News
March 24, 2022
Optilift technology prevented costly production delay Aker BP platform
Thanks to Optilift´s camera-based sensor technology, the client avoided a two-week delay of a major lift operation on the Aker BP platform.
– The cost of the Optilift system fitted on our main crane paid itself off in one lift. A major delay due to weather conditions would have come at a substantial cost, says Well Intervention Supervisor Thore Bergsaker.
The planned lifting operation was caused by an integrity issue with the coiled tubing string in use on the platform. This caused the cleaning of a well to be suspended. A new 59-ton reel with 6000 metres of tube length had to be lifted from the vessel onto the platform deck.
The heavy lift required a maximum wave height of 1 metre, which rarely occurs wintertime in the North Sea. The significant wave height at the scheduled time of the operation was measured to 2,1 metres.
Avoided delay
Judging by the wave height alone, the reel could not have been lifted safely off the vessel.
Weather forecasts predicted that the next window of opportunity would occur two weeks later. According to Bergsaker, the coiled tubing operation in the well could not go forward until a new reel was in place.
– It is extremely difficult for us to measure the exact movement of cargo on a vessel. It depends not only by wave height, but by where the cargo is placed on deck. Fortunately, the Optilift sensor system mounted on the crane, which measures the actual movement of the vessel, showed a 0,9-metre heave. Consequently, the lifting operation could go forward as planned that day, says Bergsaker.
– The Optilift system helped us proceed with the well operation and to get it ready for production as planned. That saved us a lot of money. If it were up to me, I would have the Optilift system mounted on all our offshore cranes, says Bergsaker.
Precision and reliability
Optilift’s Motion Reporter measures the actual relative heave-movement between the supply vessel and the boom tip of the crane. The measurements of Effective Significant Wave height (HSEff) can be used as a full substitute of Significant Wave Height (HS), traditionally provided by a wave radar.
The system provides exact heave measure of vessel deck and reduces waiting time for improved weather conditions. It also helps avoid lifting in unsafe conditions.
– We are pleased that our DNV certified Motion Reporter and software once again prove its value to the offshore industry. With the aim to make our solutions even more attractive to our clients, we are currently launching a new business model with significantly reduced hardware cost, and more flexible software licence models. We take pride in the solutions we develop and strive every day to make them even more versatile and effective, says Camilla Nylund, managing director of Optilift.