ONS 2010: New report highlights NPT causes and consequences
Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway -- A joint report issued by Moduspec and the Athens Group at ONS 2010 provides new insights on the causes and consequences of non-productive time (NPT) on offshore oil and gas assets.
The report, “The State of NPT on High-Specification Offshore Assets,” found that more attention to the commissioning stage and more resources allocated to training are the primary opportunities to reduce NPT.
Other key findings included the following:
• NPT impact: (a) Sailing delays (departing yard) cost between $12.2 million and $73.6 million for every rig delayed last (based on average day rate of $400,000; (b) operating (“go live”) date delays cost survey operators between $48.4 million and $2.4 billion (based on $80 per barrel mulltiplied by output capacity multiplied by delay duration); and (c) in 2009, the average annual cost of NPT for almost half (46%) of respondents was $26 million to $125 million.
• NPT causes: (a) yards lack the experienced personnel to fulfill responsibilities under the turnkey model (the report cited the five major offshore yards, which went unnamed). Some 79% do not believe the yards did a better job of commissioning topsides in 2009 than in 2008; 21% think they got worse. Taking back control of commissioning was the number one priority of drilling contractors and operators; (b) crews lack the right skill sets/had inadequate training; and (c) difficulties in recruiting, training and retaining qualified personnel to perform topsides risk-management, risk mitigation and problem-solving.
“Through this report, the industry has clearly identified the causes and costs of non-productive time for their high-specification offshore assets,” said Richard Sadler, CEO of Lloyd’s Register. “Drilling in deep water is clearly a challenge. It is likely to become even more challenging as new shipyards enter the offshore construction market – diluting the skills of the workforce – as the technology becomes ever more complex and as we venture into increasingly hostile environs to recover the remaining energy reserves.”
08/25/2010
