INDIA’s Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has surfaced as the star oil and gas performer at the Bentley Be Inspired Awards Ceremony in London, scooping the Innovation in Offshore award for enterprising software and performance modelling that enabled the production and exploration company to extend the lifecycle of its critically ageing assets.
With the oil and gas industry firmly focused on trimming the fat during 2016 by lightening operating and capital expenditure loads buckling under the weight of falling oil prices, ONGC’s innovation saw it emerge a winner from over 300 international submissions from 80 countries to a final cut of 54 project finalists competing for 18 category awards.
ONGC operates more than 265 platforms offshore India, most of which had reached their design life cycle of 25-years. In a low oil price environment, ONGC faced prohibitive asset cost replacement scenarios to sustain production.
Instead of replacing the platforms, the company carried out structural analysis using Bentley’s SACS and SACS Collapse software to analyse dent modelling, member/joint component strengthening, additional pile modelling and soil convergence.
This process enabled multiple analyses with parametric variations and optimized strengthening and mitigation measures for the platforms. Each re-qualification of the US$150 million project not only ensured continued oil production, but also avoided installation of a new platform at a net cost of US$25 million per platform.
The ongoing project added 10-15 years to the average life of each structure and extended production to 2013.
ONGC received the following citation for its award: “Facing the threat of declining production as a result of aging assets, this project was able to extend production to 2030 by requalifying assets for extended use.
“The team will reverse engineer 127 offshore assets to create SACS models, which are used to offset the effects of fatigue and degradation. By avoiding the need to build new platforms, the company made significant cost savings in a low-oil price environment.”
Related Articles
10/10/2017
28/08/2017