Software company to help BW Energy manage carbon emissions in new oilfield developments

Oslo Stock Exchange-listed oil and gas E&P company BW Energy has engaged the services of Sweden’s cloud enterprise software development company IFS to support its growth strategy, deliver operational efficiencies, and limit emissions while driving low-carbon oilfield development in line with its energy transition goals.

IFS revealed on Tuesday that BW Energy had selected IFS Applications enterprise resource planning (ERP) and enterprise asset management (EAM) software to support its global oilfield production and development strategy.

Knut R. Sæthre, CFO of BW Energy, remarked: “We are focused on unlocking proven worldwide offshore oil and gas resources but utilising existing infrastructure that leads to lower development costs, faster project delivery and reduced carbon emissions. Supported by IFS technology, our strategy enables low-carbon field developments which support the ongoing transition.”

According to the Swedish company, the implementation of its software will allow BW Energy to drive global enterprise-wide efficiencies across multiple business functions, from asset management and supply chain to human capital management (HCM) and finance. The oil and gas company, as the operator, will use this software to replicate data between offshore units and onshore offices, says IFS.

“IFS’ oil and gas industry expertise is reflected in the rich and critical functionality of the software. Its ability to support multiple business activities, together with the ERP and EAM capabilities, helps us to meet our multiple goals quickly and efficiently while giving us the agility we need to navigate a rapidly changing market and regulatory environment,” added Sæthre.

In addition, the IFS solution is expected to help BW Energy manage carbon emissions – as it develops new oilfields – and enhance the maintenance of its offshore production assets. In line with this, the software is supposed to assist BW Energy in planning, scheduling and resourcing maintenance activities in advance, while enabling the firm to make changes quickly and easily.

Elni Kullmer, Regional President for North and Central Europe, IFS, said: “IFS solutions are designed to offer fast-growth companies like BW Energy an uncomplicated path towards becoming more data-driven and improving innovation. BW Energy is committed to developing oil and natural gas fields in a way that is efficient, low carbon and supports the energy transition, and we are proud to partner with them to help guide them on their journey.”

Initially, BW Energy is expected to deploy IFS Applications across its hubs and assets in the U.S., Norway, Brazil, West Africa and Singapore, with more sites to follow in the future. The main BW Energy-operated assets in the company’s portfolio are 73.5 per cent of the producing Dussafu Marine Permit offshore Gabon and a  95 per cent interest in the Maromba field in  Brazil. The firm’s total net 2P+2C reserves were 241 million barrels at the start of 2022.

When it comes to BW Energy’s recent activities in Gabon, the company confirmed earlier this month that it remains on track for the first oil from its Hibiscus/Ruche development off Gabon later during the year in spite of delays caused by the pandemic and the geopolitical crisis, exacerbated by Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

However, BW Energy did confirm that an increased risk of delays is still present due to price inflation on services and materials.