In the initial concept design of an offshore oil/gas field an operator may need to assess the relative merits of a number of options;
Installation Type; should it be a sub-sea template, an unmanned platform, a manned fixed installation or an FPSO?
What processing of the well fluids should the installation do?
How should the hydrocarbons be transferred to shore; shuttle tanker, new pipeline or tie-in to existing pipeline and if so what size should the tanker or pipeline be?
How are the hydrocarbons further transported from the onshore terminal; pipelines, tankers, LNG carriers?
What throughput of oil and gas should the system be designed for?
The difference in profit resting on these decisions is likely to be measured in millions of pounds.
The industry would benefit from a standard approach to addressing these issues using a mathematical model which can use a limited number of input parameters as part of a screening process to identify the most profitable solutions.
The purpose of this project would be to examine a number of typical development scenarios, identify the key input parameters and construct a mathematical model capable of analysing the risks and costs associated with them in order to rank the available options.
It is expected that the project will deliver an analysis tool in the form of a spreadsheet or set of spreadsheets which will be used as the forerunner for further development towards a commercial tool which DNV can use to assist clients faced with this type of situation.
XXX has recently completed a project for the Norwegian oil company Statoil to examine such issues. This will provide a realistic scenario on which to identify the key issues and on which to test the optimisation tool produced.