Seadrill has selected Kongsberg Maritime to deliver real-time monitoring systems that will enhance operability in the shallow water harsh environment operations planned for the West Hercules and West Phoenix semi-submersibles.
The technology will enable more integrated and remote operations, enabling migration of expertise from offshore to onshore facilities by digitalizing assets, personnel workflows and processes, and integrating service operators across disciplines.
Seadrill’s West Phoenix
Through the integration of the field-proven KONGSBERG Riser Management System and the KONGSBERG Information Management System, the delivery will significantly enhance operational availability and efficiency in harsh environments by providing real-time data acquisition, analysis, monitoring, and a holistic advisory system, which can assist crews to optimize the drilling facility and thereby reduce non-productive time (NPT) for more profitable operation.
The solution will enable drilling in more severe weather and wave conditions than would otherwise be possible – within the structural limits of the platform and specified load limits for the wellhead systems, and with adequate margins to accommodate environmental peak loads and possible incident loads. The system shall also be suitable for tracking of fatigue damage development of the wellhead system during drilling, based on the measured variable wellhead loads and specified fatigue resistance of the wellhead. Additionally, crew will receive guidance on how to position the rig relative to the wellhead, maximizing operability and safety margins in normal drilling and extreme/survival conditions.
Kongsberg Maritime will also introduce a unique new electronic Well Specific Operational Guidelines (eWSOG) feature designed to further reduce downtime caused by over-conservative paper-based guidelines required for dynamically positioned rigs. Additionally, by integrating across rig operations it is possible to build a live ‘eWSOG’ that considers the technical operative environment and parameters effecting the operation in both real-time and over a future time period. The result is a real-time and predictive solution that creates a dynamic view of the safe operating window, which can be used as advisory feedback to operations.
“The offshore oil & gas industry is on an upward trend, but operators are looking to squeeze margins to ensure that their harsh environment assets remain economic and profitable,” said Stene Førsund, EVP Global Sales & Marketing, Kongsberg Maritime. “Keeping rigs operational is of course the top priority, so we focus on improving safety in operation and reducing non-productive time (NPT). Both rely on keeping the rig in position during drilling and well bore operations while actively monitoring for deviations, and it is here that our real-time monitoring solutions and advisory service deliver significant return on investment.”
“Much of the key equipment on West Hercules and West Phoenix, including Dynamic Positioning and automation systems, and well bore and drilling operations are provided by Kongsberg Maritime and Kongsberg Digital,” adds Førsund. “By introducing our sophisticated real-time monitoring system and advisory services, the impact of integration across-disciplines and services with respect to managing rig up-time and staying safe during operations is significant.”