Offshore Industry Asset Life Extension

Dec. 22, 2011 - PRLog -- Different strategies have been put in place by offshore companies to prolong the life expectancy of offshort assets and to try and maximise life expectancy of essential equipment.   It is still a challenge though with maturing oil fields to find ways to extend the life of offshore assets.

Some of the challenges that need to be faced to achieve sustainability for offshore operators include the fact that many assets are being asked to perform longer then originally planned when first installed.  This, plus the lack of fabric maintenance, is only made worse by the recurring issue of oil prices.  If the oil price is high then production becomes the priority but when oil prices fall and there is window of time for maintenance to take place, income is then reduced so work is put on hold.

Understanding the issues of asset life extension is often lacking, which can then result in a reduction of effective maintenance which in turn leads to a reduced asset life.   Training, knowledge and experienced service providers can all help to avoid this situation.

A sustainable approach to offshore asset life extension is to have a robust plan in place to ensure a clear understanding of the issues.  This will then allow the right decision to be made with regard to production and the big question of safety.

Investment is an important part of any business but by managing the life of older assets, then expensive capital investment can be avoided.  If a maintenance and inspection plan is in place it is easy to identify where and when investment is actually needed and a budget plan can be established.

Work that can undertaken to extend the life of an asset includes implementing a cement top up system (http://www.claxtonengineering.com/Products/Product/Cement...) which by successfully cementing the conductor to the right depth can be essential to the long term integrity of the well system.  Platform slot recovery has also been proven to be a solution for operators to extend the life of their assets.

So whilst operators remain challenged with maturing fields and the difficult market conditions, it has never been more imperative to manage and extend the life of assets. Claxton Engineering has a proven history of helping operators extend the life of assets - both large and small. For further information on any aspect of offshore asset life extension (http://www.claxtonengineering.com/Products/Asset-Life-Ext...) contact Claxton Engineering.

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Claxton, an Acteon company, is the leading supplier of engineering and services for shallow water, jackup depth markets.