Information management for decommissioning of Oil & Gas facilities

The availability of accurate and reliable data is essential throughout the various life cycle stages of the development of Oil & Gas facilities. However, there are currently many challenges in information management of Oil &... [ view full abstract ]

The availability of accurate and reliable data is essential throughout the various life cycle stages of the development of Oil & Gas facilities. However, there are currently many challenges in information management of Oil & Gas projects which hinder the availability of quality data. Inadequate data management practices have a negative impact on the various project life cycle phases leading to delays and litigation between project partners. Due to the nature of Oil & Gas projects, involving many contractors and subcontractors, structured information management processes are essential to enable a smooth transition between the development, commissioning, handover, production, and decommissioning life cycle stages. Standards and specifications such as ISO 15926 and the Capital Facilities Information Handover Specification for process industries (CFIHOS) have been developed to address these challenges, enabling the standardisation of data requirements throughout the life cycle of these facilities. However, due to their complexity, and the industry’s current business processes, their adoption has been limited and the industry remains fragmented. The lack of standardisation constitutes a major obstacle for the management of the late life stages of Oil and Gas facilities. In this paper we propose a framework for the development of decommissioning programmes of Oil & Gas facilities, based on existing guidelines from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) in the UK. The framework proposes the integration of a variety of visual data sources and GIS with asset data and documents structured according to the CFIHOS standard. We investigate the applicability of reality capture and visualisation methodologies for the planning of decommissioning procedures. This is accomplished through the integration of 360º photography-based walkthroughs with an existing Engineering Project Management (EPM) solution, which is currently being used by Oil and Gas Owner/Operators.

Results from this research form the basis for the development of a dedicated software solution to manage the late life of Oil and Gas facilities, which will enable Owner/Operators to maximise the use of their facilities and to plan the decommissioning process in a cost effective manner according to the UK regulations.