High demand and steady activityA continued high commercial demand on the Norwegian continental shelf is crucial for the future of many businesses and employment throughout the entire country. This concerns not only businesses and jobs in oil companies and in the petroleum targeted supplier industry but also other companies connected to the in-dustry. Investment prognoses for the next 5-10 years are steadily climbing. Next year, invest-ment on the Norwegian continental shelf will reach a record high of NOK 190-200 billion.

Access to new areasIt’s important in the long-term to continue to uncover new resources to secure steady and high production and activity on the continen-tal shelf. Without available areas, the demand for the supplier industry will dwindle accord-ing to reduced findings on the continental shelf. This, in turn will result in a diminished need for Norwegian based suppliers. Access to promising exploration areas is critical to es-tablishing new and bigger projects that will help develop future technological solutions.

Expertise and transfer of technologyExpertise and technology from the petroleum industry gives synergies for other related in-dustries. Kværner Verdal has, for example, ac-

quired significant contracts for the production of suspension for offshore windmills. Nexans in Halden and Parker Scanrope in Tønsberg deliver underwater electrical cables to wind-mill parks in Europe. Aibel and ABB have been awarded contracts worth billions building converter stations for these windparks. In the same manner that knowledge and experience from shipping was important for the develop-ment of the supplier industry in the petrole-um industry, today’s knowledge base supports future activity within renewable energy.

New technologyNew technology and innovative solutions are necessary for the development of new, profitable reserves and extracting the large potential in the increased development of the Norwegian con-tinental shelf. There needs to be an increase in goal-oriented research, as well as pilot programs like Petromaks and DEMO 2000. It’s critical that strategic areas of research and technology, point-ed out by the industry by, amongst others, OG21, are on the forefront for future initiatives.

It’s important in the long-term to continue to uncover new resources to secure steady and high production and activity on the continental shelf.

Runar Rugtvedt

Development of the Norwegian continental shelf has advanced technology and expertise putting production of oil and gas in Norway at a world class level in both extraction and energy efficiency. These technologies and services have become Norway’s largest and foremost exports.

Delivering technology the world needs

already 3000 usersalready 3000 usersE-lEarning and Wiki for subsea operationsSupported by major operators. User friendly and easy to acces.

Buy single license directly at www.subsea1.com or contact [email protected] for quotations or questions.

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Do you need petroleum well stimulationbut fi nd hydraulic fracturing challenging?

Fishbones stimulation system is an open hole liner completion that connects the well and the reservoir without the drawbacks of hydraulic fracturing. The system de� nes a new level of precision and e� ciency in reservoir stimulation. You can vertically connect the reservoir throughout a long well in one short pumping operation.

Fishbones operations are simple; Run the reservoir liner string as normal and set the liner hanger slips.

Circulate � uids with the rig pumps. A large number of small diameter laterals jets out from the wellbore to penetrate the reservoir. You will spend less than half a day of rigtime on an operation that does not require additional � uids or pumps. And you even get better productivity than traditional hydraulic fracturing operations in many cases.

Fishbones can be used with acid for jetting of carbona-tes or with non-reactive � uids for other formations.

»» What kind of expertise does a company need to have in place in order to make oil and gas production safe?– When it comes to risk management, the im-portant thing is that employees and leaders have deep operative knowledge, so-called hands on experience.– During any kind of system failure, obviously expertise is important, but it’s not the only fac-tor. It’s also important to make brave decisions. We have to be creative problem solvers while weighing the risks.

»» can you give any real world examples?– A classic example is Roald Amundsen’s South Pole expedition. Solid planning and good rou-tines, meaning the right expertise, contributed to the expeditions success. But equally impor-tant was making difficult and potentially fatal decisions during the expedition itself. The ac-cumulated knowledge and experience of the groups members insured that the right deci-

sions were being made. The result is well known and celebrated. Sadly, Scotts expedition, on the other hand, had a tragic outcome.

»» Incentives that reward employees who score well on safety are controversial. The suspicion has been that this model can lead to lacking safety measures being “brushed under the carpet”. Is the incentive-model ripe for discussion?– Issues regarding safety should be an ongoing dis-cussion. Not only for the sake of reaching todays optimal safety standards, but because this keeps the issue of safety continually in focus,in turn leading to advances applicable to an ever changing industry. With each generation, we learn more.

»» What is the best way of rewarding high safety standards?– The best reward is avoiding accidents, having safe work environments, protecting the compa-nies assets, and securing nature’s ability to pro-vide for the future.


news / expertice

When it comes to risk management, the important thing is that employees and leaders have deep operative knowledge, so-called hands on experiencehands on experience.

Making brave decisionsMaking brave decisionsMaking brave Expertise is always crucial, and especially when the system fails, says Norwegian Veritas’ Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen. But equally important is the ability of management and employees to make decisions.

Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen,Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen,Norwegian Veritas’Chief Norwegian Veritas’Chief OperatingOfficerOperatingOfficer

E-learning and Wiki for subsea operations.Supported by major operators. User friendly and easy to access.Buy single license directly at www.subsea1.com or contact [email protected] for quotations or questions.

already 3000 users

E-learning and Wiki for subsea operations.Supported by major operators. User friendly and easy to acces.


already 3000 usersE-lEarning and Wiki for subsea operationsSupported by major operators. User friendly and easy to acces.


already 3000 users



Do you need petroleum well stimulationbut fi nd hydraulic fracturing challenging?

Fishbones stimulation system is an open hole liner completion that connects the well and the reservoir without the drawbacks of hydraulic fracturing. The system de� nes a new level of precision and e� ciency in reservoir stimulation. You can vertically connect the reservoir throughout a long well in one short pumping operation.

Fishbones operations are simple; Run the reservoir liner string as normal and set the liner hanger slips.

Circulate � uids with the rig pumps. A large number of small diameter laterals jets out from the wellbore to penetrate the reservoir. You will spend less than half a day of rigtime on an operation that does not require additional � uids or pumps. And you even get better productivity than traditional hydraulic fracturing operations in many cases.

Fishbones can be used with acid for jetting of carbona-tes or with non-reactive � uids for other formations.

In the race to be first to the South Pole, Roald Amundsen was innovative. He wore fur instead of wool, used dog-sledges and placed markers to show the way back to base. Amundsen prepared for the unexpected, achieved his goal and led his team safely home.

Following in the footsteps of Amundsen AGR is innovative. From our step-change EC-Drill™ Managed Pressure Drilling system to our pioneering multiwell, multiclient rig campaigns, AGR adds valuethrough innovative solutions and services.

Visit our booth at ONS 2012Meet our experienced team in Stavanger – stand M1158 / H847.

AGR. Pioneering Achievements™

www.agr.com

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The Amundsen South Pole Expedition 1911

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Deepwater Operations 2 - June 2012

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Transcript of Deepwater Operations 2 - June 2012