2010-08-12 - ABB is operating, monitoring and managing by remote the offshore oil and gas automation systems of two Shell production sites in the Norwegian Sea, including the world’s largest deepwater gas wells and longest subsea gas pipeline.
By
ABB Communications
The solution solves two of the biggest challenges currently facing the oil and gas industry:
a) how to keep up with the rapid changes in automation and information technologies, both of which traditionally require the presence of highly specialized engineers on site; and
b) how to eliminate the need for the costly deployment of these specialists at remote offshore and onshore facilities without jeopardizing productivity and safety.
ABB’s Service Environment concept was developed specifically to meet the rapid advances in automation and information technologies
Known as Service Environment™, the ABB solution has produced a successful response to these challenges at two of Shell’s biggest and most complex production sites on the Norwegian continental shelf: the Draugen oil field and the giant Ormen Lange gas field. The solution enables ABB experts to operate, monitor and manage the sites’ automation and safety systems from three dedicated ABB remote monitoring and operations rooms (ARMOR™) located onshore in Norway.
Through ARMOR and a 24/7 service desk, ABB is able to respond rapidly to field alerts, optimize, upgrade and evolve the systems, and collaborate on projects with Shell and authorized third parties, regardless of where personnel are located.
The solution provides Shell with high IT security, fast response times, a single point of contact for all automation issues, and access to around 60 ABB product groups and 400 engineers who are assigned to the project.
An essential aspect of the concept is the close and continuous collaboration between ABB and Shell to ensure transparency, clear communications and correct decision-making at all times, all of which is vital to achieving the sites’ production and cost targets.
As a result, Service Environment has kept Shell’s automation and safety systems operating in prime condition and at maximum efficiency since 2007, and has made a significant contribution to raising condition-based maintenance at the sites to an impressive 70 percent. Operations at the two fields have improved, reducing Shell's need for inhouse automation resources and competence.
Service Environment is a complete service and support concept for the oil and gas industry, customized to meet the operational requirements of each company.
ABB has a huge installed base of integrated power and automation products and systems at both Ormen Lange and Draugen, and has supplied the automation systems for the majority of the offshore oil and gas facilities in the region.
ABB Service Environment is widely relied on throughout the Norwegian continental shelf, with companies like ExxonMobil, Maersk Oil, Bideford Dolphin and KCA Deutag all benefiting from the concept.
Ormen Lange is Europe’s second-largest gas reservoir, located 3,000 meters below the surface of the Norwegian Sea. The field is located 120 kilometers offshore in sub-zero waters and at depths of up to 1,100 m. The gas is piped onshore to the Nyhamna gas plant (above) for processing, then pumped along the world’s longest subsea gas pipeline to England, a distance of 1,200 km, for distribution in the UK supply network. Image courtesy of Shell.