Abstract Operating FPSO's in severe weather conditions probably constitutes one of the most challenging aspects facing today's Offshore Oil Industry. Part of the challenge resides in achieving an optimal availability and reliability of the Gas Detection Systems.
The proposed paper describes the approach and methodology adopted in response to specific challenges encountered while commissioning the Gas Detection System onboard an FPSO operating offshore the East Coast of Canada.
Its contents will hopefully fit the Conference theme of "Delivering Sustainable HSE Performance Improvement Through Sharing".
The subject Gas Detection System was being commissioned in preparation for first hydrocarbons in the thick of winter, and prevailing weather conditions exacerbated the situation, resulting in a significant number of gas detectors' faults being recorded.
An action plan was put in place to identify the underlying causes and come up with the necessary improvements and enhancements to raise the system's performance to an acceptable level.
Three major initiatives were undertaken to achieve the set objectives prior to production operations starting, and to maintain them through the life cycle of the facility.
These initiatives were:A comprehensive internal operability review to determine the overall reliability for detecting gas within a given fire zone, and confirm all hardware and software is operational and within design parameters.
An external review study by a specialist consultant to assess the detectors performance against the performance target using 3D modelling and mapping techniques.
The development of an in house tracking mechanism to monitor both real time and retrospectively the performance of all gas detection devices on the FPSO.
In conclusion, the above highlighted initiatives successfully allowed the FPSO Operator to demonstrate, and continue demonstrating an acceptable level of reliability and availability of the gas detection system, at all times during production operations.
Introduction Fire and Gas Detection and Alarm Systems constitute a critical area of input in the design of offshore installations. These critical systems are the focus of particular attention during the conceptual design, and rank among the design aspects that contribute the most to the safety of an installation.
Invariably they are identified as Safety Critical on the basis of safety studies performed during the detailed design phase, and specific requirements for each system are subsequently determined in reviews by multi-discipline teams.
Therefore designing an FPSO to safely operate in the challenging environmental conditions offshore the East Coast of Canada requires designing Safety Critical Systems that have to be in accordance with the identified credible hazard scenarios.
In the case of the subject FPSO, some challenges were anticipated given that very few types of gas detectors either used or available on the market at the time had been subjected to an environment similar to that offshore the east coast of Canada.
Potential challenges made it imperative for the FPSO Gas Detection System to be closely monitored during construction and commissioning to ensure the design is properly implemented.
This approach enabled the early identification of problems that interfere with the gas detection system's ability to perform reliably.