Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) and Akselos will jointly investigate the potential to improve asset management in the oil and gas industry.
They plan a joint industry project (JIP) for ITF member companies and others concerning deployment of a ‘Digital Guardian’ for ageing offshore assets.
Akselos uses MIT-licensed technology to create simulation systems known as digital twins. These are based on algorithms said to be 1,000 times faster than those used typically in conventional design technology, allowing detailed and accurate structural simulations of large-scale operational assets.
The company aims to combine the simulation software with sensors and big data analytics to create an exact virtual replica of an offshore asset in its current environment (a Digital Guardian), giving operators real-time access to the condition of their asset from anywhere at any time, and facilitating predictive and preventative maintenance.
Use of Asset Life Extension will also provide data to reassure operators that their assets are safe to continue operating beyond their design life.
Dr. Patrick O’Brien, CEO of ITF, said: “The creation of a Digital Guardian or twin of an offshore asset …will also advance information management and collaboration, where the experts and operators can work together, preventing costly mistakes and rework.”
ITF will adopt a project stewardship role throughout the $2-million two-year project, part-funded by Eurostars and the Swiss Commission for Tech Innovation.
Akselos has worked with design and engineering consultancy, LICengineering to deliver the project. In the first year of the JIP, members will receive a condition-based model of their selected assets, allowing them to analyze structural integrity with more accuracy and detail than before, ITF claims.
In the second year, Akselos will combine this with sensor data to allow operators to monitor the health of their asset in real time and predict its future condition.
One supermajor operating in the North Sea has already signed up to the JIP.
09/01/2017
