A new phase in Hydro’s developments in eOperations, or integrated operations, has opened.
Operators Øystein Morvik (from left), Vidar Karlsen and Kenneth Tvedt took part during the opening of the new operations room. (Photo: Vidar Hardeland)
Hydro is investing in systems to enable land-based specialists to support the process operators on the platforms, helping to prevent failures on equipment offshore. In Hydro’s operations room at Sandsli, advanced control systems and vigilant experts monitor 165 turbines, compressors, and pumps offshore.
Rotating machinery malfunctions on North Sea platforms can mean major oil and gas production losses.
“Use of new technology and work processes will help us keep equipment running constantly. This will contribute to considerable reductions in lost oil and gas production,” says Hydro’s director of Business Control and Improvements, Rolf I. Jacobsen.
The operators will support the field units and offshore organization in keeping the equipment in continuous operation.
“From Sandsli, we follow up the condition of over 30 gas turbines, 35 gas compressor trains, and over 100 large pumps on Hydro’s platforms on a daily basis,” says Jacobsen.
In the operations room, operators can monitor the rotating equipment used offshore, and through custom computer software, automatic early warning alarms can be set.
“If we discover something, we can warn the field units, and together we can implement initiatives to avoid the matter developing into a larger problem,” says Gunnar Nodeland, process owner for heavy rotating equipment.
The operators in the new operations room will cooperate closely with the crews offshore, and be an extra resource in the work to avoid production stoppages involving rotating equipment.
The opening of this monitoring system continues an extensive eOperations initiative at Hydro. Hydro also marked the opening of a new operations room for the operation and maintenance of fiscal metering stations at Sandsli.
The new operations room, for surveillance of 54 metering stations on Hydro’s platforms and at the Sture terminal, provides better quality surveillance and maintenance planning of the metering stations. Fiscal metering stations measure oil and gas volumes that are treated and transported from fields and platforms to ensure correct distribution among the various owners of the fields.
