Page 44: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Dec/Jan 2015)

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Lifecycle

Subsea

Preparing for a successful

Design Manufacturing Integration Operation 20K BOP campaign

Concept of Fabrication Installation & Maintenance operations con?guration & inspection

Assembly &

Vendor con?guration Equipment Critical spare Athens Group’s Daniel Marquez discusses why new 20K s the industry moves selection readiness testing management closer to the deploy- control systems require a new approach to specifcation,

Factory

A ment date for the frst

Risk acceptance System Management acquisition, operation and maintenance procedures.

blowout preventers (BOPs) rated to assessment testing readiness testing of change withstand pressures of 20,000psi (20K), there is a notion that these

Requirement Preservation & Finalize Re?ne new BOPs are “the same thing, just validation shipping operational operational bigger.” While technically correct, framework framework this vastly underestimates the true impact of this new technology on the entire drilling system. Ensuring successful drilling campaigns with 20K BOP lifecycle.

20K well control systems requires a new approach to specifcation, to the processes that defne the way acquisition, operation and mainte- equipment is operated and maintained, nance procedures. as well as the competencies and skills of

A higher pressure rating requires individuals in charge of the equipment. thicker bodies and bigger rams, The BOP is essentially a “last layer which lead to an increase in weight. of protection” safety system. Safety is a

OEMs may need to implement function of quality, and systems quality changes to material characteristics is provided through effective systems and design parameters to miti- engineering. Therefore, the new para- gate the weight increase, but the digm must be rooted in well-established increase in size also impacts the systems engineering principles. This

BOP control system in terms of means the industry must recast the tradi- control fuid pressure, fow rate, tional BOP lifecycle from an equipment and volumetric capacity. Additional acquisition focus to an integrated systems sensors and software will be engineering focus.

required to monitor and control the Systems engineering is a compre- more complex system. hensive “people, plant and process”

The design impact extends to approach that aims to maximize the other equipment on the rig that three fundamental quality attributes of interfaces with the BOP, including reliability, availability, and maintain- the riser system, choke manifold, ability (RAM) from a system rather than tensioners, riser handling, BOP component level. Based on the American handling, pressure testing equip- Petroleum Institute Standard 689 ment, and contingency systems (International Standards Organization such as capping stacks. The 20K document 14224:2006) Collection and

BOP is now an integrated system of Exchange of Reliability and Maintenance equipment, controls and supporting Data for Equipment: • infrastructure. Ensuring this new Reliability, sometimes referred to as system meets the safety and perfor- “dependability,” measures the ability of a mance requirements of the drilling system to perform its intended function, campaign requires a new approach within stated conditions, for a specifed period of time. This is often seen stated

Acquisition, operations, and as a probability, “the system is 99.9% maintenance procedures used on reliable” or as mean time between failure current generation BOPs may not (MTBF).

be appropriate for 20K BOPs. Photo •

Availability, sometimes referred to by Daniel Marquez onboard a drillship operating in

Angola.

as “uptime,” measures the ability of a

December 2015 | OE oedigital.com 46 046_OE1215_Subsea1_Athens.indd 46 11/20/15 5:40 PM