EQUINOR
Ole Jørgen Bratland © Equinor
EQUINOR
Major Oil Production Meets Dramatically Reduced Emissions
PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder
For nearly 50 years, Equinor has been pushing the boundaries of imagination and technology in the oil and gas industry to solve the challenges thrown up by an everchanging world. “That quest has taken us to greater depths, deeper waters and new frontiers,” Equinor states, and nothing better exemplifies this than its record-breaking Johan Sverdrup field. Opened in January, its arrival has been a huge boon for Norway, for investors and in the ongoing battle to reduce emissions, and it is a key part of Equinor’s bid to a secure a sustainable energy future. www.emea-energy.net / 3
INDUSTRY FOCUS: OIL & GAS
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Oil, gas and electricity are three of the most crucial elements keeping the wheels of society turning, fuelling transportation, communications, manufacturing and industry. Since 1972 Equinor has been energising hundreds of millions of lives, an international energy company present in more than 30 countries worldwide working to develop the oil, gas, wind and solar energy sectors of its host territories. Active in several of the world’s most important oil and gas provinces, Equinor is also the leading operator on the Norwegian continental shelf and strategically headquartered in Stavanger; it is a vital player in a country which is itself one of the major energy producers and among the world’s largest exporters of oil. “We’re the largest operator in
Norway, one of the world’s largest offshore operators, and a growing force in renewables,” Equinor sums up. “Driven by our dedication to safety, equality and sustainability and our Nordic urge to explore beyond the horizon, we’re shaping the future of energy.” The company’s proud Norwegian origins are even more explicitly reflected in its new name, changed from Statoil in 2018 as it leads a global shift toward a brighter energy future. SVERDRUP START-UP “We are a leading explorer for new oil and gas fields,” Equinor says. “We do this not only to replenish the reserves we produce from current fields, but also to meet the energy needs of a growing world population with improving living standards.” January 7th of this year proved a
// JOHAN SVERDRUP OFFERS BOTH HIGH VALUE CREATION AND RECORD-LOW EMISSIONS // momentous day for all at Equinor, with the record-breaking Johan Sverdrup field officially opened by Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Since Equinor and its partners on the field - Lundin Norway, Petoro, Aker BP and Total - started the field last October, production has increased to well in excess of 300,000 barrels per day; this is forecast to climb to 440,000 barrels per day before the conclusion of Phase 1. In Phase 2, this daily production figure will rise to 660,000 barrels,
Marking the official opening of the Johan Svedrup field, with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Oil and Energy Minister Sylvi Listhaug. Photo: Arne Reidar Mortensen © Equinor
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OFFSHORE DRILLING RAISING THE STANDARD OF DRILLING OPERATIONS An unrivalled reliable drilling contractor serving the energy market. A competitive player in harsh and benign environments, serving the ultra-deep, deep and shallow water markets, promoting a high performance culture and constantly open to innovation. Always keen on pursuing a no compromise HSE policy. SAIPEM.COM
INDUSTRY FOCUS: OIL & GAS
with two thirds of the expected 2.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent in recoverable reserves at Johan Sverdrup likely to be produced before 2030. “We are working systematically on creating higher value from the field and achieving an optimal recovery rate,” explained Arne Sigve Nylund, executive vice president for Development and Production Norway. “The field ambition is to
// WE’RE THE LARGEST OPERATOR IN NORWAY, ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST OFFSHORE OPERATORS, AND A GROWING FORCE IN RENEWABLES //
reach a recovery rate above 70%.” “The Johan Sverdrup field is a technological triumph and a milestone for the Norwegian oil industry,” Equinor continues, “supplying the world with energy, and creating value for society. Now we’re creating value, benefitting Norwegian society and reducing emissions.” Johan Sverdrup is expected to yield a total production revenue exceeding NOK1400 billion, benefitting the Norwegian state to the tune of more than NOK900 billion in revenue. It is hugely important for reasons other than the resources it harbours, however; the field is also setting a new standard for CO2 efficiency in extraction, with a land-based power supply leading to record-low CO2 emissions of well below 1kg per barrel, compared to a global average of around 18kg.
“Johan Sverdrup offers both high value creation and record-low emissions, making Johan Sverdrup a future-oriented oil field and part of the solution for reduced emissions. Electrification is an important tool for reaching Norwegian and international climate goals, aiming to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in Norway by 40% by 2030, and close to zero emissions in 2050,” Eldar Sætre, CEO of Equinor, expanded. CLEAN ENERGY COMMITMENT Equinor is immensely proud of its new start-up, and it is easy to see why, looking at the enormous production potential twinned with an unprecedented reduction in emissions per barrel. This is not an easy time to operate in the oil sphere,
Marking the official opening of the Johan Svedrup field, with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Oil and Energy Minister Sylvi Listhaug. Photo: Arne Reidar Mortensen © Equinor
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EQUINOR
Maximize Oil and Gas Production with a Digital Twin Strategy Author: Eddy Lek, AVEVA, Global Industry Marketing Manager Rising trade and geopolitical tensions are heightening volatility in the oil market with crude prices swinging widely in the past months. Given the increased volatility and expectation of a lower crude price environment, oil and gas companies are accelerating their Digital Transformation initiatives to drive effective capacity, not only through CAPEX, but also OPEX investments by optimising operations and improving asset availability as these are more scalable and have a shorter lead time, enabling companies to swiftly respond to market changes. Digital initiatives, if well executed, can unleash enormous opportunities in value creation. Leveraging Digital Twin Strategy in Digital Transformation A digital twin is a complete 360-degree replica of a physical asset such as pipelines, gathering systems, heat exchangers, turbines, pumps, compressors or entire plants that enables modelling of process and control, and monitoring of equipment health. It is the foundation of a digital transformation that optimises production, detects equipment problems before failures occur, uncovers new opportunities for process improvement, all while reducing unplanned downtime. Tagging operating assets with low quality and noisy data at the start of the process is likely to generate inferior or inaccurate results at downstream, reducing the value that can be extracted from the data. Therefore, ensuring a robust information management infrastructure to store, manage and contextualize data is first steps towards building a Digital Twin. Building a Digital Twin To build a digital twin for an asset, an initial 3D model is created. This model is then tagged with all the necessary attributes and engineering documentation – such as geometry, layout, connectivity of key components and process data, and other business and safety-critical engineering and design information. Through AVEVA NET - a robust information gateway, information and data around the asset are extracted from disparate data sources and validated for accuracy against known standards to create viewable renditions of documents and drawings. This acts as a data validation layer to ensure that all data meet the correct standards throughout the asset lifecycle. With the unified data-centric models, engineers are empowered with the ability to visualise the downstream impacts of their actions when they make either design or operational changes during operations. As a result, it eliminates information silos and reduces the decision cycles through improved collaboration and change management process. A good illustration is the data-centric engineering and design platform deployed by Aibel that facilitates collaboration across multiple offices, enabling them to work closely with Equinor during project execution and deliver the Johan Sverdrup offshore platform on time and under budget. Taking Operational Efficiency to the next level As the operational life continues, the digital twin is updated automatically, in real time, with current data, work records, and engineering information, to optimise maintenance and operational activities. With this, engineers and operators can easily search the asset tags to access critical up-to-date engineering and work information, and diagnose the health of a particular asset. Previously, such tasks would take considerable time and effort, and would often lead to issues being missed, leading to failures or production outages. With the digital twin, operational and asset issues are flagged and addressed early-on, and the workflow becomes preventative, instead of reactive. Combining Analytics and Artificial Intelligence The real-time process data from the digital replica, in turn, can be fed into predictive analytics and artificial intelligence with the ultimate goals of optimising overall production, process conditions and even predicting failures ahead of time. The Digital Twin, when combined with powerful analytics and artificial intelligence, enables predictive maintenance and optimal operations. With advanced pattern recognition, statistical models and machine learning technology, relevant data is then transformed into useful contexts with decision support, empowering workers to make technical decisions on-the-fly to reduce unplanned downtime and to optimise operating conditions. Embarking on a journey with sustainable long-term results Digital transformation allows companies to create new capabilities, new business models, and innovate ahead of their competition. It is a journey through deployment of technology and driving behavioural change in workforce. Making the transition successfully can be profoundly rewarding for companies. The breadth and depth of products and services in AVEVA’s portfolio offers greater choices and flexibility in designing a path to maximise oil and gas production in a methodical and extensible manner.
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On time. Under budget. More efficient. Equinor’s $1.2 billion, 22,500-ton Johan Sverdrup drilling platform was created in less time and with lower costs than expected, thanks to AVEVA. With 850 engineers across the world contributing 55,000 drawings, our powerful AVEVA E3D design software enabled a 20% reduction in engineering hours, driven by seamless digital collaboration. By modeling the platform in 3D, our solution allowed asset owners and EPCs to manage projects by cross-refencing one single “digital twin” of the project, keeping costs down and improving safety.
To learn more, visit sw.aveva.com/success-stories/aibel
Photograph by Arne Reidar Mortensen, courtesy of Equinor ASA.
INDUSTRY FOCUS: OIL & GAS
© Equinor
Continued from page 18 with more people than ever calling for an end to production. Far from deterring Equinor, such challenges push it to improve, both in its operations as a company and to spark charge in the industry as a whole. “If people didn’t care and protest about the climate, we’d be far worse off,” says geologist Thea Broch, from Equinor’s office in Harstad. “Our industry is experiencing fundamental challenges, and facing new realities,” Equinor recognises. “Some see them as threats. In Equinor, we believe our job is to turn them into opportunities. That’s why
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we’re looking for new ways to utilise our expertise in the energy industry, exploring opportunities in new energy as well as driving innovation in oil and gas around the world. “We know that the future has to be low carbon. Our ambition is to be the world’s most carbon-efficient oil and gas producer, as well as driving innovation in offshore wind and renewables,” Equinor sums up. The elephantine Johan Sverdrup is showing how much more cleanly oil can be produced, and looks set to redefine oil discovery, numbering barrels by the billion. On average, 18 kg of CO2 is emitted per barrel of oil produced. At
the Johan Sverdrup field, emissions will be a record low of 0.67 kg — or 4% of the world average — per barrel. “World energy demand continues to rise, and we will still have a significant need for oil and gas in the foreseeable future. But not all barrels are created equal — and it’s important that the oil which is produced, is produced as cleanly as possible,” Equinor states. At Johan Sverdrup it is innovation and the latest within digitalisation that enables oil production with much greater CO2 efficiency. Even more recently, Equinor has signed an agreement with Eidesvik © Equinor Offshore shipyard for the construction of the
EQUINOR
// OUR AMBITION IS TO BE THE WORLD’S MOST CARBON-EFFICIENT OIL AND GAS PRODUCER, AS WELL AS DRIVING INNOVATION IN OFFSHORE WIND AND RENEWABLES // Viking Energy supply vessel, capable of covering long distances fuelled by carbon-free ammonia. The vessel will transport supplies to installations on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). “Equinor aims to reduce the emissions in our supply chain, and regards the use of ammonia as a promising solution,” commented Cecilie Rønning, senior vice president
for Equinor’s joint operations support. “Viking Energy may become the first supply vessel in the world covering long distances fuelled by pure carbon-free ammonia.” It “If we solve this the ship industry will for the first time use a fuel that does not generate emissions during combustion. We have never before used a carbon-free fuel on a large vessel without range anxiety,”
concluded Henriette Undrum, Equinor’s head of future value chains, of the potential for another worldfirst for Equinor in its continued quest to reduce greenhouse gases and cut emissions, as oil and gas remain society’s primary energy sources for the foreseeable future.
WWW.EQUINOR.COM
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THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR ENERGY LEADERS
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www.emea-energy.net
February 2020
REPSOL:
Racing Towards a More Sustainable Future ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
Equinor / Seabased / EDF Energy / Akuo
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ENERGY FOCUS
FEBR UAR Y 2020