Boost the value of your operations

Increase performance & reduced consumption

Autonomous operation has been shown to significantly improve efficiency and performance in the oil and gas sector, delivering benefits such as reduced downtime, improved safety, optimized resource allocation, lower operational costs and less waste. The rationale is clear: operations are consistently executed in line with both established plans and the process best practices. Human involvement has largely been replaced by software and autonomous systems.

 

 

Shift from reactive to proactive maintenance

It is increasingly inefficient to perform maintenance according to predefined schedules. Instead, maintenance should be driven by the actual condition of the equipment. Our solution for condition-based maintenance leverages data from existing sensors, supplemented with additional instrumentation when necessary. To enable tracking of equipment health over time, each operation is assigned a value for relevant variables. These values are securely accessible online to authorized users.

Recommended OT security architecture

In collaboration with a leading Norwegian oil company, we’ve developed a solution that ensures secure connectivity to our control systems (OT), enabling safe remote access for support, troubleshooting, and updates. . This architecture effectively isolates OT from IT environments, preventing cross-contamination and safeguarding critical infrastructure. To ensure access is granted only when needed, the setup includes a timed activation switch that enables secure, temporary connectivity.

Signpost showing “Future” and “Past”, symbolizing the choice between old and new technology.

Standardized and open technologies really matter

  • Does the industry share our OPC UA excitement?

    Aker BP supports our adoption of the OPC UA standard, recognizing its value in secure, unified industrial data exchange. “We believe Ecco it share Aker BP`s vision and ambitions, for example in the use of open models and the OPC UA communication standard. We are excited to have them join the team as we progress our digitalization agenda” says Richard Emberland, Superintendent at Aker BP.

  • What’s the key benefit of OPC UA for your operations?

    Process plants and machines can no longer operate in isolation as standalone systems. To boost efficiency, they must connect, share data, and communicate clearly across systems. OPC UA enables seamless communication between devices and systems from different manufacturers, regardless of platform, operating system, or programming language. OPC UA is essential for achieving efficient industrial automation.

  • Is there a degree of built-in justification in automated / robotic operations?

    Yes, if sensor readings exceed predefined thresholds, the operation will pause in a controlled manner. These limits are set based on equipment specifications and operator experience. The risk of harmful strain on the processing plant is significantly reduced.

  • Does remote operation depend critically on connection stability?

    A break in the connection between the operations center and the process plant is undesirable but not critical. This is due to the fact that all control logic resides and operates locally on PLCs or PCs. Once a command is received, the local system will carry out the task even if the connection is lost (within defined restrictions). The main consequence is that the operations center loses visibility into the process during the disruption.

  • Can incidents be recreated for analysis and learning?

    What actually happened? Our control systems store and organize process data over long periods, enabling playback of key events.  This capability supports deeper insight and continuous improvement.

  • How can lessons learned be more effectively applied?

    As new experience is continuously gained, the definition of ‘best practice’ evolves. This forms the basis for updating software to further optimize operations. Once updated, the system ensures all processes follow the latest best practices (minimizes reliance on operator training). Deviations may also trigger updates to error-handling routines. All relevant process plants can be easily updated with the latest SW version.