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Using Intetech to manage well integrity data

Friday, May 31, 2013

Norwegian oil major Statoil is implementing the Well Integrity Toolkit (iWIT) software from Intertech of Aberdeen, to help manage data about pressure, production, safety and well integrity.

The software is being rolled out on all 1,000 of Statoil's wells on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, due for completion by the end of Q1 2013.

iWIT will provide Statoil with an instant view of current well integrity status, together with historical key performance indicators (KPIs).

The data can be viewed at well, field or enterprise level.

This will ensure that Statoil's teams have the ability to analyse, compare and validate all operating well data, alert and report on exceptions and make information available throughout the enterprise to the right people at the right time.

With such a large number of wells, Statoil needs to keep a careful watch on the data coming out of its fields. Everything from barrier elements to annuli pressures needs to be watched for anomalies or potential issues that might put wells at risk.

Previously manual

Prior to using iWIT, gathering and analysing well integrity data was a manual and time consuming procedure because the information had to be drawn from numerous different sources to assemble a complete picture of the status of Statoil's assets, Intetech says.

A large number of different legacy systems and processes was in use, following the merger of Statoil and Hydro. This meant that a great deal of time was needed to merge common data sources.

'Our main challenge was the time it would take to collect all the required data, and then making it available to the right personnel,' says Statoil's Leading Advisor for Well System Integrity, Hilde Brandanger Haga.

'We wanted the ability to quickly retrieve well integrity data from all the different systems and make it visible within a single screen to provide an overview of current well integrity status.'

'Previously this was all done manually, which made it difficult to analyse and compare historical data and identify trends.'

A further major requirement was to integrate iWIT with Statoil's clearly-defined well handover process, by enabling all operational limit values, equipment status and tags to be set up as part of the handover documentation, from initial drilling, to operation, intervention and eventual retirement of the well.

Work with existing systems

Statoil needed a system which could work with, and improve, the variety of different systems already employed to support the well integrity process.

'We needed something straightforward that enhanced, not replaced our existing systems,' says Ms Brandanger Haga.

'Key customisations include defined status codes that are reported and trended, the export and import of iWITdata through the well handover process and the ability to retrieve data from the existing databases used in the different work processes.'

Installation

Following a detailed requirement design and analysis, iWIT was installed on the Statoil server farm.

It is managed in-house by the IT department and can be accessed via a web browser by any authorised employee.

Intetech's UK-based development team has been granted rights to the Statoil system, enabling it to install the initial solution and then log-in remotely to provide updates and upgrades.

Access to iWIT is configured according to company-specific hierarchy.

Top level managers at Statoil are provided with an aggregated view on well integrity status in real-time via a series of charts. These users are then able to drill down to more detailed charts at country or operating level.

Similarly, operations managers are able to obtain a view of well integrity status based on their specific areas of responsibility by drilling down to field, platform level or individual well level.

Critical well integrity data can be accessed more easily and is presented in a systematic order ready for rapid analysis in the event of a potential issue being identified.

All stakeholders have access to the data they need, with iWIT providing a simple overview of key operating well and production data, but allowing users to drill through to more detailed engineering data as required.

It also reduces the time taken for analysis and simplifies communications across all the disciplines involved, enabling rapid and informed decision-making and remedial actions.

'With iWIT, it is much easier to make status updates, upload information and make it available across the organisation,' says Ms Brandanger Haga.

'When data is imported into iWIT, real-time data and test results are presented and compared with all the operational and alarm limits set, improving the efficiency of the well integrity management process.'

Pressure, production, safety and well integrity Altogether, iWIT delivers the following four key capabilities to Statoil.

Pressure monitoring - all pressures are trended and compared to given alarm levels or operational limits. Top-up and bleed-off data is available and the activity is marked on the trend curve, which also shows the position of hydraulic valves.

The monitoring also encompasses combined curves for tubing and different annuli pressures. This data is used for long-term trending for early detection of abnormal pressures and possible leakages, as well as identifying any issues relating to exceeding limit values.

Production data - this data is trended and compared to the limit values, much as the same as it is for pressures. Examples of this kind of data include production rates and compositional fluid limits such as H2S or CO2.

Safety critical testing - iWIT retrieves all the test results from SAP for the relevant valves and seals in each well and presents the results in a graphical and systematic way with the possibility to drill down to each test result.

Well integrity status management - the status codes are used for identifying the fulfilment of the barrier philosophy of the wells, as well as identifying and tracking problems such as leakages or valve or seal failures. The status codes are divided into sub-codes, which give more information about the possible impact of risk factors.

In addition, status codes can be modelled as one, in order to give a wider risk overview and highlight where improvements can be made. Previously, Statoil ran its status management reports manually which, given the number of wells involved, was time-consuming and labour-intensive.

iWIT has enabled Statoil to automate the well handover process, which is crucial to effective lifecycle management. 'By integrating iWIT into the handover process, we have made subsequent handovers much easier as the information is already available and verified,' says Ms Brandanger Haga.

Business processes and workflows

Working in close partnership with the Statoil project team, including key members of Statoil's well integrity team and representatives from the company's IT and operations functions, Intetech has ensured Statoil's specific business processes and workflows for well integrity have been catered for within the iWIT system.

Close collaboration and the flexible nature of the iWIT platform have provided a system that's easy-to-use and complementary to Statoil's existing investments.

iWIT has also improved the visibility of well integrity data across the organisation, which is particularly important for Statoil's multiple asset owners within the company.

Although many of these are not involved with well integrity directly on a daily basis, iWIT ensures that they have the tools at their disposal to enable them to get what they need from the system to write a report or track KPIs. They can access the system and obtain an instant enterprise-wide view, enabling them to flag up any potential problems immediately.

'A key success factor for iWIT has been the clarity of requirements, software flexibility enabling work process adaptability, dedicated personnel and in-depth studies and involvement with all arties involved,' says Ms Brandanger Haga.

'Statoil and Intetech are currently discussing the next phase of enhancements to the iWIT. The feedback so far from users has been positive. iWIT gives users a full overview of well integrity and a lot of opportunities for in depth analysis.'



Associated Companies
» Statoil

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