The harsh economic condition of the oil and gas industry is forcing Norwegian oil companies to look at solutions that will make production more cost effective. To meet that demand, Danish suppliers from the largest oil and gas network in Denmark increase focus on new products and services that maintain and upgrade existing systems.
“Right now, drilling companies only listen to suppliers that can contribute to a profitable business. Therefore, Danish suppliers are working on ways to make their solutions fulfill that need. Although competition is fierce, they still focus on the Norwegian market in order to stay in business,” says Merethe Wrang, Head of Danish Oil & Gas Technology Group, Denmark’s largest network of suppliers to the oil and gas industry.
Focus on cost effective solutions
Estimates from Statistics Norway show that 2016 investments in the Norwegian oil and gas industry will be 14.8 percent lower than 2015. Furthermore, investments are expected to continue falling in 2017.
To Ocean Team Scandinavia, Danish supplier of services for fluid-carrying systems, this drop in investments means focus on maintenance and upgrade of existing equipment to make the overall oil production more cost effective.
“The market is interested in new technology, and Norwegian oil companies are willing to invest if the solution is more profitable than what they already have. We have to be ahead of our game and develop services that cut costs – both short and long term,” Espen Kähler Amundsen, Head of Engineering says.
Customers saves millions
Therefore, Ocean Team Scandinavia has developed a method for cleaning subsea hydraulic systems with SCCO2 (supercritical carbon dioxide). The method is new to the industry and although Ocean Team Scandinavia does not have long term results yet, tests show that customers will save money in the long run.
“By using SCCO2 we prolong lifespan of the pipes and the oil will only have to be changed every 4-5 years as opposed to every year. Normally you would also have to lift and change the entire subsea construction to achieve the same results. This costs millions, making it something that oil companies are keen on avoiding,” Espen Kähler Amundsen says.
He explains how costs on oil changes are minimized using SCCO2 in comparison to a traditional oil change.
“At the moment, we are working on a project in Norway, where our customer spent 1.5 million Norwegian kroner per pipeline just buying the hydraulic oil. This does not include wages and downtime. An oil rig can easily have more than 100 hydraulic pipelines, which only upscale expenses. Furthermore, the customer only changed the hydraulic oil and when the pipes are not cleaned, old contamination will continue to grow meaning that dirt will accumulate in the oil fast.”
Ocean Team Scandinavia will be exhibiting at ONS in Stavanger August 29 to September 1, 2016. Meet them at the Danish Oil & Gas Technology Pavilion, hall 5 stand number 5830-3.