A DNV GL-led subsea production systems (SPS) joint industry project (JIP) involving 20 industry players has made a major step forward in addressing this global industry with the first issue of a recommended practice (RP).
“The JIP group has made significant progression in standardizing the vast set of documents for designing, approving, manufacturing, verifying, operating and maintaining subsea equipment. The RP is an important element in DNV GL’s wider drive to streamline the global subsea sector and to increase efficiency, predictability and assure quality,” DNV GL JIP project manager, Jarl S. Magnusson said. “We are now in dialogue with oil majors in Houston with the aim to build an even broader international network collaborating and capitalizing on the joint work.”
Working together, the partners have invested considerable time to scope out and agree upon a set of typical SPS and functions with common terminology and a required minimum set of documentation between E&P operators and contractors. A first issue of the DNV GL RP establishing industry guidelines and recommendations is now available to JIP partners and will be publicly available later this year. The work has been performed in Norway but has an international focus, not limited to appliance to the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
“The collaborative approach to solving a common industry challenge through a JIP on neutral ground is the fastest way to develop a common global standard,” Halvar Larsen, Det norske subsea manager said. “Alignment between operators, contractors and suppliers and establishing a common understanding of the need for appropriate information have been interesting to witness through this JIP. In addition I see increasing interest from the industry and am really looking forward to using the results from this JIP in our next subsea project.”
Jan Ragnvald Torsvik, lead engineer of Life Cycle Information at Statoil and co-chairman of the project, is now operationalizing the draft RP in Statoil, implementing the RP result from 2014 with Statoil’s technical requirements for Life Cycle Information. This requirement will be adopted for new projects including development of the Johan Sverdrup field. Statoil is one of the first international E&P companies to implement the new standard.
“As a contractor, processing, handling and expediting various types of documents to and from suppliers, clients and third parties represents a significant portion of the man hour costs on typical subsea EPCI projects today,” Torgils Skaar, Subsea 7 engineering department manager said. “Aligning documenting procedures and paperwork will present marked financial savings and provide a higher level of predictability for the production, handling and administration of technical documents and time taken to undertake such tasks.”
The next phase of the JIP is now to extend the current scope of subsea production systems to also include subsea, umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) and to further address documentation requirements between contractors and suppliers. Phase 3 of the JIP will be run in 2016 and will include among other activities to identify an improved and shared solution for governance of information and a finalized DNV GL RP.
JIP partners include Aker Subsea, Centrica Energi, Det norske oljeselskap, DNV GL, FMC Technologies, GE Oil & Gas, GDF SUEZ E&P Norge, Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies, Lundin Norway, Oceaneering, OneSubsea, RWE Dea Norge, Statoil Petroleum, Subsea7, Subsea Valley and SUNCOR.