Installations and topsides
Reflecting differing asset ownership profiles, operators see opportunities to leverage technology to make installations:
- more efficient (e.g. inspection and monitoring techniques, automation, improved reliability)
- development of, and use of unmanned facilities and innovative platform use for CAPEX and OPEX efficiencies
- capable to deal with multiphase fluids (metering), oil in water measurement and produced water treatment
Operators’ technology interest is focused more towards mature and late-stage development technologies. They can rely on an active and innovative supply chain developing and offering solutions.
Industry insights
- Technologies that support standardisation and enable lighter, smaller processing, treatment and compression systems are important for retrofit and future marginal developments
- Increasing levels of automation can unlock lower cost platform solutions and reduce Opex on existing assets
- Accurate and reliable metering is required to address ongoing monitoring and optimisation challenges.
- New membrane technologies alongside plant modifications and enhanced procedures are being used to improve and manage water treatment
- The majority of technologies are developed by vendors and are available ‘off the shelf’ or ready to be deployed
- There is a number of capable technologies under development to support field development (particularly compact floating facilities, unmanned production buoys and non-intrusive flow measurement)
Technology categories
Technology maturity
- Low-cost, reusable NUIs
- Remote monitoring and automation
- Compact/modular processing equipment (oil, gas, water)
- Versatile floating units
- Unmanned loading buoys
- Advanced (self-calibrating, non-intrusive) multiphase meters
- Heavy oil equipment
- Nano filtration, membrane technologies