kogt uk innovations summer 2010
TRANSCRIPT
North Sea Business Contracts Valued at £3 Million Indicates Positive First Quarter
Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies (KOGT) is entering the summer in a strong position after securing a raft of new contract wins in the North Sea equating to a combined value of more than £3 million.
With 20 years of sector experience, KOGT’s UK team will design and build dynamic process simulators for three major projects awarded by international oil and gas companies over the next four years. Ongoing training and support will be given following installation as part of the projects.
Mark Baldwin, UK Sales Manager, at KOGT says, “We are very encouraged that interest in our products is now converting to contract wins in the North Sea and believe that this is only the beginning. Life cycle simulation is a proven and powerful best practice that helps reduce cost and improve efficiency in all phases of a field development project. We’ve been delivering these kinds of projects for many years internationally but we’re looking forward to taking more contracts forward in Aberdeen.”
The business secured in the North Sea follows the completion of three major operator training simulator (OTS) projects also worth £3 million. OTS systems now account for around 60% of KOGT’s overall portfolio of business and the division is currently working with a number of clients in this specialist area.
Mark continues, “We’ve recently completed a multi-million contract to provide an operator training system for the world’s largest floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) called Peng Bo, located 200km south-east of Beijing in Bohai Bay. The project led by ConocoPhillips and the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company was hugely satisfying since it was singularly the largest dynamic model KOGT has built to date.
“KOGT continues to be successful at winning business for challenging projects worldwide. Our innovative team and products are a winning combination and set us apart from our competition.”
Contents
WelcomeIndustry confidence picks up
NewsThe latest on LedaFlow®
Product FocusOverall flow metering systems
Career ProfileFrom Aberdeen to Bejing, Declan Fahy goes the extra mile for KOGT
EventsSimulation user seminar planned for Aberdeen
Solutions To Your Problems
Did You Know?
Summer 2010
InnovationsThe official newsletter of Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies in the UK
Welcome
With new dynamic simulation products coming on stream during this period, our service portfolio has developed at a time to meet the challenges of recovery at greater depths and distances from processing facilities. Contracts secured so far in 2010 have already exceeded our 2009 figures resulting in the need to grow the Aberdeen team by a further six members, with particular emphasis on multi-phase flow assurance skills. This is in addition to the current recruitment drive for qualified process/simulation engineers.
As reported earlier this year, after a decade of collaboration between Total, ConocoPhillips and SINTEF, our next generation flow assurance simulator, LedaFlow®, is now in its final stages of product release and field verification testing. You can read about the very latest developments in our feature below. When combined with our K-SPICE tool this provides a complete field simulation solution unique to the upstream industry sector.
Since the beginning of the year we’ve experienced an increase in demand for training of new operators and for
continuous assessment of existing competence. We’re in an ideal position to meet this demand with our generic oil and gas simulator or with customised operator training simulators (OTS). Both solutions are provided with full instructor training at our dedicated simulation and training centre in Westhill or at client sites on or offshore. We have also seen an increase in activity associated with the use of existing high fidelity OTS simulators to optimise processes and simulate plant modifications.
Catch up with us for more news in the autumn edition.
Mike ToppManaging Director (UK)Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies
NewsThe Latest on LedaFlow®
Ledaflow®, a product resulting from more than a decade of collaboration between Total, ConocoPhillips and SINTEF, has been further developed as a unique integrated tool for oil and gas engineers by the experts at Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies (KOGT).
And after years of refining this next generation solution through pilot schemes, the KOGT team is pleased to reveal it is about to become available to the UK and international markets. The product, which offers improved dynamic multiphase flow simulation, is expected to be released in phases over a period of time from July through to December 2010.
LedaFlow® exploits the power of high-performance computing to support decisions in real-time. It is seamlessly integrated with KOGT’s K-Spice® dynamic process simulation tool and suite of solutions for digital oil fields and integrated operations. Being based on rigorous multiphase flow models, it provides a step change in fidelity, quality, accuracy and flexibility over current generation multiphase flow simulation technology. It is built using detailed three-dimensional physical modelling and has been validated against the best available, most comprehensive experimental data.
Product FocusOverall Flow Metering Systems (OFMS)
David Cameron, Head of Technology Development, of Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies (KOGT), offers insight into the latest trends in OFMS
“KOGT has a long track record in supplying high-fidelity, dynamic simulators to major oil and gas companies world-wide. These simulators are used for process design/engineering, operator training, DCS check-out and production monitoring and decision support during field operation. All of these products and applications together support KOGT’S life cycle approach to dynamic process simulation.
“Over the last few years, a healthy market has developed for a specific type of online model-based application, namely virtual flow meters (VFM). Recently, however, a growing interest has been seen in field development projects going beyond the scope of a traditional VFM system and to integrate an even larger portion of the available measurements for flow metering and production allocation.
“These systems are called overall flow metering systems (OFMS) or production reconciliation systems. The aim is to integrate all available sensors in the subsea and topside systems – with the metering system fully functional during all operational
Industry Confidence Picks Up
Welcome to the second edition of Innovations, a corporate newsletter produced by Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies (KOGT) UK – part of KONGSBERG Group.
As reported recently by the oil and gas trade press, there appears to be increased confidence in the energy markets with plenty of good news about companies winning million pound contracts and investing once again in new projects. Although Aberdeen was relatively sheltered from the brunt of the economic downturn, spending in general was put on hold which affected North Sea activity, with many projects being delayed. At KOGT, we’ve had a positive first quarter which has seen our Aberdeen and Portsmouth offices receive a significant increase in enquiries and contract awards. Our life cycle simulation philosophy has been warmly welcomed by several major North Sea operators, resulting in business wins equating to in excess of £3million throughout their project life cycles.
KOGT is the only vendor currently able to provide a suite of proprietary tools that deliver integrated facility simulation systems and services through all stages of the asset lifecycle - from feasibility studies to operation and maintenance, with flow assurance throughout every stage. The company pioneered the delivery of integrated flow assurance systems and is market leader in supplying robust, accurate, field-proven systems – 80 solutions have so far been implemented world-wide.
A full update on the progress of the product launch will feature in our autumn newsletter, but meanwhile for more information or a demonstration on LedaFlow® please email Mark Baldwin, UK Sales Manager, at [email protected]
Innovations Summer 2010
Name Declan Fahy.
Job Title Process Simulation Engineer. What do you do? My job involves building detailed computer models of oil and gas installations, which can then be used to help companies optimise their processes, find bottlenecks, and train their operators.
Qualifications A degree in Chemical Engineering with Biochemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham.
Getting There During my degree I took a year long industrial placement with Rohm and Haas (now part of Dow Chemicals). I really enjoyed it there and so it was this experience which made me realise that I wanted to move into the industry once I’d graduated.
Following graduation I worked at a large international engineering company, Bechtel, in London, where I was heavily involved in process design and computer simulation work. I gained great experience in this role and it lead to me successfully applying for the post of Process Simulation Engineer at KOGT, where I moved to in February 2008.
Worst Bits Working with computers – they’re a law to themselves! And although it might sound exciting I’m not a big fan of flying in helicopters either. Fortunately I’ve only had to do it a couple of times, but flying to a rig off the coast of China is not an experience I want to re-live in a hurry.
Claim to Fame I was a keen cricketer in my school days, and as a result I was asked to take part in a demonstration game for the Prince of Wales before a county match at my local ground. As the Royal party were walking past on their lap of the ground, I sent the ball hurtling off in their direction, missing the Prince’s head by a matter of inches. The whole episode was captured by the local news cameras, and I think my mum still has the tape of it at home somewhere!
Perks of the Job I’ve been sent on projects across the globe and worked with a whole variety of people. I spent a few months in northern China, near Beijing, where I had the chance to visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, which were awe-inspiring.
Career ProfileFrom Aberdeen to Bejing, Declan Fahy Goes the Extra Mile for KOGT
Product FocusOverall Flow Metering Systems (OFMS)
scenarios – dynamic as well as steady state. Many of these projects incorporate complex multi-phase tie-backs, and hence variations in hold-up and other transient phenomena are key issues to consider when reconciling measurements over the whole production process.
“KOGT has developed a unique technique based on its high-fidelity, dynamic process simulators and using our expertise in real-time model based support tools for reconciliation of all measurement data from bottom-hole to the metering skid downstream of the topside process. Strongly connected to the dynamic process simulator model, the technique reuses the embedded know-how in the model on how the physical phenomena are connected, and all available measurements to estimate key flows throughout the production system. The technology component is called the production reconciliation system and includes a data reconciliation package and the KOGT dynamic process simulator model.
“The system calculates the estimated production and injection rates of oil, gas and water at all key locations in an oil and gas production facility.
It uses:• Measurements of flow, phase
composition, pressure, temperature, level and valve position
• Status signals for pumps and compressors and the set-points and modes for flow, pressure and level controllers
• A detailed dynamic model of the process.
It calculates:• Reconciled flows of oil, gas and water
that are consistent with both observed measurements and the models of the process
• Well flow rates• Export flow rates• Injection flow rates• Fuel and flare gas rates• The expected accuracy / uncertainty of
these estimated flows• Discrepancies between observed and
estimated measurements. These are used to detect sensor failures
• Key process and environmental performance indices – such as are required by ISO14000
“These calculations are done regularly: usually once per minute and this interval is known as the reconciliation cycle time. The frequency can be varied depending on customer needs, available computational capacity and available data transfer capacity.
“The reconciliation system is a powerful tool for allocating production to wells, detecting sensor failure and calculating high-quality estimates of production and environmental performance. The system communicates with the control system or the process information system using standard OPC protocols. It provides standard and tailored reports on production, well allocation, metering status and performance.”
For any further information on OFMS contact Mark Baldwin, UK Sales Manager, at [email protected]
The best place my job has taken me has to be Oslo, where the head office of KOGT is located. It’s a really lively, friendly city and the scenery is beautiful. On a sunny day there are few places I’d rather be than down by the harbour at Aker Brygge, looking out across Oslofjord and sipping a cold beer.
Advice to Others Being a process simulation engineer you encounter all sorts of challenges on a daily basis, so it’s really important to be committed to the job. If it’s something that really interests you, it can be fascinating and very rewarding. For me, it’s a varied and challenging job that definitely gets my brain working, and, ultimately, a very satisfying career choice.
Events
• The word petroleum comes from the Greek word ‘petros’ and the Latin word ‘oleum’ meaning rock and oil. Before petroleum was coined by German mineralogist Georg Bauer in 1556, people simply called it rock oil. The Chinese, who drilled the world’s first oil well in 347AD (a 240 metre deep pit using bits attached to bamboo poles), called it - and still call it - shi you, which literally means rock oil
• Kongsberg Oil & Gas (KOGT) has carried out dynamic simulation studies for around 20 years, and has gained unique insight through hundreds of projects with a wide variety of process systems and equipment. It uses dynamic simulation as a tool to improve process design and solve operational problems in new and existing plants
• KOGT operates from two offices in Aberdeen – the Bridge of Don office which houses over 60 KONGSBERG staff, and a state-of-the-art training centre in Westhill
• The typical cost saving to be made by having a KOGT operator training simulator can be around 10x the initial cost of the product
Did You Know?
Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies LtdCampus 1 Science & Technology Park Bridge of Don Aberdeen AB22 8GTtel: + 44 (0)1224 226 500 email: [email protected]/kogt
Solutions To Your ProblemsProblem
Flow assurance - slugging and hydrates
Pre-feed/concept studies
Detailed engineering studies
Commisioning - DCS checkout
Operator training systems
Production management systems
Training
Solution
LedaFlow®/OLGA
K - Spice
K - Spice
K - Spice
K - Spice/LedaFlow®
K - Spice/LedaFlow®
Various oil and gas training courses
Contact
Jonathan Teuten
Mark Baldwin
Jonathan Teuten
Donald Brown
Declan Fahy
Adam Ward
David Garner
Simulation User Seminar Planned for Aberdeen
Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies (KOGT) organises a number of seminars, to highlight its wide range of products, throughout the year. The most recent event was the annual Process Simulation User seminar, which was held on June 17 in Norway.
Due to its success in Norway, KOGT plans to bring this popular seminar to Aberdeen later this year, or at the start of 2011, for the first time.
The Process Simulation User seminar provides a great opportunity for existing and potential users of KOGT’s process simulators and process simulation services to find our more about the products, as well as meet the KOGT experts who are on hand to answer any questions.
The seminar will cover: • Online simulation • Production management systems and overall flow metering
systems • New product developments • Case presentations from users (guest speakers to be
announced) • Best practice recommendations for lifecycle simulation If this is something which is of interest to you or your colleagues, please email Mark Baldwin, UK Sales Manager, at [email protected]
For more information on other KOGT events please visit www.kongsberg.com/kogt