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Production

BP’s renewal program addresses cooling upgrades; crane replacement, integrity, reliability, and establishes a and boom rest change out. more sustainable operating model.

Sandavol says: “The main challenges

Brent Alpha platform. Oil is exported will be the readiness in an extremely via a pipeline to the Ninian Central busy environment; live-operations platform. environment; aligning and integrating

BP and contractor workforces, on and offshore; sourcing, attracting, training,

Intervention

The MLXP workscope is non-shut- mobilizing, and retaining a safe and down-dependent and is mainly fabric effcient offshore team; minimizing maintenance, modifcation projects, non-productive time and improving and general maintenance. productivity in all offshore activities;

The scope will use 143 POB, over and scope prioritization and control of and above the existing core crew, change. working a 24-hour day over 12 months “The renewal program, with all the (totaling circa 500,000 productive life extension projects within it, will man-hours). About 30% of the extra need a lot of technical people,” he 143 POB will be “green hats” initially, says. “As we are not building any more requiring close supervision—strict beds, we will need to make sure all the processes of control of work (CoW) and bed space is used optimally.” simultaneous operations (SIMOPS) The MLXP will also introduce new will be followed. technology to improve operational

The increased staffng requires a effciency. fotel alongside, to allow for 450 POB BP is using R2S, developed by for work, and to increase the work in feld at a time, increased helicopter Aberdeen-based Return To Scene, an that can be delivered within the POB operations, and additional attendant asset integrity and management tool constraints.

An accommodation vessel will be vessel operations. using spherical photography—a visu- used, with fotel, jackup, and walk- BP will use the 1976-built semi- alization technology to provide a video to-work options available. Additional submersible fotel COSL Rival, with a of all areas of the platform—to create work will help increase production, maximum 400 POB, expected to arrive a “walk through” visual record of the through well servicing, drilling, and in feld in Q1 2014, and remain at facility. This can be used to view job

OE improvement modifcation/main- Magnus for 12-13 months. sites, carry out initial access surveys, tenance, to be performed prior to, dur- Drilling operations will be paused and allow personnel to familiarize ing, and/or following the campaign. during the campaign to simplify man- themselves with key areas, without

To establish a SOM, work will also agement and interfaces. having to make a visit offshore. be carried out to address specifc The three main projects included in The tool also reduces costs by issues, such as valve procurement and the intervention are: accommodation enabling improved planning eff- management and effcient maintenance refurbishment; drilling upgrades, which ciency—for installation of scaffold, for of rotating equipment. consist of a blowout preventer (BOP) example—communication and project controls upgrade, BOP crane upgrade, management.

A number of other technology

Magnus Life Extension Project (MLXP)

Magnus was discovered in 1974. It is options are being considered to reduce

The Magnus platform.

in 186m water depth in block 211/12, the execution time to do work (paint- 160km northeast of the Shetland ing and inspection techniques).

Islands.

ETAP Life Extension Project (ELXP)

It had 1.6billion bbls initially in place and has been producing for 29

ETAP started production in 1998. It is years, with peak production in 1990, at in 95m water depth in blocks 22/24a 176,000 b/d, 12,000 b/d gas condensate and 22/24b, 240km east of Aberdeen in and 60MMcf/d gas. It has an estimated the central North Sea. 900MM bbls recoverable and 500Bcf gas.

It is an integrated development of

BP’s estimated cessation of produc- nine oil and gas reservoirs, with six tion date is currently 2027. felds operated by BP and three oper-

The facility comprises a central, ated by Shell/Esso. conventional-steel, combined drilling It is currently the largest producer and production platform, with 190 for BP in the UK and Norwegian North beds. The feld contains a number of Sea region. It is also one of BP Group’s subsea producing wells. top 15 felds, in terms of value. Peak

Gas export is via pipeline to the production was in 2000, at 217,000b/d oedigital.com October 2013 | OE 59 058_1013OE_ProdOps1BP.indd 59 9/29/13 10:07 PM