How Digital Engineering and Cross-Industry Knowledge Transfer is Reducing Project Execution Risks in Oil and Gas

Abstract

Technology has transformed the energy industry over the last 60 years. It has made processes more efficient, employees more productive and crucially, it has improved the safety of both workers and facilities. In a mature industry, such as oil and gas, operators and owners are faced with the challenge of safely and efficiently managing their ageing plant and assets. This challenge is compounded by poor historic records and information, and the potential loss of knowledge as the current workforce retires. Coupled with the increasing requirement for high levels of design assurance and confidence in solutions, and the constant pressure to deliver value, faster and cheaper; companies are constantly looking at the latest technological advances, and to other industry sectors, for possible solutions. This paper explores, through case studies, how the latest digital modelling and visualisation techniques are being innovatively deployed to enhance design, delivery and operations in the oil and gas sector. SNC-Lavalin have been uniquely deploying these technologies into the nuclear sector, where access time is highly-limited due to nuclear radiation. This learning has been brought to the oil and gas sector, and is an exemplar of cross-industry working and knowledge transfer.