Challenges and opportunities in tags and tag-related technical information management

Abstract

The fact that many giant Norwegian oil and gas fields are in decline, and that these fields have reached their tail phase urges Oil and Gas (O&G) companies to focus on maintenance and modification projects to extend the lifecycle of offshore fields and to enhance the production of these aging fields. All activities involved in Maintenance and Modification projects should be carried out efficiently to avoid shutdowns that would hinder production processes. Technical Information and data needed to accomplish small and large scale modification projects play a significant role in meeting projects’ milestones and budgets. Managing life Cycle Information (LCI) in EPCIC and MMO projects is considered to be one of the challenges in Oil and Gas Industry as it requires the integration of people, technology and processes to handle and control the flow of information among different parties involved. Companies might suffer delays if technical information and data are not available on the right time or in the required quality by different parties. Moreover, it is a must for Oil and Gas companies to comply with regulations and governing requirements and any poor coordination among parties in projects will affect this area and cause delays as well. Tags and tag-related technical information management is an element of lifecycle information management in EPCIC and MMO projects. The way every element is managed, including Tag and tag-related technical information, reflects the strength of information integrity in the organization in general and in projects performed by the company. Asset Integrity Department in Apply Sørco has developed and implemented a Tag Management System (Tag Manager) to handle tags and tag-related technical information in different phases of maintenance/modification and new construction projects for one of the drilling companies working on Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). This thesis aims to discuss the challenges related to managing tags and tag-related technical information in EPCIC and MMO projects. It will also discuss the capabilities of Tag Manager and its role in strengthening information integrity in projects performed by the drilling company.