Automation systems to help maximize life of Morecambe Bay platforms

May 3, 2017
Centrica has contracted Servelec Controls to provide a remote operations solution for the normally unmanned DP6 and DP8 offshore gas platforms in Morecambe Bay offshore northwest England.

Offshore staff

SHEFFIELD, UKCentrica has contracted Servelec Controls to provide a remote operations solution for the normally unmanned DP6 and DP8 offshore gas platforms in Morecambe Bay offshore northwest England.

The project will extend the life and viability of the ageing facilities.

It involves removing redundant plant and replacing obsolete equipment with new Servelec-designed systems. This should allow Centrica to implement a more cost-effective and efficient maintenance program and reduce downtime, Servelec claims.

The project should also decrease the risk to personnel and improve safety by cutting intervention time, it adds.

Servelec’s solution includes a distributed control system, emergency shutdown system, fire and gas detection and a smoke detection system. Once complete, each component will be monitored and controlled from an onshore operations center.

The solution is said to be aligned with the UK Oil & Gas Authority’s Maximising Economic Recovery strategy, which states that decommissioning should be considered only as a last resort, with operators focused on value-adding initiatives.

05/03/2017