The control room for Statoil’s first platform to be remotely operated from land opened today (9 November) at Sandsli in Bergen, Norway.
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| Source: Statoil |
“We have had land-based surveillance and control of offshore operations for a long time, however, the remote control of Valemon marks one important step forward on our digitalization journey,” said Gunnar Nakken, head of the operations west cluster in Statoil, in a statement. Gunnar, Norway's Petroleum and Energy Minister Terje Søviknes, and Nina Birgitte Koch, head of Kvitebjørn Valemon and Grane operations, were on hand for the celebration (picture right).
Most of Statoil’s production will still be carried out on large, manned platforms, such as Aasta Hansteen and the Johan Sverdrup platform. But the remote operation solution will be considered for somewhat smaller platforms and fields. “First, we must gain experience from Valemon,” said Nakken.
Onshore remote control of the Valemon platform is one example of how new ways of working and interacting offer new possibilities and advantages.
“Thanks to new technology and knowledge we can utilize the advantages of our smaller, standardized building blocks that are combined differently from field to field for optimal resource exploitation. We want to combine the best technology, below and above water, to find optimal solutions for every project, thereby ensuring safer operation,” said Nakken.
Valemon started production in 2015, 30 years after its discovery, and produces approximately 60,000 b/d of gas and condensate. Light oil production from the field is piped to the Kvitebjørn platform for processing, and from there to Mongstad. Gas from Valemon is piped to the Heimdal platform for processing before being shipped to the European market.
Statoil is operator of Valemon with 53.77%. Partners include License owners include Petoro (30%), Centrica (13%), Shell (3.23%).
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