Obsolescence is not a new issue for the offshore energy industry, however, it remains an insidious creeping plague, which hides in the wake of new and changing technologies to take everyone by surprise around 10 years into the system life cycle.
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Martin Belshaw is technical director at Semco Maritime. |
There are many reasons why obsolescence is becoming an increasingly significant issue for the offshore oil and gas industry and perhaps the most obvious is the prevalence of extended life operations. Many assets remain in production for over 25 years and their associated automation and control systems continue to be used well beyond their anticipated life expectancy. More than half of oil and gas installations in the North Sea fall into this category, and only about 15% have been decommissioned thus far.
Meanwhile, technology marches on; process functionality changes; the availability of spare parts declines, and eventually manufacturers and third parties are unable to provide technical support. This problem is further compounded as systems become subject to new demands and changes in industry legislation; products so affected by such events are often referred to as “mature discontinued.” In the worst-case scenario, operators may only become aware of any issues following a component’s failure. With the prospect of a fix weeks, or possibly even months, away the unpalatable result can be a significant unplanned downtime event.
So what can be done to counteract this “creeping plague”? With activity in the North Sea expected to continue until at least 2050, there is a clear requirement for those in the industry to take a proactive and systematic approach to the related issues of obsolescence and extended life operations.
Over 50% of assets now exceed their design life, so a robust system of obsolescence assessment is a necessity rather than an option. Operators will forget at their peril that equipment obsolescence, whether in relation to sophisticated control systems or regular instrumented systems, presents significant risks to production, safety and the environment.
The need for operators to determine, quantify and manage the risks associated with obsolescence is therefore paramount, as recognized by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in its report to Oil & Gas UK earlier this year (OE: August 2014). Following a three-year investigative program, the HSE report recommended that the industry develops a corporate culture which embeds an aging life extension (ALE) philosophy into asset integrity management for the long-term future.
An important part of this process will be the establishment of comprehensive procedures and systems that allow for continuous monitoring of assets and anticipation of issues so that these can be managed proactively.
A robust approach to obsolescence assessment involves detailed design studies, offshore site surveys and reporting. The results of these exercises enable the production of an accurate and comprehensive “cabinet-rack-slot” equipment inventory. In order for this inventory to be “intelligent,” its contents are then subject to further assessment, using established methodologies and weighting factors to determine vulnerability, impact and risk. Sophisticated database systems are now available for the recording, analysis and storage of such data.
Having gained a clear and realistic picture of their assets and associated systems, operators can then look at proactive tactics and strategies for removing or mitigating any obsolescence risks. These may range from improving supplier relationships and spare parts management through to wholesale or systematic migration but in the most severe cases complete system replacement may be required.
A robust and intelligent system of obsolescence assessment should, therefore, not only identify risks, but also suggest solutions in relation to mitigation, migration or replacement on the basis of practicality, cost or both. Those who are nervous about disruption to everyday activities should note that both obsolescence assessments and system migrations can be carried out with minimal impact on normal day-to-day operations. Furthermore, when the value of such exercises is considered in terms of accident prevention and safeguarding against future costly disruptions, there can be no question as to the validity of this investment.
Martin Belshaw is technical director at Semco Maritime. A chartered engineer and current chairman of the north of Scotland section of the Institute of Measurement & Control, he has more than 30 years’ experience designing and managing computer-based process control systems, networks and system integration projects in the energy sector.
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