INTEGRATED

OPERATIONS
TAIL

PROJECT

NEWSLETTER

F0:

Common Integration Architecture

F1:
F2:
F3:
F4:
F5:
F6:

Condition and Performance Monitoring

Turnarounds and Shutdowns
Wireless Communication
Collaborative Visualization
Mobile ICT Infrastructure
Robotics Technology

Svein Vatland

Dear reader

PMs corner

Mona Svenes

All abo ut Tail IO

The purpose of the TAIL IO newsletter
is to share some of the challenges and
results achieved in the TAIL IO project
with a broader audience. We hope that
you will enjoy the reading and perhaps
get a better understanding of what TAIL
IO is all about.
TAIL IO has been in production since January
1st 2006 and has a lot of exiting results on its
way in the pipeline. It is great to see how cross
company, cross cultural and cross discipline
teams collaborate to create results together.
This is R&D in the true spirit of integrated
operations.
We have a dedicated team committed to
deliver first class innovations to support
StatoilHydro in achieving their overall goals for
extending the lifetime of StatoilHydros oil and
gas fields:
- increase daily production by at least 5
percent by reducing production losses caused
by operational failure, maintenance stops
and inadequate equipment performance
- reduce operating, construction and
maintenance costs by 30 percent
- reduce the number of unwanted incidents
relating to health, safety and the
environment (HSE)

For those of you that have the opportunity to

visit Technoport in Trondheim 18-20 October,
see us at stand 46, Samarbeid i praksis where
you will get an excellent opportunity to meet
some of the key people in TAIL IO.
If you have any questions or issues you would
like to discuss in more details with members of
the TAIL IO team, dont hesitate to contact us.
Svein Vatland
Mona Svenes
TAIL IO Project Management team
svein.vatland@no.abb.com
mas@statoil.com

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Statoil defines integrated

operations (IO) as collaboration
across disciplines, companies,
organizational and geographical boundaries, made
possible by real-time data and
new work processes, in order
to reach safer and better
decisions faster. To help
identify the methods, technologies and work processes
necessary to integrate its
operations, Statoil appointed
a R&D consortium consisting
of ABB, IBM, SKF and Aker
Kvaerner.
The consortium and Statoil are each
contributing equally to the project
in terms of input and resources. In
addition, the Norwegian Research
Council is a major contributor to the
funding of the project, which has a
budget of $24 million and will run for
a period of three and a half years.

As its name suggests, TAIL IO is

aimed initially at improving operations at fields approaching the end of
their life-spans. Tail-end production
is a major challenge facing all oil and
gas companies. It is the stage where
the production rate is declining, the
facilities are ageing, and the cost
of operation is high. Extending the
economic lifetime of these fields
is vital to all companies, especially
those operating in the Norwegian
Continental Shelf. However, most
of the solutions developed in TAIL IO
will also be applicable for green field
installations.
TAIL IO is divided into seven subprojects, also known as technology
areas. Each technology area is
closely linked with the others and
collaboration between them is
encouraged.

Project Managements Corner

All about TAIL IO
Common Architecture and Real-time Integration (F0)
Condition and Performance Monitoring (F1)
New and more efficient turnaround processes (F2)
Editor: Ingvild Grimstad, IBM - Svein Vatland, ABB

2
T:IO The new way of

TAIL Integrated Operations

collaboration between
land and sea

1. Condition-based maintenance and

performance monitoring
The objective is to develop solutions and
technologies that will support work
processes at IO centers and enhance the
use of condition based maintenance. The
project will develop methods for early fault
detection and residual life prediction and
for condition monitoring of critical assets
like pumps, valves and electrical, rotating
and static equipment
2. Turnaround and
shutdown optimization
The goal is to to reduce the duration and
frequency of turnarounds through development of a solution for benchmarking and
measurement of the preparedness of ongoing turnaround projects, definition of the
optimum duration and frequency of future
turnarounds of an asset, and optimization
of turnarounds across assets.
3. Wireless communication
and sensor systems
Among the objectives are the design of
new and open communication systems, the
installation of wireless instrumentation to

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Design: LoopDesign.no

reduce cabling and capital expenditure, and

the automation of maintenance tasks
to reduce maintenance man-hours.

4. Collaborative visualization
By using modern technology in 3D visualization and collaboration, this project team
develops tools for preparation and training,
simulating the execution of maintenance
operations and work processes carried out
offshore, thereby preventing serious
situations or shutdowns to occur.
5. Mobile ICT
The focus is on man-machine technology,
work processes and mobile ICT infrastructure that support plant personnel. The growing deployment of wireless networks and
mobile devices is making it increasingly possible for maintenance technicians to access
information, support systems and personnel
required to solve a problem or carry out an
operation in the field via a wireless connection and PDA (personal digital assistant).
6. Robotics
The sixth subproject concentrates on robotics technology to supplement and extend

human inspection and intervention capabilities at subsea, topside and onshore

facilities. The objective is to develop
solutions that combine tele-robotics
and advanced visualization to enable
remotely operated inspection and maintenance operations, as well as to identify
and close technology gaps.

7. Common Integration Architecture

A critical success factor for fully integrated operations is access to real-time
information about production, equipment and performance from processing and operational units across the
organization. This is achieved through a
common architecture for the operations
and maintenance systems, which makes
it easy to find, interpret and understand
real-time data across all facilities. The
integration of data from control and
monitoring systems with the overall
administrative systems, support of
corporate as well as plant specific work
processes and goals, will strengthen the
integration between sea and land.

Test, evaluate, educate! (F3)

Collaborative visualization in practice (F4)
Wireless Solution Launched for Automatic Testing of Fire & Gas Detectors (F5)
Wireless Asset Tracking solves Offshore Logistics based on RFID (F5)
Robotlab open for business (F6)
Photo: Statoil - ABB - IBM

Print:

F0:

Common Integration Architecture

Offshore and onshore activities

joined through common architecture and real-time integration

The collection of real-time information about production, equipment
and performance status from processing and operational units across
the organization is a critical success
factor to achieve completely
integrated operations.
Integrated Operations (IO) is enabled
through monitoring of real-time data.
Real-time or historical data collected at
the plant floor must be made available in
control rooms, in collaboration rooms like
operational centres, and to managerial
functions with responsibilities related to
production operation, well operations,
maintenance, and logistics. Through a
closer integration of data from control
and monitoring systems with the overall
information system solutions, support of
corporate as well as plant specific work
processes and goals are optimized. A
critical success factor for the IO concept
is a closer relationship between the
industrial IT and the enterprise IT and
administrative domains.
- The real-time information must be
collected across the organization from
any oil field or plant and made accessible
for analysis and comparison. We have all
this data, but we need to structure it to
common concepts to make it easy to find
and to understand, Helle Stoltz, Statoil
industrial IT discipline advisor explains.
- The project task is to strengthen the
integration of sea and land-based activities, a task hosting many challenges. To
achieve this goal we have developed solution components based on requirements

from Statoil that is piloted through the

TAIL F0 project. This solution will enable
the integration of real-time data from
the control- and operational systems
with the administrative systems like SAP
and PROSTY, allowing the processing and
operational units to establish new flexible
business solutions with seamless access
to information and services across the
corporation, says Frode Myren, consortium sub-project manager for the F0
Common Architecture project, and leading the architecture development across
the various subprojects in TAIL for IBM.

Common access to information and

services is required to reach the forecasted industry production and
efficiency goals. This can be achieved
through investments in standardization
of information across the petroleum
industry. The standardization of protocols in the underlying information and
communication technologies should be
coupled with a more flexible and interchangeable approach when constructing
new solutions. Instead of large
applications and applications suites, the
news business solutions are assembled
from components that form an architecture of standardized, reusable services,
allowing flexible integration.
The real-time information integration
project in detail
The TAIL F0 project is piloting a common
Real-Time Integration Solution, planned
to support a common integrated architecture across TAIL and eventually across
Statoil facilities and enterprise domains.
The subproject started in January 2007.

The key components of the solution are

based on SOA products. The initial solution
aims to integrate real-time and historical
data for operations and maintenance at the
Statfjord A and Gullfaks B facilities through
a carefully chosen set of test cases.

This pilot will verify that information from

both facilities can be uniquely accessed,
processed and visualized through the
same applications and services, by using
standardized and flexible information
structures. The pilot is being installed on
test systems in Stavanger, and will access
real-time data historians at both facilities.
The information integration model, Reference Semantic Model, RSM, is adding value
to the standardized common integration
service already acquired by Statoil, the
Enterprise Service Bus, which facilitates
new levels of flexibility and reuse of
information and services.
Common practices for the entire industry
In the TAIL IO project, all the subprojects
target specific essential IO concepts for
safe and cost-efficient operation of facilities. The real-time solution extends the
enterprise-wide integration to also include
a common architecture foundation for
operations and maintenance, thus providing common information integration
models for the entire oil and gas industry.
To facilitate the adoption across the TAIL
projects, and subsequently Statoil, the F0
project also targets the establishment of
an architecture governance model and
additionally an Integration Competency
Practice, providing guidance and expert
resources.

The real-time information

must be collected across
the organization

Maintenance
Supervisor

Facilities

EQUIPMENT
FAULT
DETECTION

Plant
Engineer

MONITOR
EQUIPMENT
CONDITION

Plant
Supervisor

SCHEDULE
MAINTENANCE

Real-Time

Process control
domain

Field App s, DCS, PLC s,

Data Historian,
Intelligent/RFID Sensors

Plant
Operator

Quality
Engineer

MANAGE
RESOURCES

Real -time centre

Engineer

EXECUTE
MAINTENANCE
OPERATIONS

Integration Services

ERP, MES, LIMS, Process

Optimization,
Process Analysis App s

PLAN

TURNAROUND

Operation
centres

What we do is strengthening
the integration of sea and
land-based activities
Verification and fine-tuning of the
integration practice will be carried out
through testing of the architecture at
the Statfjord/Gullfaks, and also through
integration of the other TAIL projects, for
example at the Snhvit facility. The final
specifications of the application for the
Common Architecture and the Real-time
Integration Solution will then be
completed, with subsequent proposal
for implementation and rollout.

Business benefits
Important business benefits are being
targeted: lower operation costs and
accelerated production through faster
rollout of new operations, maintenance
processes and applications across
Statoils various assets, and also faster
standardization of processes and
applications. Further advantage is
expected from reduced implementation
and standardization costs.
- There are practically no changes
required to operating assets, therefore
replacement costs are minimized, says
Frode Myren. The information is
accessed directly at its source, ensuring
that information is correct and up to
date. We also expect to see a considerable
efficiency improvement by eliminating
many complex, expensive and timeconsuming interfaces, he continues.

The project also targets improved

leverage of onshore operation centres
through a common approach to real-time
data. The F0 approach supports Statoils
strategy for deployment of new value
adding IO solutions.

F0

4
Contact Info:
Frode Myren, myren@no.ibm.com
Helle Stolz, helst@statoilhydro.com

Condition and performance monitoring

The intention is that the

F1

data is to be made available to

Statoils partners

Contact Info:

Nils-Magne Sli, nils-magne.soli@no.abb.com

Morten Les, mloe@statoilhydro.com

Statoil recognises that

maintenance on condition
is a central part of its maintenance strategies. A condition based maintenance
implies that reliability and
integrity of the equipment is
assured via real-time
monitoring and reporting.

Figure 1: Variable Speed Drive Remote

Monitoring concept.

Figure 2-X: Drive Monitor installed at

Kollsnes.

DriveMonitor
Modem

Sub-project F1, Condition and performance monitoring, focuses on conditionand performance monitoring of critical
sub-sea and topside equipment. The
objectives of the project are to review
and develop systems, methods and work
processes to enhance and improve
condition based maintenance in Statoil.
The project includes participants from
Statoil, ABB, SKF, Aker Kvaerner and IBM
and is managed by Statoil and ABB.
Effective lifecycle management requires
continuous tracking of asset history
when it comes to operation, wear, damage
and maintenance. Careful monitoring of
the condition and performance of assets
allows the implementation of predictive
maintenance programs that might significantly reduce maintenance costs and risk
of asset failure. Without this information,
performance suffers and maintenance
costs rise.
The F1 project group is working on several solutions that focus on condition and

performance monitoring, in the

following some examples of ongoing work
is presented.

Drive Monitor
The Drive Monitor is designed for remote
monitoring of variable speed drives,
and is intended for use together with
ABB Drives. Several parameters are
available from the drives: these include
shaft torque, phase current and phase
voltages. These data as provided by
the drive unit and analyzed by the Drive
Monitor can return valuable process
status information regarding process
outliers, process drift and changes.
The information will be extracted and
calculated without requiring any extra
Instrumentation, as it is based on
parameters contained in the Drive unit.
A main goal for the project is to demonstrate how the Drive Monitor can be
accessed from remote locations in a safe
and efficient way. This enables experts
located anywhere on the globe to get

access to the information in the drive

monitor upon demand. E.g in a fault
situation, Statoil personnel and experts
from ABB are able to in real time to do
fault analysis and corrective work without being physically located where the
drive is. This is truly Integrated
Operations and will surely lead to
reduced meantime to repair.

on what may become a problem days,

weeks, and even months ahead.

sub-performance of the separators on

Heidrun.

The topic early fault detection includes a

chain of challenges such as: data
acquisition, methods and techniques,
work processes and user interfaces. The
work on early fault detection includes the
following activities:

The pilot installation is at Kollsnes and

has just been put into operation and
testing is currently going on.

EFDD Early Fault and Disturbance

Detection:
The project goal is to develop a software
tool that will provide data driven methods
for process modelling and analysis, based
on both time and frequency domain
techniques originating from Statoil and
ABB, respectively. Methods are being
verified against field data from sgard B.

Data acquisition:
Both the above approaches rely on the
availability of historical and real-time
data for configuration and analysis. Data
access is a serious bottleneck that is
responsible for a lot of wasted time spent
on solving a number of practical problems
before we can start the real work on
diagnosing the process. Our ultimate goal
is to provide means for instant access,
at any time, anywhere, to all process
variables; with maximum resolution and
accuracy, and for the total lifetime of the
process.

Early Fault Detection

This is another focus area for the project
group. Despite the term fault detection,
we are concerned with every aspect of
performance monitoring: process malfunction, instrumentation degradation,
suboptimal process behavior, and internal or external disturbances. A special
focus is on early detection, meaning that
we will try to identify trends at an early
stage where they are otherwise difficult
to observe. We want to give a warning

EEW Event Early Warning:

This is based on IBMs patented EEW
technology. The approach is based on
identifying patterns and logical dependencies in the data. A potential pilot
is on the detection of malfunction and

The intention is that the data is to be

made available to Statoils partners.
Challenges related to this are: access
time, visualization, and anything that has
to do with handling very large data sets in
general. The solution is ready to be tested
against sgard B.

New

F2

and more efficient

turnaround
processes

Methods and tools under development by

A screenshot of the prototype delivered Tampen

for monitoring of its ongoing turnarounds

Development of the solution is well on its

way, and now pilots are being tested out by the
Tampen organization.

Tampen and the Tail IO initiative

Contact Info:
Kaare Finbak, finbak@no.ibm.com
Tom-Anders Thorstensen,TATHO@statoilhydro.com

Statoil regularly has to close down

the production on its oil & gas fields,
due to preventive and corrective
maintenance activities, modifications of the plants, and tie-in of
new fields. In 2006, turnarounds
and unplanned shutdowns were the
single-most important cause for
lost production in the Tampen area.
Statoil has launched several
initiatives to minimize production
losses due to turnarounds and
reduce the probability of unplanned
shutdowns.
To support these initiatives the Statoil
R&D and the TAIL IO projets along with
Tampen have launched a joint project for
development of work processes, methods
and solutions for improvement. The
solutions will improve Statoils ability to:

.Monitor the progress of ongoing

turnarounds according to WR2091:

Management and planning of turnaround
projects, and assess consequences on
turnaround performance and possible
delays in production start up
Prolong the intervals between turn-
arounds and reduce the duration of
future turnarounds without increasing
losses due to unplanned shutdowns
Optimize turnarounds and shutdowns
across assets that are dependent on
each other

- The project is part of the TAIL IO initiative, explains Statoils project manager
Tom Anders Thorstensen. - In addition to
Statoil R&D and Statoil Tampen, IBM and

Aker Kvrner actively participate in the

project, which is managed by Statoil and
IBM. - IBM has also allocated optimization
experts from its R&D lab in New York to
the project, Thorsensen continues.
- Development of the solutions is well
on its way, says IBMs project manager
Kaare J. Finbak. In April the project
delivered the first prototype and now
pilots of the solution for monitoring of
ongoing turnarounds are being tested
out by the Tampen organization.
The work processes, methods and
solutions developed will consist of three
main building blocks, i.e., a turnaround
and shutdown knowledge analyzer, a
turnaround and shutdown risk analyzer
and a turnaround and shutdown optimizer.

Knowledge analyzer
The knowledge analyzer will provide
tools for continuous monitoring of
the progress of ongoing turnarounds,
monitoring of shutdown preparedness,
reveal possible delays and evaluate the
consequences of delays on production
start up.
Risk Analyzer
The risk analyzer will offer tools for realtime evaluation of various turnaround
scenarios for a specific oil and gas field,
and selection of the scenario that has the
overall lowest production loss.
Optimizer
The optimizer will contain tools for
on-the-fly development of turnaround

scenarios across assets, and identify the

scenario that produce the best result in
minimizing production losses.
Such tools do not exist in the market
today. The work processes, methods
and tools will provide a round-the-clock
monitoring of all turnaround and report
on shutdown preparedness. Operators
will be able to receive realtime evaluation
of any delays expected for ongoing
projects or any adjustments or modifications carried out to scheduled plans, in
addition to receiving continuous updates
on optimization of turnaround scenarios
of specific assets as well as across assets.
The overall objective of this TAIL IO
project and Statoil R&D is through usage
of the new processes, methods and tools,
to improve PUF significantly and to lower
turnaround and shutdown costs. As
stated by Sven Tmmers, discipline adviser for O&M planning: The economical
potential of the project is believed to be
significant. We believe it is very important that WR2091 is fully implemented
throughout the entire Tampen organization, and that we have effective support
and control tools that enable us to meet
our regularity (PUF) and
production targets.
The projects was initiated early 2006,
and will continue until January 1, 2009.

The economical potential

of the project is believed
to be significant.

Evaluate

Test

12 11
10

Educate!

We are embarking on an exciting

research project to develop the
Wireless Field of the Future

Imagine an environment where

wireless sensors can be quickly
deployed to provide measurement
points as required. Imagine an environment where field operators can
wirelessly access real-time process
data, stream voice and video, configure and calibrate their instruments. Imagine an environment
where equipment can be quickly
and easily located and identified.
Believe in wirelessthe TAIL IO F3
Wireless Communication project
does.

The TAIL IO Wireless Communication

(F3) project aims to test, evaluate, and
apply wireless technologies for Oil and
Gas applications. The initial phase of this
3,5 year endeavor was based at Statoils
research laboratory in Rotvoll which
provides a quasi real-life environment
with large multifaceted metal structures
and flowing liquids. In 2006, a team of
international experts from Norway,
Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Holland, and
Sweden representing ABB, Statoil, SKF,
and Sintef worked together with the
Rotvoll scientific and laboratory staff, to
undertake an extensive wireless evaluation pilot. The goal was to evaluate a
variety of technologies which can deliver

the following three key results to Statoil

installations:
Improved HSE
Increased Production
Lower Costs

.
.
.

Technologies that were identified by the

F3 project team, through scouting and
discussions with Statoil operations
personnel, as crucial to the successful delivery of the above results include: Wireless Sensor Networks, WLAN, Wireless
Vibration Monitoring and Analysis, Wireless Control and RFID. Range, throughput,
reliability, availability, stability, security,
and interference testing was given special emphasis at the laboratory.

The project presented this work at an

inclusive one-day Wireless Technology
seminar held at Rotvoll in March 2007
which was attended by representatives
from the consortium, and many Statoil
assets. Furthermore, parts of the
technical results from the laboratory
pilot have been published at the IEEE
Emerging Trends in Factory Automation
conference in September 2007, and have
been accepted for presentation at the
SPE Intelligent Energy Conference to be
held in February 2008.

In March 2007, one of the laboratory

pilot test rigs was exhibited at ABBs
Automation World in Orlando, Florida.

This rig illustrates the potential value of

replacing wired fieldbus segments with
wireless in a control network. The rig will
be exhibited, among other F3 prototypes,
at Technoport in October 2007.

In conjunction to the laboratory-based

work, the F3 project has also visited
Krst and Kollsnes onshore facilities to
conduct a Wireless Evaluation study for
each site. The goal of the studies was to
identify and evaluate areas where wireless technology would benefit the sites in
terms of improved production and HSE.
The project is planning to conduct its first
offshore evaluation study in November
2007.

Contact Info:

The Wireless Communication project

Paula Doyle, paula.doyle@no.abb.com

Dag Sjong, DSJO@statoilhydro.com

aims to test, evaluate, and apply wireless

F3

technologies for Oil and Gas applications

The F3 Project Team

Looking to the future, F3 are working

closely with both onshore and offshore
facilities to promote the use of wireless
technologies in pilot installations. We
are continuing to educate with a further
seminar planned in Q4 2007. Furthermore, we are embarking on an exciting
research project to develop the Wireless
Field of the Future which will combine
different aspects of wireless technologies, pervasive computing and novel
applications.

A
day

in the life of Bjarne

Process Engineer
and compression
systems expert

Contact Info:
Hans Christian Von-Krogh,
Hans-Christian.Von-Krogh@akerkvaerner.com
Knut Olav Fjell, kof@statoilhydro.com

F4

F5

F4 - Collaborative
Visualization in practice

The objective of the TAIL F5 sub-project is to Bring the Field Worker Office to the Plant.
The focus is on man-machine technology, work processes and mobile ICT infrastructure that
support plant personnel. The growing deployment of wireless networks and devices is
increasingly making it possible for maintenance technicians to have continuous access to
support systems and personnel via a wireless connection and PDA (personal digital assistant).

Rrriing rrriing .. Yes, Bjarne

speaking.
Hi, this is Tore, the Maintenance
Planner at Veslefrikk. We have a
problem in keeping up a stable gas
reinjection process. You are referred
to as the expert on the process
control system for this type of
equipment. By the way, where are
you located, and are you prepared
to help us out?
At the moment I am on vacation at my
country house in Sweden, but no problem,
I will help you out. Just a moment and I will
connect to the web.
Bjarne connects his laptop to the web,
then Statoil net, and opens the 3D-viewer
of the Veslefrikk topside. A quick search
in the system hierarchy brings up the
visual image of the gas compression area.
Over his headset he listens to the onboard
observations explained by Tore. There
are two process trains working in parallel.
Bjarne walks through the simulated
process area and recognizes the two
compressors. He addresses the tag numbers one by one and checks the process
data coming up. All values are in between
acceptable range. But the real time data
are slightly fluctuating. Bjarne calls up
the historical database, and by using a
semantic search he gets a few hints and
matches of similar previous experiences
and decides to make a further inspection.
Tore, do you have an operator in the
area? Connect him to the phone and let
him show me a view of the scene on his
VisiWear CCTV. He must also carry an
infrared camera.
Bjarne instructs the operator to show
him pictures from the camera screen
on the wireless handheld VisiWear PDA
(CCTV). Bjarne was right in his suspicion of
the indirect cause to the registered problem. On the transferred TV picture there
is a clear heat contour of leaking gas from
the HPgas seal, invisible to the eye.
Together Bjarne and Tore discuss the
necessary action and measures needed
to be taken by calling up and share the

compressor 3D design presentation and

prepare the maintenance work order.
Thanks for your time, help and cooperation Bjarne. Have a nice day. Dont mention
it, its raining outside anyway.
This could be a typical collaborative
maintenance scenario. By using modern
technology in 3D visualization and collaboration, maintenance and work processes
carried out offshore can be done smoothly
and efficiently, thereby preventing serious
situations or shutdowns to occur.
Collaborative visualization tools are used
for preparing, training executing and
supporting maintenance operations.

The objectives of this project are to

develop means of visual collaboration
based on the 3D design models of plants
and installations. The visual collaborative
arena is an interactive 3D-viewer presentation of the actual assets. The scenarios
could be as follows:
Multi-organisational design teams
collaborating in the design and
modification phase
Multi-organisational teams collaborating
to perform maintenance operations
Preparation and training for the most
efficient and effective maintenance
package
Capability for remote diagnostics and
remote assistance from Centres of
Excellence
Capability to integrate with specialist
services easily and without disruption,
regardless of the source (in-house or
external)
Learning based improvement loops for
execution of work processes (main tenance workflows) and training
personnel on HSE

.
.
.
.
.

A virtual presentation of the assets in a

3D-viewer or modelled on a gaming platform gives a new dimension to the collaborative and interactive way of information
sharing, managing and performing work
processes.

Industrial Collaboration Yields Results -

Wireless solution for Automatic Testing of Fire &Gas Detectors

A wireless solution for testing fire and
gas detectors on Statoils Snhvit field is
being launched. The Fire & Gas solution is
an innovation from the TAIL IO F5 project
group, working with wireless solutions on
handheld units to bring the field worker
office out to the plants. Manual and
tedious work is replaced by automated
and efficient procedures, yielding great
savings for the industry.

This is a good example of how the

industrial collaboration between Statoil,
IBM, ABB, Aker Kvrner and SKF is
beginning to bear fruit. Using modern
wireless technology and hand-held PDAs,
the company can now test fire and gas
detectors autonomously.
A demo of the solution was successfully
tested in Bergen this summer by representatives from Snhvit, Troll/Sleipner,
Krst and Gullfaks. The development
team received valuable feedback for the
upcoming pilot that will be implemented
on the Snhvit field at Melkya within
2007.

Challenge
This type of material management and
maintenance operation was previously
performed in close collaboration with the
control room, and was extremely time
and resource-consuming. The operators
in the field would perform their routine
controls and testing, and report to the
control room on shore via radio communications.
Manually checking of machine parts and
equipment can be a vulnerable process
because it is easy to record the wrong ID
number, which can lead to inhibition of
the wrong detector, which again could
result in unnecessary evacuations or firebrigade turnouts that are both time and
cost consuming.

Solution
The new solution is based on reading the
ID on the barcode or RFID chips that are
attached to all of the detectors, using
a wireless unit. The ID is then checked
against SAP, which confirms whether it
is the right detector. The detector is then
tested, and maintenance is performed.
The operator reports back and updates
SAP directly, using the handheld unit.
This entire operation is carried out in
real-time.
The hand-held PDA device makes it
possible to communicate directly with the
Safety and Automation System (SAS),
check and update information in SAP,
provide location tracking, and transmit
live video and audio from the offshore
plant to the control room and vice versa.

Benefits
By reading a unique ID that is checked
directly against the SAP system, errors
are avoided and the work process is
simplified. It saves hours of work, time
and money, and resource-demanding
shut-downs are avoided.

- This is a textbook example of what

integrated operations are about in
practice: increasing the efficiency of
work processes and cutting costs using
information technology and smart
solutions developed by experts in the
oil and gas industry, says Sub-project
Manager and IT architect for the Fire &
Gas solution, Tom Rojahn of IBM.
The results and lessons learned will form
the basis for further commercialization
of the solution.

Snhvit personell testing with the PDA

The solution suggests improved safety

and health from the workers perspective. The number of radio communication
interrupts between the field worker
and the control room personnel will be
significantly reduced. This will allow for
more time spent on monitoring safety
systems and alarms in the control room.
Less stress and automated routines also
improves the safety.
- A more autonomous field worker might
experience a better job satisfaction having more control of his tasks. Additionally, there will be less paperwork and the
job can be carried out in a more efficient
way, explains Maria Vatshaug Ottermo,
Sub-project Manager from Statoil.

Example of the
faceplate on the
PDA

These people can be contacted for further details regarding the solution:
Can you tell which one is the real one?

- The HSE risk of loosing overview

and control of human resources by
implementing the Fire and Gas solution
offshore, can be solved by using Asset
Tracking, another wireless solution
designed by our project group, says
Maria Vatshaug Ottermo.

Contact Info:

Tom Rojahn, IBM
e-mail: tom.rojahn@no.ibm.com

Maria Vatshaug Ottermo, Statoil

e-mail: mvo@statoilhydro.com

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>>>

F5

F6

Wireless ICT

Wireless Asset Tracking solves Offshore Logistics

Contact
Info:

Jrn Leivestad, jorn.leivestad@akerkvaerner.com

Terje Mugaas, Terje.Mugaas@sintef.no

Robotlab Open for Business

14 15

Figure 1: The robot and gantry system

Asset Tracking, based on RFID

technology, will help operating
companies and suppliers trace their
assets shipped in containers to
plants offshore.
With the new wireless Asset Tracking
solution from the TAIL IO F5 group based
on RFID technology, the oil and gas
industry has found the answer to tracking
and locating equipment from when it is
dispatched by suppliers until the equipment is delivered and assembled on
offshore installations. This helps supply
stations onshore receive cargo and load it
onto containers being shipped to offshore
installations.

The F5 project group will design a new

solution for offshore logistics based on
RFID technology, developed in collaboration with researchers at IBM.
Diversity of use
The solution offers a variety of use. The
petroleum industry has vast quantities
of rented equipment and material which
needs to be kept track of. Rental equipment is extremely costly, and it is important to keep track of its location at all
times, and quickly return it after use. The
logistics of all material can be dealt with
using RFID and wireless units it can be
tracked from the supplier, via the warehouse and truck, to the container being
placed on the deck of the cargo or supply

ship, until the cargo is received offshore.

Petroleum and chemicals suppliers

also need to label chemical tanks. For
instance at the large chemicals facility at
Mongstad there is a great need to keep
close track of all chemicals at all times.
Asset tracking can help them not only
with the logistics for chemical tanks, but
also with the quantity of chemicals, when
to order and how much.
Chemical plants like Mongstad, with its
enormous ports, needs to be operated
efficiently and securely, and can save
large amounts by using this kind of wireless solutions and handheld units. The
operators do not have to run back and
forth with documents, but can instead
read containers, equipment, tanks, volume or quantity, and update SAP
automatically using a wireless solution.
Tracking of personnel is another area
of use for the Asset Tracking solution. The
same technology that is being developed
for cargo and container tracking, can also
be used for tracking of personnel. This
will facilitate a higher level of safety for
personnel working offshore, and contribute to the HSE asset requirement set for
all offshore and onshore installations.
Smooth Logistics with wireless RFID
and SAP Proper logistics are secured
by the data on the labelled material

or equipment being checked against

the companys SAP system. The ID on
the wireless RFID chip, attached to the
container, is read and its location is being
monitored in real-time. The coordinates
will be updated in SAP to ensure the
correct cargo is being loaded into the
correct container. This will further prevent losses and reduce manual errors.
When large quantities of equipment are
to be dispatched, it is possible to print
pick lists in SAP. All of the equipment can
be labeled with an RFID chip that can be
attached to any kind of surface, including
steel. When an order is placed with a supplier, and the order is dispatched, a pallet
can be run through an RFID portal or read
by a handheld RFID reader that records
the content.

The solution is based on IBM Middleware,

which provides the key glue to the logistics process.

Robotics has for at least three

decades been a key technology in
engineering industries for increasing
industrial productivity and for
competitive manufacturing, and it
is now at a point where its scope is
dramatically expanding. However, in
the Oil & Gas industry the exploitation
of robots has until now been restricted
to subsea applications. This trend is it
that the Robotics sub-project will try
to change.

Pilots of the Asset Tracking solution for

offshore logistics will initially be tested at
gotnes, where hundreds of containers
are loaded and shipped daily, and later
implemented on many onshore plants.

An orange ABB robot (manipulator) and its

controller started their long and meaningful
life at ABB Robotics in Vsters Sweden.
They have now both travelled a great
distance to a sleepy Swiss village called

When the dispatch is received offshore,

the ID on the wireless RFID chip is read
using a handheld RFID reader, and the
requisition and work order for the equipment can be updated in SAP.

Figure 2 Process Module, robot and Gantry modelled in a 3D world

For more information please contact:

Maria Vatshaug Ottermo, Statoil: mvo@statoilhydro.com

Tom Rojahn, IBM: tom.rojahn@no.ibm.com

The conceptual idea is to be able to

operate the process without
involving people onsite

Langenthal. Gdel, a Swiss company

specialising in designing and constructing
very large but also very precise motion
systems, has built a gantry crane on which
they have mounted the robot upside down.
The working range of the robotics system is
as much as 8m x 6m x 0.8m (length x width
x height).
Now the robot and gantry system has travelled its final journey to Norway, where the
project team eagerly has started to explore
it. Figure 1 shows the robotics system. A
single controller controls the entire system.
The main focus of the Tail IO Robotics
Future Facilities - project is to develop
a prototype system that demonstrates
a remotely operated automation system
including manipulators for performing
operational tasks on the process. Such
tasks cover normal operation, inspection
and maintenance both on offshore and
onshore oil & gas installations.

The conceptual idea is to be able to operate the process without involving people
onsite. The robotics test rig will operate on
a compact oil & water separator process
module, which Aker Kvaerner is designing
and commissioning. The process module will
be delivered to the robot lab shortly after
the arrival of the robot test rig. Figure 2
illustrates the process module, the robot
and gantry crane.
The purpose of the test rig is to demonstrate the technologies for designing the
futures platforms, which are based on
modular process modules (almost like lego)

surrounded by a system of gantry

and robot manipulators. The robot
manipulators generally perform
daily operational tasks such as
inspection and light maintenance
tasks while larger maintenance
tasks will require additional support.
The process module will then either
be shipped and maintained/
repaired onshore or a small maintenance team will enter the normally
unmanned area during process shut
down to perform specific maintenance tasks, often in collaboration
with the robot manipulators.

The purpose of the test rig is to

demonstrate the technologies
for designing the platforms of the
future, which are based on modular
process modules, almost like Lego

INTEGRATED
OPERATIONS
TAIL

TAIL Integrated Operation

F0

Concept for safe and costeffective operation of facilities

Common
Integration Architecture

F1

Condition and
Performance
Monitoring

F6

Robotics
Technology

F2

Turnarounds
and Shutdowns

F5

Mobile ICT
Infrastructure

F3

Wireless
Communication

F4

Collaborative
Visualization