Transforming oil and gas capital project management with integrated PLM solutions

By Patricia Doherty

Today oil companies have to tap into increasingly risky deepwater reserves to meet the rising oil-thirsty consumer and commercial demand for fuel. And despite the decline in oil prices, potential projects that weren’t economically attractive only a few years ago are now feasible.

But while they explore for more for oil, the oil is harder to find. Companies are being forced to replace their depleted sources of oil and gas in the West with new supplies in politically and geologically more challenging territory from Russia to the deep water off West Africa.

This gives rise to a growing demand for new platform construction projects, and as deepwater production becomes increasingly complex and expensive, companies are seeking technology solutions to better handle the resulting operational and management challenges.

Currently The Oil & Gas industry spends more than $100 billion annually on deepwater oil and gas field development including the associated infrastructure-pipelines, drilling rigs and production platforms. And in an increasingly asset-intensive industry, failure isn't an option. Investment dollars must absolutely deliver on expectations. In challenging times, one failed project-a problematic design effort, a platform plagued by equipment delays, or an otherwise on-track project slowed by data miscommunications-has the potential to jeopardize both short-term success and the company's ability to further its long-term strategic goals.

Gains in Productivity in Deepwater Oil drilling

The deepwater "manufacturing" process is one of the toughest and most challenging "factory" environments on earth. Not only do oil and gas companies face unrivalled challenges to configure and construct one-of-a-kind production facilities to match the specifics of each platform environment, but they must ensure that the facilities are designed to operate continuously for decades, as one link in a chain of connected oil rigs, pipelines and refineries around the globe.

To meet these challenges, capital program management for oil production platforms including design, construction planning, supplier collaboration, operations and asset management need to evolve beyond the use of the traditional paper-based methods, 2D-design tools and cursory project and document management tools that are still prevalent in the market today.

Leveraging the benefits of 3D design tools and an integrated Plant and Asset Lifecycle Management (PALM) suite can enable real-time design revisions, clash management, data control and dynamic construction simulation that will dramatically reduce the human and financial risks involved in large project work. The ability to make changes during the design phase of a project rather than during the construction and fabrication phases greatly reduces the costs incurred due to the design modifications. And enabling all stakeholders-from owner operators to EPC's, to operations and maintenance managers, inspection managers and regulatory compliance managers-to have access to a unique repository of project data from initial platform design through to decommissioning - in a collaborative environment where the data evolves coherently and systematically throughout the life of the platform, greatly reduces non productive time (NPT), improves operations and dramatically enhances productivity.

With Dassault Systèmes Plant and Asset Life Cycle Management, you can design and simulate all aspects of a project in a virtual environment before any physical activities are ever initiated. And Dassault Systèmes' Capital Project Management provides project dashboard management that gives real-time visibility into a project's status including scheduling, assigned resources, processes, costs and deliverables. This collaborative project management solution dramatically increases the productivity of globally distributed users by executing projects and programs with real-time information that is updated automatically through direct links to business processes, tasks, documents, deliverables and other data sources. 

The Business Case for PLM

The implementation of a Plant and Asset Lifecycle Management (PALM) solution can be critical to a company's success. And there are clearly documented benefits and case studies which have shown the dramatic benefits to be gained.   

Key players throughout the oil and gas industry are embracing Dassault Systèmes' PALM solutions to transform business processes and dramatically reduce design modification time and cost.

The use of PALM allows for EPC firms and Owner/Operators to reach a higher level of accuracy, estimating project cost and schedule early on during a project definition phase- the Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) phase. Projected results consistently show accuracy of +/- 10% prior to start of any detailed design. 

Dassault Systèmes PALM solutions enable effective business transformation at every stage of an oil rig's lifespan. Whether starting a new project or assessing how to improve conditions at an existing platform, Dassault Systemes' solutions create incremental value by enabling collaborative management and systematic planning and execution of construction, operations, maintenance and decommissioning tasks. 

Patricia Doherty is Director of market development for the Energy industry at Dassault Systèmes S.A. She has been active in providing software applications and consulting to the Oil & Gas and Energy industries for over 20 years. Patricia holds a BA from UCD Ireland, and an MBA from The European University in Brussels. Email: patricia.doherty@3ds.com