Astrimar again mentoring the 2nd Cohort of OGTC TechX Pioneers

Astrimar’s Managing Director, Dr Caroline Roberts Haritonov, has again been appointed to help mentor some of the 2nd Cohort of start-up companies selected for the Oil and Gas Technology Centre’s TechX Pioneer program.

OGTC’s award-winning TechX Pioneer accelerator program aims to help smaller technology developers take their solutions to the oil and gas market faster.  With almost 200 applications from more than 35 countries, 11 were selected to receive up to £100,000 each of OGTC funding to develop their business together with 16 weeks of mentoring and partnering support through the program.

The new technologies being developed by the three start-up companies that Astrimar are delighted to be mentoring are:

• Green Mesa: software that enables emission profiling of assets, allowing informed decisions to be made for compliance reporting and fleet utilisation. https://www.linkedin.com/company/greenmesa/

• Mocean Energy: an autonomous, unmanned offshore renewable energy station to power ocean sensors, communication equipment, stranded subsea XTs and recharge sea-surface, underwater, and air drones. https://www.linkedin.com/company/mocean-energy/

• Sedwell Limited: a low-power, low-cost wireless condition monitoring technology that provides real-time data to prevent hydrocarbon releases, increasing safety and reliability. https://www.linkedin.com/company/sedwell/

Astrimar Director elected to Decom Leadership Group

Astrimar’s director, Caroline Roberts Haritonov has been elected to join the Decom North Sea Decommissioning Leadership Group.

Decom North Sea's Decommissioning Leadership Group (DLG) was formed a year ago to support the DNS Board, advising on the strategic direction of the organisation and providing support and guidance for Decom North Sea led initiatives and Special Interest Sub-groups that have been created to progress mutual areas of interest for DNS members.

Caroline is one of the new members of the DLG elected to support these objectives and to represent, in particular, the interest of members involved in wells decommissioning. Further details are available on Decom North Sea’s website: https://decomnorthsea.com/about-dns/dlg

Astrimar joins Decom North Sea

Astrimar are delighted to become members of Decom North Sea

Joining Decom North Sea is part of our ongoing commitment to promote and support the development of innovative technologies and methods aimed at improving efficiency and integrity for late life operations and decommissioning in the North Sea and globally.  Our recent developments in risk-based well plug design analysis and support to qualification of new well plugging materials and technologies has been a key driver for us to make this commitment.  We are keen to network with and learn from other member organisations, and to build on the benefits already established through our membership of The Energy Institute, SubseaUK, SUT and the Offshore Engineering Society to promote and share learnings across our industry and implementation of best practice.

Energy Institute Media Partner for Asset Management Conference

Astrimar is delighted to again be invited to be a media partner for the EI 2019 conference "Approaches to upstream asset major accident hazard management with learnings from inside and outside of the Oil and Gas Industry"

The Energy Institute is holding this popular 1-day asset maangement conference on 2-3 October 2019 at Ardoe House Hotel in Aberdeen to explore the latest industry thinking, best practice, research and lessons learned and innovation with relevance to the management of major accident hazards associated with oil and gas assets.  

This event seeks to build on the principles of cross-industry learning captured in its recently published “High-Level Framework for Management of Process Safety”, which received input from several high-hazard industry sectors including Oil and Gas and has been endorsed by the industry safety regulator. The event will examine approaches to the assessment and management of common Major Accident Hazards from within, and without the Upstream Sector.

Key conference themes will be:

• Leadership

• Hazard Identification 

• Risk Management

• Measurement/Review and Improve

This conference will be of interest to oil & gas personnel with responsibilities in the fields of:

• Asset Management

• Technical Risk Analysis

• HSE, Asset Integrity

• Operations

• Human Factors

• Business Improvement

• Operational Excellence

Early-bird registration is available until  21 June 2019

More information is avilable on the Energy Institue Website

Astrimar to present at OTC 2019

Astrimar will be presenting details of their STEM-flow predictive modelling tool in Session 46 on Thursday 9th May. The tool supports risk based well P&A strategies and technology qualification of new well sealing materials

Astrimar are delighted to again be attending the Offshore Technology Conference to be held in Houston, Texas between 6 - 9 May.  R&D Engineer Brian Willis will present a paper on “Long Term Well Plug Integrity Assurance - A Probabilistic Approach” as part of Session 46 “Offshore CO2 storage: technical challenges for new business opportunities” on the morning of 9th May.  The paper (paper no. 29259) outlines the methodology and application of the Astrimar STEM-flow predictive modelling tool for qualification of new sealing technology for the oil and gas industry.

Industry regulators along with operators are currently pursuing opportunities to reduce the overall costs of decommissioning activities, with well P&A being a significant factor. A risk based approach to P&A combined with application of new technologies has been identified as having the potential to significantly reduce both these costs and the associated risk to people, the environment and the operator.  However, the assessment of this risk is challenging, particularly in light of latest industry guidance which requires new plugging materials to retain their integrity for 3000 years.

To support the industry in overcoming this challenge, Astrimar have developed the STEM-flow tool to provide quantitative support for the qualification of sealing and plugging technology for oil and gas wells and to support a risk based well plugging and abandonment (P&A) design strategy. The STEM-flow tool allows for the prediction of plug life and overall well abandonment life and provides quantitative support towards abandonment assurance.

The paper presents the system modelling approach for well P&A design, which includes bespoke plug and seal models including a range of material degradation models.  The paper also includes the analysis of structural bismuth alloys for P&A (as an alternative to traditional cement plugs) and the application of these alloys to carbon capture and storage (CCS).

A copy of the paper can be obtained from OnePetro 

2019 training dates released

Our new 2019 training dates are now available for both our webinar and classroom courses

Astrimar has always tailored their training courses to address industry needs and our new 2019 calendar focuses on the growing demand for:

• Application of reliability engineering as part of technology qualification

• Risked-based asset integrity management

• Risk-based well plugging and abandonment design

Our popular 2-day classroom course on the Qualification of New Technology is scheduled for June 2019. We are also offering a brand new 1-day course on data analysis techniques to support truly risk-based asset integrity management.

As a result of the continued popularity of our free 1-hour Desk2Desk Online Learning webinars, we will be continuing to offer these during 2019 in addition to our classroom courses. The webinars will be running on a regular basis throughout the year and include:

• Introduction to Technology Qualification Assurance

• Application of pRIOriti-AIM to support Risk-Based Asset Integrity Management

• Introduction to API RP 17N (2nd ed) on Reliability & Integrity best Practice

• Use of STEM-flow to support Risk-Based Well Plugging and Abandonment

We also want to make sure our training continues to offer the best value and so, recognising the continued low-cost focus across the energy industry, we have continued to keep all our course fees at our 2016/17 rates, including our early booking, multiple course, and group discounts with one-day courses available for less than £300. More details are available on our training pages http://www.astrimar.com/training.aspx or from our training department training@astrimar.com.

Astrimar to exhibit and present at Subsea Expo 2019

Astrimar are delighted to be returning again to Europe's largest annual subsea exhibition and conference taking place in Aberdeen on 5th to 7th February 2019

Astrimar will be exhibiting at stand 26. 

We are also excited to be presenting on technology qualification and in particular, managing the risks of introducing transformational materials and manufacturing technologies. 

We look forward to seeing you there, 

www.subseaexpo.com.

Energy Institute Media Partner for Digital Transformation Workshop

Astrimar is delighted to again be invited to be an EI media partner for their upcoming Interactive Conference on "Digital Transformation in the Oil and Gas Industry" to be held on the 6 December 2018 at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.

The Energy Institute is holding this 1-day interactive conference to explore the adoption of digital technologies to transform the oil and gas industry to become better connected, more intelligent, efficient, reliable and sustainable.  

The use of data analytics, blockchain, internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly important to keep up with the growing energy demand. Expertise and effective technology development and assurance are key to the successful implementation of these and other digital technologies.

The workshop will facilitate discussion with digital companies and consultancies on the latest technologies, to explore how they can transform oil and gas operations with the potential positive impact on efficiency and costs.  There will also be discussion around the future skill set needed to overcome the current barriers and bring the oil and gas sector into the digital age.

Carlo Procaccini, Technology Manager, Oil and Gas Authority will be speaking, alongside other expert speakers from leading organisations. Follow this link for more information and to view the full list of speakers.

Key topics include:

• The technology outlook and its trends and prospects

• How digitalisation is benefiting the oil and gas industry

• Insights into cyber-security and its role in digitalisation

• Embarking on a digital journey

• Putting digital technologies into practice

• Insights into digitalisation transformation and innovation

Attend to engage with digital consultancies through innovative solution-based round-tables, technical presentations and panel discussions. Increased use of technology in all industries is here to stay and is only set to get bigger – this event gives the opportunity to review your organisation’s strategy in the context of this new wave of digitalisation.

For more information and booking see: 

https://www.energyinst.org/whats-on/search/events-and-training?meta_eventId=61812B

Astrimar - a Media Partner for Energy Institute Asset Management Conference

Astrimar are delighted to be invited to be a media partner for the upcoming EI Asset Management Conference to be held on the 3 - 4 October 2018 at the Marcliffe Hotel and Spa in Aberdeen

The Energy Institute are holding this prestigious event to explore the latest industry strategies, good practice, research, lessons learned and innovative thinking surrounding the wide range of issues that affect the integrity, ageing, and life extension of oil and gas assets.

Astrimar recognise the additional challenges posed by the increasing numbers of mature oil and gas assets heading towards end of life, both in terms of  current integrity management and moving forwards into possible life extension and decommissioning. Striking a balance between low cost maintenance and assuring sufficient integrity for safe decommissioning is a complex process that requires a robust understanding of condition, degradation and future loading conditions.

Ashley Hynds MEng CEng, HM Principal Inspector Process Safety, Health & Safety Executive will be speaking, alongside expert speakers from leading organisations including Saudi Aramco, ABB, Wood, Nexen Petroleum UK, Cyberhawk Innovations, TAQA and Oceaneering. Follow this link for more information and to view the full list of speakers.

Programme highlights:

Day 1:

• Keynote: Leading the industry through the asset and operating integrity of its offshore operations

• Managing maintenance backlogs to deliver effective risk management and operational integrity

• Offshore major hydrocarbon release risk: Learnings from HSE's recent inspections of operational and asset integrity

• The short-sightedness of taking a short termism approach and the real need for collaboration in integrity management

• Process safety in decommissioning projects

• Human factors in decommissioning

• Elevating your competency system: moving from task performance to key competencies

• Identifying risk management solutions through operational integrity

• Symposium technical sessions: avoiding failures in the operational phase; process safety; human factors

Day 2:

• Keynote: Corrosion under pipe supports – the magic threat

• Keynote: Ageing equipment - one size does not fit all: tailored approaches for managing deterioration and obsolescence

• Digital transformation in managing asset integrity

• Exploring asset management in the aspect of stable operations at a lower cost

• Innovative NDT technologies which provide inspection solutions for large-diameter risers

• Proactive design criterion to maximize the integrity, reliability and profitability of oil and gas assets

• Understanding the changes to vibration risk as assets age

• The practical application of remote hull inspection techniques on Glen Lyon FPSO

• Developing guidelines for the integrity management of valves

• Inspect and repair: a joined-up approach

• Assessment of corrosion under insulation and engineered temporary wraps using pulsed eddy-current techniques

• Symposium technical sessions: asset integrity and asset integrity threat management

Attend for the opportunity to learn and share best practice between companies and industries, as well as taking advantage of the excellent networking opportunities with delegates from around the world representing operating companies, EPC contractors, service and equipment suppliers, consultancies, regulators and academia.

For more information, visit the Energy Institute Website at: 
https://www.energyinst.org/whats-on/search/events-and-training?meta_eventId=61810A

Astrimar to mentor OGTC TechX Pioneers

Astrimar’s Managing Director, Dr Caroline Roberts Haritonov, has been appointed to help mentor some of the start-up companies selected for the Oil and Gas Technology Centre’s first cohort on their TechX Pioneer program.

The Oil and Gas Technology Centre (https://www.theogtc.com/), was established in Aberdeen just over a year ago with funding from the Scottish Government, UK Government, Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and Opportunity North East and is the new industry-led research and knowledge organisation driving and supporting the oil and gas industry in the UK and internationally.  Its TechX Pioneer accelerator program, aims to help smaller technology developers take their solutions to the oil and gas market faster.  From more than 125 entrepreneurs that applied for the program, 10 were selected to receive up to £100k of OGTC funding and 16 weeks of mentoring and partnering support through the program.

Astrimar’s Caroline Roberts Haritonov commented “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work alongside some of the exciting technologies and their innovators as part of this program, to be able to offer some of our experience and expertise in effective technology qualification and assurance, and to play a small part in seeing these start-up companies succeed along their journey to commercialisation. This new generation of innovators has a significant role to play in the future technological and economic success of the North East of Scotland, as well as the oil and gas industry as a whole, both in the UK and internationally.”

2nd edition of API RP 17Q published

The completed 2nd edition of API RP 17Q Recommended Practice on Subsea Equipment Qualification is now available from IHS

Astrimar is delighted that the 2nd edition of API RP 17Q has now been published. Astrimar technical director John Strutt was a key contributor to this along with leading operators and equipment suppliers.

The update is a major revision to the 1st edition which previously focused primarily on qualification of standard technology. The 2nd edition addresses qualification of new technology, modified technology and standard technology and provides detailed guidance on the technology qualification process as well as appropriate activities for each technology readiness level. It extends the guidance previously provided in API RP 17N and is well aligned with DNV RP A203. 

The interim guidance provided in Annex E and Annex F in the  2nd edition of API RP 17N has now been removed with 17N now referencing 17Q.

For anyone wanting to know more about the latest guidance, Astrimar are running their popular 2 day technology qualification training course this month. More details can be found under our classroom training courses

Astrimar to present at SPE Well Late Life and Well Abandonment Conference

Astrimar engineer Brian Willis will be outlining a probabilistic modelling approach being developed to support long term well plug integrity assurance at the SPE conference in Aberdeen on 27th and 28th June

Well plugging and abandonment (P&A) poses significant long term risks for the oil and gas industry, with approximately 1400 offshore wells requiring P&A solutions within the next decade in the UK sector. Well abandonment regulations imply a requirement for wells to be leak free permanently. Cement plugs have traditionally been accepted, albeit with uncertain performance. New materials with superior performance are being developed as alternatives to cement. Current industry guidelines recommend qualification testing of new plug materials to demonstrate a minimum plug life of 3000 years. This presents a major challenge to the technology developer and well operator.

The presentation describes how advanced predictive well integrity modelling methods have been developed for use in conjunction with qualification test data, to support plug technology qualification programmes. Examples include predicted leakage rates over time, statistical life of plugs and time to unacceptable well leakage. The presentation outlines the principles of the approach including flow rate models, plug degradation models and Monte Carlo simulation. Experience of implementing these tools for predicting the impact of material properties, well geometry and configuration, long-term changes in well and reservoir conditions, and associated uncertainties on well integrity and plug life are also presented.

Full details of the conference are available on the SPE Aberdeen website. 

Astrimar awarded Innovate UK funding

Astrimar to support RECL in second project to qualify Bismuth alloys as an alternative to cement plugs for well abandonment

Permanent well abandonment implies that materials used for plugging of wells should provide a seal against leakage from the well for millions of years.  Cement plugs have traditionally been accepted; however, these are time consuming and hence costly to install and have unknown integrity over such extended durations.  

Rawwater Engineering (RECL) are currently developing a range of Bismuth alloys as a cost effective alternative for plugging and abandonment of wells. The high corrosion resistance, low melting point and expansion properties of the alloys can be exploited to cast high integrity, in-situ seals including in underwater environments, within soil and also within porous rock. The alloys can be used as a reversible replacement for cement seals with signficantly shorter installation times.

The overall objective of this "Advanced Bisthmuth Alloy Development for Downhole Casing and Plugging of Wells" project is to further develop and qualify an advanced Bisthmuth alloy for high pressure and high temperature applications which can be cast downhole to provide high integrity, cost effective well sealing and meet industry life requirements.

The parallel "Expanding Metal Seal" project started in August 2017 is focused on extending Rawwater's existing capabilities in the handling and deployment of low melting point metals for well casing plugs and to develop tools to create seals in undefined and/or rough walled geometries (e.g. cap rock) that are difficult to seal with existing technologies.

Current industry guidelines recommend qualification testing to demonstrate a plug life of at least 3000 years. As part of both projects, Astrimar is developing predictive well integrity modelling software to forecast future plug performance, reflecting the specific downhole well and casing conditions and plug material behaviour, to support well risk assessments and provision of plug reliability assurance. In addition, Astrimar will be supporting the RECL qualification testing activities.

Issue of our 2018 training calendar

2018 training dates now available for both webinar and classroom courses

Astrimar has always tailored their training courses to address industry needs and our 2018 calendar is focused on the growing demand for application of reliability engineering as part of technology qualifcation and for risked-based asset integrity management. This includes our 2-day classroom course on the Qualification of New Technology and our Management of Reliability and Integrity courses which have been updated in line with recently issued industry standards such as the new edition of API RP 17N. 

Following the popularity of our free 1-hour Desk2Desk Online Learning webinars last year, we will be continuing to offer these during 2018 in addition to our classroom courses. The webinars will be runing on a regular basis throughout the year and include:

• Introduction to Technology Qualification Assurance

• Update on the new API RP 17N (2nd ed) on Reliability & Integrity Management

• Introduction to the Reliability Engineering Toolbox

• Application of pRIOriti-AIM to support Risk-Based Asset Integrity Management?

We also want to make sure our training continues to offer the best value and so, recognising the current financial constraints across the energy industry, we have kept all our course fees at our 2016/17 rates, including our early booking, multiple course, and group discounts with one-day courses available for less than £300. More details are available on our training pages http://www.astrimar.com/training.aspx or from our training department training@astrimar.com. 

Astrimar exhibits at Subsea Expo 2018

Astrimar are delighted to be returning to Europe's largest annual subsea exhibition and conference taking place in Aberdeen on 7th to 9th February 2018

Astrimar will be at stand 31 this year and we look forward to seeing you there, www.subseaexpo.com.

Astrimar to present at IMechE Pumps, Valves and Actuators conference

Astrimar will be presenting experiences from the subsea oil and gas industry at the IMechE conference in Sheffield on 6th and 7th December 2017

Astrimar Technical Director John Strutt will share experiences from the oil and gas industry in relation to cost effective monitoring and predictive modelling to achieve improved subsea integrity whilst whilst reducing inspection and and maintanance costs. John will outline:

• How the subsea industry has traditionally managed subsea integrity and how it is adapting to change in the low oil price era

• How advances in monitoring technology, data analytics and predictive modelling are being used to improve understanding of asset integrity while enabling subsea operators to minimise inspection and testing costs

• Examples of how these approaches are being applied to subsea valves and actuators

John will also be joining the panel leading a discussion workshop on developing best practice for pump, valve and actuator operations .

More details about the event are available from the IMechE

Astrimar presents at SUT subsea inspection seminar

Astrimar joined key industry organisations to talk about the latest technology to support value-based subsea inspection

Astrimar director Caroline Roberts-Haritonov spoke about effective tools and techniques for predictive subsea integrity management at the SUT seminar "The leading Edge of Value-Based Subsea Inspection" that took place on 1st November 2017 in Aberdeen. More information about the event and a copy of Caroline's presentation can be obtained from the SUT website

Astrimar awarded Innovate UK funding

Astrimar to support RECL qualifying Bismuth alloys as an alternative to cement plugs for well abandonment

Permanent well abandonment implies that materials used for plugging of wells should provide a seal against leakage from the well for millions of years.  Cement plugs have traditionally been accepted; however, these are time consuming and hence costly to install and have unknown integrity over such extended durations.  

Rawwater Engineering (RECL) are currently devloping Bismuth alloys as a cost effective alternative for plugging and abandonment of wells. The high corrosion resistance, low melting point and expansion properties of the alloys can be exploited to cast high integrity, in-situ seals including in underwater environments, within soil and also within porous rock. The alloys can be used as a reversible replacement for cement grout seals with signficantly shorter installation times. The overall objective of this Expanding Metal Seal Project is to extend Rawwater's existing capabilities in the handling and deployment of low melting point metals in defined smooth wall geometries (i.e. well abandonment casing plugs) and to develop tools to create seals in undefined and/or rough walled geometries (e.g. cap rock) that cannot be perfectly sealed with existing technologies.

Current industry guidelines recommend qualification testing to demonstrate a plug life of at least 3000 years. As part of the project, Astrimar is developing predictive well integrity modelling software to forecast future plug performance, reflecting the specific downhole casing / rock formation conditions and plug material behaviour, to support well risk assessments and provision of plug reliability assurance. In addition, Astrimar will be supporting the RECL qualification testing activities.

2nd edition of API RP 17N published

The completed 2nd edition of API RP 17N Recommended Practice on Subsea Production System Reliability, Technical Risk, and Integrity Management is now available from IHS

Astrimar is delighted that the 2nd edition of API RP 17N has now been published. Astrimar was a key contributor to this with our technical director John Strutt taking a leading role in drafting the document.

Leading operators and equipment suppliers have been actively involved in the update which has incorporated integrity as an inherent part of the guidance and includes significantly enhanced guidance for the post design life cycle stages. In addition, more information is provided on best practice for technology qualification as an interim measure until the 2nd edition of API RP 17Q on technology qualification, also supported by Astrimar, is available. 

New Technology Qualification Training Course

Building on their years of collaboration with SUT, Astrimar are now delighted to be able to be running their successful 2 day course on the qualification of new technology in Aberdeen in September

Innovation and technology are key to success in any industry, and as we have seen recently, a challenging industry climate can be a huge catalyst to the development and application of new technology.  Acceptance of the new technology however, can be a real barrier to market deployment. 

Astrimar's consultants have been instrumental in the development and application of industry best practices including the first adoption of TRLs in API RP 17N in 2009 and the new extended guidance in updated API RP 17Q to be published later this year.  These industry best practices enable organisations to efficiently determine the most effective and appropriate testing regimes to demonstrate functionality, durability and reliability and manage technology risk.  

Astrimar have been successfully delivering their 1-day training course on Technology Qualification in conjunction with the SUT since 2012, running the course several times in London and Aberdeen, as well as in Perth and Houston.  In 2016, following positive feedback and requests from previous delegates, Astrimar launched an extended 2-day version of the course, to include additional guidance on the types of reliability testing to support qualification at each TRL (Technology Readiness Level) and statistical techniques for determining test populations and reliability assurance. Following the success of the pilot course, Astrimar are delighted to announce dates for the 2-day course in September in Aberdeen.

For more information and booking, please visit our training pages