An agreement has been concluded by Statoil with a consortium of suppliers consisting of ABB, IBM, Aker KvĂŚrner and SKF to develop new technology for more efficient operation of oil and gas fields. The technology is also to be used for new field development projects.
Valid for three years, the agreement has a value of around NOK 120 million. The objective is to extend the lifetime, and thus improve the recovery factor, of Statoilâs oil and gas fields by extensive use of technology, such as advanced process control, instrumentation and condition monitoring.
New technology will contribute to more efficient operation of oil and gas fields. By bringing together expertise, data and tools in real time, the experts from different disciplines and locations will have access to the same information and thus cooperate more efficiently.
This technology is also designed to improve safety and reduce the risk of negative environmental impact during operations.
âAccording to the agreement, the consortium and Statoil will share the development costs equally,â says Astrid JørgenvĂĽg, research manager at Statoilâs research centre. âStatoil is responsible for identifying pilots on the Norwegian continental shelf where the new technology is to be tested. The suppliers can commercialise and sell this technology.
âThrough this cooperation, the partners see an opportunity for their respective companyâs investments to be channelled to Norway, and the NCS will then function as a locomotive for technology development.â
In addition to the contributions from each company, the project will establish a cooperation with the Research Council of Norway, small and medium-sized companies with unique niche technology and research institutions, as well as universities and colleges.
âStatoil is preparing to enter into a total of six binding collaboration agreements with supplier companies on research and development. We believe that this working method increases the efficiency of technology development and simplifies the introduction of new technology, partly because the companies are committed to testing the new technology on the facilities,â says Ms JørgenvĂĽg.