A study of integrated operations on the norwegian continental shelf

Abstract

In the beginning of the 21st century the Norwegian petroleum industry was faced with two possible future scenarios, the "disintegration" and the "long term" path. The "disintegration" path would involve a stagnation of the petroleum production in a 10-20 year perspective. The "long term" path would involve an increase in the petroleum production until 2050. In order to avoid the decline in production that was predicted in the "disintegration" path, the companies in the Norwegian petroleum industry started to rapidly implement Integrated Operations. This Master’s thesis is studying Integrated Operations and how this has been implemented in the petroleum industry on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. It studies how Integrated Operations have influenced the organisations that have implemented this work processes. In the research part operational results from two pilot projects have been analysed. The idea behind this research is to show whether or not the Integrated Operations have increase the efficiency and results described by different organisations. The conclusion of this Master’s thesis is that Integrated Operations have provided results that have increased the efficiency, reduced the operational costs and reduced the exposure time in hazardous areas on the platform for offshore personnel. However it has not been proved that the HSE performance has improved as a result of the implementation of Integrated Operations.