Lloyd's Register has won a contract with FPSO specialist Bluewater, to provide a comprehensive digital twin and evaluation of an FPSO’s structure, using historical and real-time data of the asset.  

The company said the digital twin and evaluation would help Bluewater assess the 1996-built Glas Dowr FPSO's operational readiness and redeployment options.

The FPSO was last used by Eni, to produce the Kitan field in the Joint Petroleum Development Area between Timor-Leste and Australia. Production started in Oct 2011 -- ended in Dec 2015, according to WorldEnergyReports.

By making the digital twin, LR will determine the FPSO’s global and fatigue hull strength for selected geographical locations through a combination of historical design, operational and measurement data, and real-time in-service performance data.

"LR’s digital solution, integration of multi-physics models, sensor information and design data of the unit, will be used to mirror and predict the status and life of its corresponding physical twin. This will enhance the operation of Glas Dowr, giving Bluewater the ability to comprehend and predict the structural performance at the new field prior to physical redeployment," LR said.

LR further said that Bluewater will be able to assess the FPSO's health status at all times. as the digital twin is designed to continuously collect and process sensor data.

In the first phase, LR will deploy the FPSO Structural Digital Twin using the historical measurement, design, and operational data of the unit, in order to run operational scenarios and historical simulations to evaluate the asset’s structural utilization to train the twin.

In the following phase, LR will run a redeployment assessment based on selected future operational scenarios for envisaged redeployments and assess its feasibility based on a calculated structural integrity assessment.    

“We [Bluewater] decided to extend our digital twin program to include our FPSO Glas Dowr. Our ambition for the structures largely matched with the novel digitalization services of LR. We are therefore pleased to team up with LR to accelerate assessment for redeployment of this most versatile FPSO, designed and proven to operate in harsh and mild environments with high uptimes and a maintained, strict regulatory and safety regime. This will enable redeployment in most fields across the globe, also including a return to its origin, the North Sea,” said Peter Burger, Vice President Technology, Bluewater Energy Services BV.

According to WorldEnergyReports' Floating Production Systems report, there were twenty-six floating oil/gas production units off field and available for redeployment as of late-June. FPSOs account for 23 (88%) of the available units. One of these 23 FPSOs is Bluewater's Glas Dowr.