Page 57: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Apr/May 2013)

56 58

Operations

UK operations manager. However,

Eyebrow some of this existing infrastructure is around 40 years old and past its intended life span.

“I frmly believe there are another 20-30 years left in the SNS, if not beyond,” he said. “We have assets that are 40 years old and we want them to carry on for another 15-20 years. This does add costs. Integrity management in the SNS is about looking after a large number of assets, many unmanned, which makes the job harder.”

ONEgas, which has 90 produc- ing felds and 50 jackets across the

UK and Dutch sectors of the SNS, produces 200,000boe/d.

Glycol desalination unit at

Ante Frens, ONEgas asset man-

Shell’s Bacton Gas Terminal.

ager for Shell, said to extend life production and cost are key.

“We stop producing when the linked platforms are being removed operated by Swift Drilling, a Van Es revenues start hitting the cost line,” as part of the ONEcal project, in a Group and Fabricom Oil & Gas joint he said. “So how do we extend feld joint development area operated by venture, was launched in 2011. life? One, beating down cost and, NAM with partners Oranje-Nassau It has automated pipe handling, two, increasing volumes.” Energie, NUON, Wintershall and reduced crane movements, and

Consideration of asset manage- EBN, including dehydration and requires just 50-60 people on board ment has led Shell to gradually compression systems. to run it, making operations on the reduce the scale of its assets off- In their place, a feld-wide pro- SNS’ smaller felds more economic.

shore in the SNS over the years. In cess automation system is being “There is no one ever on the drill the early years large platforms with introduced. This will enable the foor, it is completely automated,” manned processing were built – de-manning of all but one platform said Frens. “It is a way to get “big plants, big wells.” But this has in the group (K14-FA-1) remaining cheaper, faster holes in the southern evolved into unmanned platforms, manned. North Sea. These innovations are including monopoles and even “We don’t need all of it but we necessary to get more volumes out some structures without helidecks, need to maintain all of it,” said of the SNS and this is how we are as well as subsea tie-backs - reduc- Frens. “So what we are going to do going to extend the lifetime. It’s is ing the spread of assets needing is take a whole bunch of it away. what Shell is excited about and why maintenance right from day one. We are taking the pressure off, the we want to stay here.”

For the existing assets, Shell’s dehydration, big glycol systems. As GDF Suez E&P UK, which is strategy is also reducing what is a result, you can take the people behind the Cygnus fnd, also agrees infeld, said Frens. “What we are off. As a result, you can take the gas that securing cheaper rates for doing more is actually taking kit detection away for large parts, as a drilling new wells is crucial to the away. It is something we learned result etc.” future of the SNS.

onshore. It is called decomplexing. Shell is doing the same in the UK Pierre Girard, area development

Up-time is better because the more SNS sector, but here a new glycol manager E&P, said: “The size of kit there is, the more it breaks down desalination unit onshore is also the remaining operations means (and), the more leaks you have. helping unlock previously closed in we need cost effcient drilling and

Taking stuff off is often a better idea gas felds (see story, page 61). development solutions.” than trying to fx it.” To beat down costs, ONEgas also Standardization of developments

An example was on one of its decided that it was unnecessary would help, he said. But another

Dutch systems, operated by NAM to use large costly drilling units in challenge is access to infrastructure (a joint venture between Shell and the shallow and more benign SNS. for small felds. In the Dutch sector

ExxonMobil), with 16 platforms, Through NAM, it commissioned a it takes three months for an operator multiple satellites and 30MM cu new joint venture rig operator to to respond with full “sensible” terms m/d of processing capacity. have a new unit built specifcally and conditions, said Girard. In the

Facilities across a complex of for use in the SNS. The Swift 10, UK it can take months.

oedigital.com oedigital.com April 2013 | OE 5959 oe_sns conf_operations.indd 59 4/1/13 2:22 AM