Offshore staff
HORTEN, Norway — Aker BP has asked Vissim to develop an upgraded oil spill detection solution for its fixed and floating installations offshore Norway.
These comprise platforms at the Valhall, Ula, Edvard Grieg, Ivar Aasen, Alvheim and Skarv fields in the North Sea and Norwegian Sea.
According to Vissim, the new radar-based oil spill detection system will employ upgraded image processing technology to enable detection of smaller oil spills.
It will also employ machine learning to classify detected phenomena to prevent the system from generating false alarms, one of the main concerns with radar-based oil spill detection as it can cause undue stress among the operators.
Norway’s regulatory environment requires offshore operators to implement detection technologies that make them independent of weather conditions.
Vissim’s combined solution is said to facilitate vessel tracking and oil spill detection via the same radar. A higher degree of sensitivity in image processing is claimed to make the new system less susceptible to false alarms triggered by heavy rain, vessel wake and other incidents.
Since the fall of 2023, the company has been developing an expanded digital dashboard for Aker BP’s oil spill monitoring and detection needs. This integrates input from various detection sources, including radars, satellites and sensors on subsea production equipment, combining them into one visual overview.
This technology news from Aker BP and Vissim comes out shortly after Aker BP made headlines for an oil spill at the Alvheim Field in the Norwegian North Sea at the end of November 2023. Then earllier this week, Aker BP issued details of how it effectively responded to that oil spill.
01.04.2024
