The first meeting of a new knowledge sharing forum on the topic of subsea integrity management practice is scheduled to take place at this year’s Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.
It is part of the game-raising strategy hatched by ITF (Industry Technology Facilitator) CEO Paddy O’Brien.
The SURF IM Network is being led by Wood Group Kenny with support from ITF and 13 operating companies, including many of the major international operators and a range of smaller independents, have so far confirmed participation in the initiative.
Setting up the SURF IM Network follows on from a joint industry project (JIP) on integrity management of subsea, umbilical, riser and flowline systems, known as the SURF IM JIP.
This identified key failure mechanisms, investigated inspection and monitoring technologies and technology gaps, and developed best practice guidelines for the integrity management of subsea facilities.
The SURF IM JIP combined knowledge of subsea systems in operation and those under development to identify key failure modes and technology needs for the detection and prediction of subsea equipment failures.
SURF IM, as an operator-only JIP, is said to have delivered significant additional benefits to its members as an integrity management knowledge-sharing forum among the 12 participating operating companies that shared experience of subsea integrity problems, solutions and operational experience in the development and deployment of integrity management technologies.
Commenting on the launch of the network, group technology and engineering director at Wood Group Kenny, Kieran Kavanagh pointed out that the creation of a subsea integrity management network turned out to be one of the most valuable elements of the JIP to the project participants.
“As the original joint industry project drew to a close, there was consensus among the participants that the network should be continued as a forum for allowing members to share their subsea integrity experiences and gain valuable learnings from others in a mutually-beneficial environment,” he said.
“Safety and integrity are areas of collaboration among the participant companies. Everyone benefits from avoiding subsea failures.”
The focus of the network will be on shared integrity and reliability experience of its members with primary focus in the areas of subsea equipment and subsea processing.
Kavanagh added: “The network is scheduled to meet for two days (on the Thursday and Friday of OTC week) and members have been asked to identify preferred topics that they wish to share and others that they would like to learn from the network.
“The meeting will include a very interesting mix of case studies and operational lessons learned on the integrity management of subsea systems.”
For his part, ITF’s O’Brien said the original SURF IM project was very well supported and that he was delighted that more companies are now joining the SURF IM Network.
“This shows there is a real appetite for collaboration within the industry and an understanding of the benefits it can bring,” he told Energy.
“Moreover, there may be an opportunity for ITF to play a proactive role in facilitating new joint industry projects that may be required to meet any needs that are identified by the group in this very important technical area.”
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