Facilities management is a very active area of technology deployment and continuous innovation.
Non-intrusive inspection technologies, advanced analytic software using machine learning and remote/robotic access are being adopted on an increasing number of offshore assets. These technologies can ensure access to hard-to-reach areas, increasing safety and reducing the requirement for manned entries into pressure vessels and storage tanks.
Floating facilities are seeing tailored inspection techniques and maintenance technologies for the complex issues regarding of FPSO turrets.
There is a significant increase in uptake of digital systems for facilities management, with growing adoption of electronic hand-held devices and wireless communication offshore, many becoming “business as usual”, supporting effective integration with operations and maintenance systems, asset surveys and full “digital twin” applications.
- Number of technologies reported down to 358 from 372, however this is still one of the largest focus areas for operators.
- Technologies span across integrity monitoring, with particular emphasis on non-intrusive inspections (NII), operations management and maintenance.
- Growing attention is noted to technologies related to condition monitoring to achieve greater equipment reliability through predictive maintenance.
- There is widespread industry interest in these technologies, with 17 operators carrying at least five facilities management technologies in their current plans. Twenty-two operators are reporting one or more technologies.
Many technical solutions for facilities management are proven technologies, with circa 16% in the early development or late development/pilot stage.
Whilst the majority of technologies are provided and deployed by vendors and suppliers, in circa 33% of cases operators take an active role in the development or customisation of the solutions for their assets’ needs.
Readiness definitions: Early development (TRL 1-4), late development/pilot (TRL 5-7), early commercialisation (TRL 8), proven (TRL 9)
Facilities management technologies in equipment monitoring and reliability are focused on remote condition monitoring technologies, including analysis software using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to reduce the need for offshore manned inspections, with both cost and safety benefits. Also included are software for production optimisation and emission reduction, and control room assistant software to monitor developing operational issues, creation of a Wi-Fi instrumentation mesh, and software for pulling and processing high frequency vibration and axial data. New this year are an advanced self-service analytics tool and software-based consolidation of visualisation for process machinery and wells. New emerging technology includes a compact cyclonic separator.
- Advanced self-service analytics: A tool to improve automation and provide engineering-based modelling and machine learning capabilities.
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- UK PI vision consolidation: Development of new screens to provide standardised visualisation for all process machinery and wells across all assets.
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- Wireless transmitters and creation of wifi instrumentation mesh: In use on low criticality loops. Also introduced for well head monitoring on plugged wells on currently cold stacked and normally unmanned platforms.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Optimise offshore plant performance: Emissions software to monitor plant performance and optimise running parameters to reduce GHG emissions.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Motion amplification camera: To visualise vibrations in standard HD video to provide fast and simple screening and early detection of vibrating equipment.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Control Room Assistant: A software solution that combines sensor outputs, standard operating procedures and the process engineer’s and operator’s expertise to pre-alert against developing operational issues.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Streaming data - rotating equipment: For condition monitoring of critical asset rotating equipment.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Emissions optimisation: Software to manage production parameters for emissions optimisation.
- TRL 8 early commercialisation
- Compact cyclonic separator: Design and lab testing of a full-scale preproduction version of a super-compact separator.
- TRL 5-7 late development/pilot (NEW)
- Gas compression analytics: Use of data science methods to improve gas compression up time.
- TRL 5-7 late development/pilot
- Advanced analytics trip prediction: A machine learning model to analyse the historical performance of a CO2 train, to later become real time to enable prediction of process trips at least 15 minutes before they occur. Historic real time data was used to develop and build a machine learning model targetting 50% accuracy in predictions.
- TRL 5-7 late development/pilot
Integrity monitoring and inspections reporting shows operators’ focus on technologies using AI and ML to identify anomalies from live inspection data, back lit cameras, IoT based CUI automated monitoring systems, an automated phased array UT crawler, UAV data conversion in a caissons database, and inspection data analytics. New this year are onshore digital twins, a poison resistant pellistor catalytic gas sensor, industrial loT wireless solutions, wide area UT monitoring, composite repair inspections and remote visual inspections.
- Digital twin: Onshore digital laser survey of existing plant with associated model for operational, maintenance and integrity improvements to existing site infrastructure.
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- Catalytic gas sensor: Poison resistant pellistor catalytic gas detector for fixed fire and gas detection systems.
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- Advanced inspection tools: Corrosion mapping of FSU side shell using automated crawler Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) probe.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- UAV data conversion and integration in iSite: Use of orthomosaic techniques on higher resolution images to enable more structured integrity management. Gives the ability to do time-based reviews by comparing side by side images of the same area.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Caisson inspection crawler: Deployed to undertake external inspection of sea water caissons to determine wall thickness and assess their condition/integrity. Deployed in high-risk, highly weather-sensitive, and in some cases very difficult to be reached areas.
- TRL 9 commercially available
Technology Example:
ToolTec have developed a range of cleaning and inspection tools that can be deployed from a platform, capable of cleaning and obtaining inspection data from varying sizes of caissons and conductors.
- Automated corrosion under insulation: CUI monitoring and prediction system.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Industrial loT wireless solutions: Industry standard compliant sensors to pinpoint possible equipment issues. Applications include installation in a LoRaWAN network to enable installation of long battery life wireless pressure instruments to replace existing pressure gauges on wellbay annuli.
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- Wide area UT monitoring: Permanent monitoring of ultrasonic testing area rather than a single point.
- TRL 8 early commercialisation (NEW)
- Composite repair inspection: Acoustic inspection method to detect and size flaws in composite repair bond lines and interlaminar dis-bonds.
- TRL 8 early commercialisation (NEW)
- Remote visual inspection: Remote visual inspection for pressurised equipment. Reduce personnel exposure, reduce cost and improve inspection efficiency/accuracy.
- TRL 8 early commercialisation (NEW)
- Inspection data analytics: A data harvesting service to read more than 1,000 inspection reports and extract ~14,000 wall thickness readings for analysis.
- TRL 8 early commercialisation
- TRL 8 early commercialisation
- Anomaly defect recognition: Analysis of historic and live inspection data to automate detection of anomaly defects to improve the accuracy and efficiency of integrity management and work execution.
- TRL 5-7 late development/pilot
- Use of long-range UT: For inspecting corrosion under pipe supports.
- TRL 5-7 late development/pilot
- Non-intrusive Inspection of online pressurised equipment: Use of robotics and artificial intelligence to develop automated equipment for entering pressurised environments and carrying out necessary inspection.
- TRL 5-7 late development/pilot (NEW)
Facility integrity repairs sub-category shows operators are reporting 3D printing for rapid part manufacture, maintenance access systems, and tablets and scanning tools for rapid identification of structural fabrication activities. Emerging technologies include laser rust removal, vibration modelling, and additive manufacturing of metal and polymer valve parts, next generation of DVI, fabric maintenance robotic systems and a grating clip securing device. New for 2025 are a topsides digital twin.
- Digital twin of topsides: To complete full engineering and design without the need for any offshore surveys.
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- Next generation remote audio visual inspection: Next iteration of DVI, with focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning, and a view to improvement of corrosion monitoring capabilities and fabric maintenance planning/execution.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Grating clip securing device: Simple clip designed to prevent grating clamps loosening and becoming potential dropped objects.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- TRL 9 commercially available
- 3D manufacturing: Using advanced manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing to replace parts such as pump impellers and heat exchangers.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Bespoke clamp and tool: To allow conductor repair.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Use of tablets and scanning tools offshore for fabrication: Portable hand-held scanner.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Fabric maintenance robotic system: Remotely operated tool for surface cleaning, preparation and application of barrier wrap coating technology on caissons, risers and structural columns. Applicable in inherently hazardous locations such as the splash zone, enabling safer fabric maintenance refurbishment in challenging locations.
- TRL 8 early commercialisation
- Laser surface preparation: Time efficient rust removal for inspection and recoating.
- TRL 5-7 late development/pilot
- TRL 5-7 late development/pilot
- Rapid pipe leak sealing clamps: Leak sealing repair clamps for utility systems. Technology established in domestic/commercial plumbing sector.
- TRL 5-7 late development/pilot
Technology Example:
The Kibosh Rapid Emergency Pipe Repair Clamp stops leaks immediately, once a Kibosh pipe repair clamp is fitted, the metal or plastic pipe can continue to function normally again under pressure.
- Additive manufacturing of metal and polymer valve parts: Difficulties in obtaining materials causing impact on cost and schedule of the valve parts. The utilisation of the Additive Manufacturing (AM) improves reuse of resources reducing the requirement for new raw materials. AM technology is based on 3D printing of parts and is still in development with a number of API standards being issued/developed for the process requirements and associated QA/QC requirements being developed.
- TRL 1-4 early development
Maintenance and operations reporting shows operators’ focus is on technologies that utilise digital and data to enhance the connectivity of the offshore worker in the platform environment, using virtual assets, digital twins, connectivity between onshore and offshore control rooms and heads up displays, joint integrity management databases and control room assistant technology, a digital fabric maintenance application, next generation verification pilot study and an investigation and vulnerability management tool. Emerging technology includes a high-performance data centre module. New this year are ALE fatigue analysis of FPSO turret gantry, corrosion under insulation data analysis. Automatic valve closure /opening timing tool and riser fatigue analysis modelling.
- Fatigue analysis using computational modelling of turret gantry with inspection to validate prediction: Enhances predictive maintenance and inspection, evaluates difficult/impossible to inspect areas, identifies areas requiring targeted inspection by specialist personnel.
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- Automatic valve closure/opening timing tool: To automatically track and monitor valve stroke time, such that during plant upset/trip events, all valve closure/open times can be verified against associated targets.
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- Riser fatigue assessment modelling for uninspectable components: Enhanced fatigue modelling of risers to ensure operational integrity is maintained. Bespoke approach to this for preventative and predictive failure enhanced with computer modelling.
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- POB electronic monitoring and mustering: Electronic POB mustering system for the two platforms located in the North Sea. This includes all the necessary equipment and manpower required to supply and install the system. The current scope of supply covers two locations: the wellhead protector platform and the bridge-linked platform, which are connected by a gangway.
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
- TRL 9 commercially available (NEW)
Technology Example:
Your most valuable assets are your personnel, keeping them safe is our primary focus. EPIC have been supplying reliable and effective POB solutions to the marine, oil and gas sector for over 30 years. Our client list of oil majors and market leaders throughout the world speaks for itself.
- Digital fabric maintenance (FM) workflow applicatiom: Integrates with existing anomaly management systems. A new application brings efficiencies to the worksite through a digital tablet interface, digital inspection and real-time reporting capabilities.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Management of outage and maintenance campaigns: Through systematic planning and preparation of activities in a single location.
- TRL 9 commercially available
- Caisson and conductor stabilising system: Polyurethane poured system to stabilise conductors within their guides.
- TRL 5-7 late development/pilot
