Intelligent Deepwater Solutions Hub Maximizes Value Across Asset Life Cycle
Authors: Carpenter Chris 
Published: June 2023

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This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 211453, “Intelligent Deepwater Advanced Solutions Hub for Value Maximization Throughout Asset Life Cycle,” by Sam Ryu, Carmela Chaney, and Wei Xu, ExxonMobil, et al. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

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Challenges posed by life-cycle management of an offshore asset, multidisciplinary systems engineering, and competing project objectives provide an opportunity for a new approach to maximize value. The objective of the complete paper is to introduce the operator’s intelligent Deepwater Advanced Solutions Hub (iDASH) approach, wherein various engineering tools are integrated strategically to improve decision quality.

Introduction

The complexities inherent in producing offshore oil and gas mean that creation of an optimal solution for all phases of the project life cycle is a serious challenge. Market research has suggested that the oil and gas industry could benefit from increased systems engineering with an approach that looks beyond first application, integrates requirements, and supports the identification of changes for new applications. The industry has been slow to adopt digitalization, with one of the lowest levels of digital maturity compared with other sectors.

For the purposes of this paper, offshore oil and gas development can be broken into four phases after a field is evaluated to be commercially viable: concept selection, definition and execution, operations, and decommissioning. Each phase has unique objectives and challenges.

During concept selection, generation of creative multiple alternatives for deepwater full-field development is a challenge because each offshore project is unique and requires time-consuming discussion cycles involving high uncertainty, multidisciplinary input, and constraints identified from a wide range of technical specialties.

Once detailed design and execution begin, the objective becomes value preservation. Collaboration between the operator’s project management and contractors becomes a resource-intensive process. After startup, the objective moves toward value realization. Handover from project teams to operations can be time-consuming, leaving key pieces of data missing. Unexpected downtime, integrity issues, or process conditions can erode value and delay project payback. Operations also present an opportunity to process and implement feedback and lessons learned.

The authors divide engineering tools into four pillars within the discussed iDASH approach: iConcept (concept-selection tools), iDesign (definition and execution tools), iOperate (operation tools), and iDecom (decommissioning tools), offering different value to each stage of value maximization, reducing capital expenditure (CAPEX) and maximizing net present value (NPV), achieving balance with other important objectives. These four pillars are expanded upon and illustrated with use cases in the complete paper.

Finally, strong data integration is the foundation of this platform, enhancing interdisciplinary work, ideation cycle time, and decision traceability.

Making Quality Decisions With Multiple Alternatives

iConcept is a digital suite focusing on addressing challenges at the concept-selection stage. The centralized suite includes a variety of different tools developed both internally and externally based on data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and decision science that aim to improve decision quality. One of the key tools being leveraged is called the Field Layout Concept Optimizer. Through its use, a team can evaluate multiple alternative deepwater field developments rapidly to enable quick turnaround for quality decision-making. Multiple disciplines are integrated to reduce human bias.