Managing asset integrity is vital for oil and gas companies and it is an important part in preventing safety and environmental risks. Following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, many oil and gas companies have been required to reevaluate their facility’s asset integrity to minimise risk exposure.
The oil and gas sector is becoming increasingly challenging and the search for new fields has expanded to greatly complex locations globally, and Australia is no exception.
Among all types of field developments, subsea developments have gained popularity due to the ability to reach greater water depth compared to conventional shallow water developments. But these water depths are becoming increasingly deeper and therefore it is even more important to pay close attention to risks during all phases of these projects.
Unlike other facilities, subsea assets do not provide the same level of direct control and can only allow for very little human interaction, but if an intervention is required it comes at a great cost. Despite this, organisations still need to manage these assets in order to both protect personal safety and prevent environmental risks.
Subsea developments in deeper water depths present increasing challenges with higher development costs including subsea installation, operations and intervention of subsea wells. At the same time, poor asset integrity management resulting in intervention or repair work further increase the costs of these developments.
Therefore, to avoid greater costs during the operational phase and lower profit margins, the asset integrity should be managed effectively from the design, construction, installation, operation, to the maintenance and abandonment phases. With the right combination of people, processes and technology the operator can safeguard asset integrity and maximise profitability.
Achieving asset integrity can be very challenging and the most common reasons why it often fails include non-user-friendly procedures, poor handling of management of change, lack of experience, incompetent engineers, human error and improper training. But most importantly, a lack of review during the design phase can challenge the implementation of effective management.
In subsea field applications in particular, new technologies, harsher environments, complex technical issues, high cost for inspection and intervention, limited inspection intervals and longer lead time for repair can have a negative impact on asset management.
In recent years, companies have started to accept technologies that can enable remote visual inspection. Innovative robotics technology and remote inspection systems can deliver safer, more cost-effective and more reliable solutions.
However, robotics in oil and gas applications is currently not seen as a total solution, and certified personnel is still needed to make a decision based on skill and experience.
Remote monitoring systems allow assets to be monitored continuously. They locate, identify, monitor and sanction defects within the assets being inspected which then allows maintenance teams to fix issues if required to avoid lengthy shutdowns if an asset fails. With technologies such as sensors becoming more affordable and robust, and with these sensors attached to standard equipment, overall asset health can be monitored more efficiently.
Management plan from start to finish
Many incidents in the oil and gas industry, such as BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, have highlighted how important it is to have an appropriate asset integrity management in place to foresee disasters and prevent them.
Although there are many studies on oil and gas asset integrity during the operational phase, only a few studies focus on the initial project stage. No notable studies have been carried out on the integrity during this important phase.
A subsea asset integrity framework requires the systematic and continuous monitoring of activities from concept selection, detail engineering, procurement, manufacturing, construction, installation, commissioning, operation, inspection and maintenance to meet asset integrity objectives. The ultimate aim of a framework is for the asset owner to demonstrate and prove that the assets are safe to key stakeholders.
A subsea facility integrity management plan can be developed during the project phase when the designer’s input and information on construction-led design changes can be obtained directly and can also be easily incorporated.
Subsea facilities are unique and require special attention because the equipment does not have direct and manual access. Specific precautions have to be taken at the design stage to ensure that the adopted design solutions will not compromise the long term safe operation and also to develop monitoring techniques that will allow conditions to be followed up, compensating for the lack of direct access for traditional inspection means.
Source: A Literature Review of Subsea Asset Integrity Framework for Project Execution Phase Ramasamy, Jeyanthi; Yusof, Sha’ri M.
