An influential discussion board of oil and gasoline operators with a vested curiosity in subsea operations is tackling the challenges of ageing offshore infrastructure by way of cross-industry collaboration.
Early experiences, because the discussion board was established by World Underwater Hub (GUH), reveal that it has been instrumental in linking end-users to the availability chain in a bid to beat obstacles and speed up options which may have a tangible affect on rising effectivity and lowering working prices in addition to security and environmental dangers.
GUH says that the discussion board helps to convey new expertise and innovation to market extra rapidly, benefiting the operators and creating new alternatives for the availability chain to capitalize on the worldwide subsea IRM (inspection, restore and upkeep) market, value over £3billion.
The commerce and improvement physique, which represents the UK’s £8bn underwater {industry}, established the action-oriented discussion board to offer a collaborative atmosphere for operators to discover the widespread issues affecting subsea operations. Challenges in areas corresponding to subsea management methods, effectively intervention, structural integrity, FPSO (floating manufacturing storage and offloading) operations and inspection of subsea pipelines and buildings have been recognized and firms with related expertise and applied sciences within the underwater provide chain have been invited to collaborate on fixing these particular issues.
“The depth of the peer-to-peer information sharing of 70 material specialists, from 13 operators, inside the discussion board has enabled us to determine widespread issues which affect on folks, efficiency and income,” Neil Gordon, chief govt of GUH commented. “The belief and transparency amongst discussion board members enable us to dig deeply into these challenges and achieve an intensive understanding of precisely what the issue is. We will then increase consciousness of the related applied sciences and companies obtainable within the provide chain and match the tip customers with the best corporations to collaborate on tailor-made options. It is a massively compelling proposition for our provide chain members in addition to the operators themselves.
“Given the long-recognized problem of really open dialogue round issues and efficient collaboration on options, relatively than merely a ‘speaking store’, the refreshing success of the discussion board has been eagerly welcomed by each operators and the availability chain.”
The discussion board has knowledgeable GUH’s occasions program and several other Subsea Springboard occasions have been held the place provide chain corporations have offered to a panel of potential end-users on new improvements with themes together with digital purposes for subsea inspection and the adoption of autonomous underwater autos.
“The GUH Operator Discussion board offers two key advantages. First, the flexibility to debate widespread technical points with different operators in an open discussion board and, arguably, the extra essential Springboard occasions which give the availability chain, together with important SMEs, direct entry to operators with technical challenges that they’ve potential options to,” Greg Jones, subsea lead for TotalEnergies E&P commented.
Autonomy is likely one of the success tales from the discussion board the place a key problem is adoption, specifically, of autonomous underwater autos (AUVs). A acknowledged barrier is assist for offshore trials which could be because of an absence of willingness, funds constraints or threat aversion amongst operators and low expertise readiness together with an absence of funding amongst provide chain corporations.
To learn the way to extend collaborative trials and speed up deployment, GUH held a information sharing session with a number of builders of autonomous expertise, adopted by a Springboard session the place giant organizations with confirmed expertise, and small builders, got here collectively to pitch their concepts. This was an environment friendly and efficient solution to enable operators to see early-stage concepts and supply speedy suggestions. This has culminated in a one-day occasion, to be held in December 2024, the place builders will show their autonomy capabilities utilizing real-life footage, permitting delegates onshore to see the newest era of autonomous expertise in motion in an offshore setting.
Most not too long ago, GUH organized a Splash Zone workshop the place 9 operators and eight member provide chain corporations converged at GUH’s HQ in Aberdeen for a workshop on the challenges of operations within the troublesome to entry splash zone – the realm the place tidal adjustments happen and waves hit the construction. With an actual want to enhance security and effectivity in inspection, cleansing, safety and restore within the splash zone, the workshop mentioned the problems and heard from corporations on new applied sciences and approaches being developed to cut back the danger of potential hurt to personnel, enhance knowledge administration and evaluation and exchange human intervention with robotics.
“The GUH Splash Zone workshop is popping out to be a not-to-be-missed occasion, mentioned Tim Eley of OceanTech. “For the primary time a number of operators offered this yr, which actually enhanced the general expertise for each operators and contractors. The chance to current as soon as and have that presentation seen by 15 or extra operators is invaluable.”
Future challenges to be taken up by the discussion board within the close to time period will embrace exterior inspection of subsea pipelines and buildings in addition to investigating how the administration course of for regulatory permits and consents could be improved.
Neil Gordon, chief govt of GUH concluded: “Whereas that is largely an oil and gasoline targeted discussion board, it’s essential to acknowledge that most of the applied sciences and approaches being developed may have purposes in offshore renewables in addition to within the protection and aquaculture sectors. This has been strengthened by the curiosity from offshore renewable builders and tier one contractors in our latest occasions. The cross-industry collaboration, pushed by our operators’ discussion board, will ship options that shall be relevant globally and in a number of sectors, creating new alternatives for our provide chain to diversify and develop exports.”
GUH’s Operators’ discussion board brings collectively senior personnel who function subsea infrastructure from the vast majority of oil and gasoline operators within the North Sea together with bp, CNOOC, CNR, Dana, Enquest, Harbour, INEOS FPS, Ithaca, Neo Vitality, Repsol, Serica Vitality, Shell and TotalEnergies.
