FPSO structural twin enabling assets’ life extension and multimillion-dollar savings for oil & gas operators

Switzerland-headquartered structural performance management software solutions provider Akselos has unveiled its structural performance management (SPM) software designed to enhance asset performance, ensure uninterrupted operations, and extend the asset life of floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels.

Akselos describes its SPM for FPSO 4.0 software as a cutting-edge tool that integrates operational excellence with asset integrity management to provide a comprehensive, near-real-time view of an FPSO’s structural health. The company claims its drive to include industry 4.0 technologies in the offshore energy production sector is backed by years of experience supporting operators like Shell, Santos, Yinson, and Enauta.

The Swiss player further elaborates on its scalable technology, emphasizing that it creates a single, fully physics-based, unified, and maritime class-compliant model, providing a holistic end-to-end view of the vessel’s structural integrity, unlike legacy systems that use dozens or even hundreds of sub-models.

Dr. Claus Reimers, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Akselos, noted: “In the true spirit of Industry 4.0, we’re revolutionizing FPSO operations like never before. SPM for FPSO 4.0 is a game-changer – empowering operators to unlock unprecedented levels of efficiency, optimize operational costs, minimize downtime and extend the life of their assets. This isn’t just about keeping up with industry standards – it’s about breaking barriers and setting new benchmarks for what is possible.”

As a result, operators are said to be able to interact with a dashboard to optimize inspection and maintenance by visualizing inspection data and identifying fatigue and stress hot spots; run fatigue and strength assessments to confirm the structural health of their assets, considering actual sea states; and estimate the remaining asset life-based on actual metocean data.

In addition, operators can assess the impact of defects on safety and structural integrity while maintaining class compliance, thus, these features collectively empower FPSO operators to extend asset life, reduce operational expenditures (OPEX), and minimize risks associated with offshore operations.

Recently, Akselos landed a strategic enterprise agreement with the UK-based Shell, enabling the UK player to employ SPM to monitor the structural health of assets described as critical across its portfolio in near real-time, helping enhance their lifecycle by ensuring uninterrupted operations at maximum output.

This widens Akselos’ scope of work on Shell’s Pearl GTL in Qatar, Scotford in Canada, and the FPSO Bonga offshore Nigeria, for which the Swiss player deployed a structural digital twin in 2020, and multiple assets in the Gulf of Mexico.

Moreover, Akselos is adamant that its SPM for FPSOs has the potential to slash OPEX by up to 35% through optimized inspections and maintenance planning, minimizing planned and unplanned downtime and enabling faster time to resolution for structural issues. The company believes it can help operators avoid over $100 million in lost production by extending safe operating windows, potentially avoiding unnecessary dry dock.

Additionally, the RB-FEA technology-powered software, which is perceived to allow FPSO operators to extend the operational life of assets by removing unwanted and overly conservative fatigue estimates, helps operators unlock spare structural capacity in compliance with class and standards.

This near real-time, structural twin of the entire FPSO is seen as a way for operators to continuously monitor asset health, identify stress hotspots, and run ‘what if’ scenarios to mitigate risks, reducing the possibility of unplanned downtime.

The solution, which Akselos claims integrates seamlessly with existing systems such as inspection data management systems (IDMS) and risk-based inspection (RBI) workflows, can be incorporated into the current operational infrastructure without disrupting established processes.