Life Extension Of Oil And Gas Assets In The North Sea. Health and Safety Issues

Academic Paper from the year 2018 in the subject Energy Sciences, grade: 80.00, , course: LRPM, language: English, abstract: In recent years, the offshore Shell operations have been faced with considerable challenges in the North Sea, due to dwindling oil resources. Currently, major oil operations are targeting marginal fields, explore more challenging ones and go further into deeper sea oceans. Established fields are characterized by reducing production rates and increasing unit expenses of the structures that have been functioning beyond the intended design lifespan. Besides, oil and gas production process integrates the functions of numerous pieces of equipment, which are subjected to rigorous operating environments. Corrosion, wear, erosion and ageing-related factors weaken the conditions of these facilities. This necessitates the significance of understanding the ageing and life extension processes and implement effective intervention measures on demand without jeopardizing the integrity, health, and safety of the facilities, the people working on and the natural environment surrounding them.