- Dec, 2018
Shell Brasil has entered into a partnership agreement with ABS, SBM Offshore and Coppe / UFRJ to develop tools for the evaluation, development and implementation of new technologies to increase operational safety, reduce costs and increase productivity and efficiency, in real time, from the impact of operational philosophy and environmental conditions on the degradation of FPSO units.
The project, with an estimated investment of US $ 1.5 million to be developed over next two years in Brazil, consists in determining which parameters and information are of vital relevance for FPSO integrity assessment, to define a standard for data acquisition and treatment of field. In addition, the project will also develop new techniques for estimating the remaining time for safe platform operation. This methodology represents a completely different approach from the current practice in which the service life of the platform is estimated at the design stage and its degradation due to aging only at the end of operations.
The new techniques will allow to rationalize the maintenance costs required to extend the operational life of FPSOs.
In addition to contributing to the optimized management of unit integrity, this new methodology will also enhance the safety of embedded workers by minimizing exposure to repair and inspection interventions, reducing the risk of structural incidents and deviations from normal operating conditions .
Shell Brazil’s technology manager, José Ferrari, said “Understanding the current condition and knowing how to predict changes in the structural integrity of FPSO units over their useful life is critical to support the decision on the appropriate timing for decommissioning or replacement. This partnership with ABS, SBM Offshore and Coppe / UFRJ is crucial to ensuring the delivery of something of value to the offshore industry. ”
Luis Sagrilo, a professor at Coppe / UFRJ’s Laboratory for Analysis and Reliability of Offshore Structures (LACEO), believes that “This project is an opportunity for the university to join forces with the industry in developing advanced techniques and methodologies that will reliably guarantee ”
Guilherme Pinto, SBM’s technology manager in Brazil, said:” We are very pleased to be part of this project. SBM believes it can deliver significant added value through its technical expertise, built with extensive experience in decommissioning, life extension and reallocation of FPSOs and its robust asset integrity program. “
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