ABB@Offshore Europe

Feature articlesImproving the production efficiencyof the UKCSSignificantly improving productionefficiency on the majority of the UKCS’sassets has become a key priority foroperators over recent years and thecurrent oil price has made this moreurgent.The Oil & Gas UK production efficiency task force has setthe objective of getting production efficiency up to 80% bynext year. Their analysis of the key contributors to productionlosses is summarised in the chart below:48%12%6%9%ABB has implemented solutions for many operators tohelp improve production efficiency in a number of the keycategories of loss. This article offers some suggestions forimproving production efficiency.5%Equipment reliability (failures and unplanned shutdowns)This is the largest cause of lost production and theimprovement actions are very varied, from improvedmaintenance practices and technician watch keeping roundsto changing control schemes and modifying equipmentto compensate for changing operating conditions. Theequipment responsible for the largest losses, within thiscategory, is compressors and in our experience a tenfoldreduction in failure / shutdown frequency can be achievedthrough a series of improvements that are straight forward,quick and low cost to implement.20%WellworkReservoir LossesAnnual ShutdownsPlantSource: Oil and Gas UK Production Efficiency Task Force.Plant Equipment Failure andUnplanned ShutdownsExportFlow assuranceProper handling of flow assurance issues is a prerequisite foroptimised production and reduced process variations. Welland pipeline monitoring is of vital importance, especially inpreventing blockages due to hydrate formation. Some of theapplications ABB have implemented in this area include: slugmanagement, active flowline control, well monitoring, sanderosion and gas lifts.Remote or integrated operationsOne example of the benefits of remote operations comesfrom ABB’s long term support of Shell’s Draugen and OrmenLange assets that started in 2007. Remote monitoring andintegrated operations is a key element of the ABB concept,giving authorized ABB personnel remote access to the safetyand automation systems from several remote monitoring andoperations rooms at ABB locations in Norway. This enablesABB to safely implement changes, troubleshoot, providesupport and carry out health checks remotely. An advancedcontrol solution for automatic choke control was implemented,reducing well start uptime by 75%.by Andy Hollins and Sverre Oliver Halvorsrød, ABB.“Ever since the start up phase in 2007,uptime at Ormen Lange has been morethan 99 percent for most months of theyear. Such high availability is unusualfor a plant as large and complex as this.We’ve invested significant resources incontinuously fine-tuning the plant, whichhas benefitted us enormously. Ourexperience from Ormen Lange tells usthat it pays to invest in optimization”Reidar Haugsgjerd, Process Control Engineer, Norske ShellTurnaroundsReducing the frequency of TARs and their duration tacklesone of the biggest causes of lost production. Many TARS arecompleted annually, the frequency driven by fixed equipmentinspection and testing intervals. There are many ways toincrease inspection and testing intervals including; Noninvasiveinspection of pressure vessels, extending trip testintervals, extending relief valve test intervals and other riskbased maintenance approaches. These approaches allowTAR intervals to be extended and workscopes to be reduced,managing the TAR costs and reducing the chances of eventsoverrunning.6 ABB@Offshore Europe ABB stand 3E 160www.abb.co.uk/offshore-europe