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Lloyd's Register: 'BOP Monitor' offshore application for RiskSpectrum©
 13.09.2011
+ + + Lloyd's Register is working with leading owners and operators from the oil and gas sector to improve current methods of monitoring the performance of blow-out preventers (BOP) and reduce the risks for one of the industry's most safety-critical pieces of equipment.
ModuSpec BV and Scandpower AS, members of the Lloyd’s Register Group and global leaders in risk management, have combined resources with industry to develop a 'BOP Monitor' that is expected to significantly improve the current processes that assess risk during operations.
The monitor will be a new application for Scandpower's proprietary software, RiskSpectrum©, the value of which has already been proven in 50% of the world’s nuclear power plants.
"The BOP is a critical component in any hydrocarbon drilling operation and is often the final line of defence for protecting life and the environment. So there is high demand for a transparent and well-structured risk assessment approach that helps owners and operators to monitor the BOP's performance," said Duco de Haan, ModuSpec's Chief Executive Officer. "Because ModuSpec has been a global leader in helping to ensure the reliability of drilling assets for more than 25 years, we recognise the importance of industry participation in developing a product of this caliber."
BOPs were thrust into the public spotlight last year for their role in the Macondo well disaster in the US Gulf of Mexico. De Haan says present BOP risk assessments lack a consistent structure. As a result, decisions on whether or not to pull them for inspection and maintenance can be subjective and difficult to understand, particularly for senior management and regulatory bodies.
The BOP Monitor will be unique in that the risk assessments used to populate the data for the model will be performed in advance by a team of BOP operational experts with the required documentation and drawings at their disposal.
As the risk assessments will be completed in a controlled setting, against a proven methodology from Scandpower, the quality of the risk assessments are certain to exceed those taken in an ad-hoc manner.
“We are breaking new ground in assessing risk by developing the BOP Monitor," said Bjorn Inge Bakken, Chief Executive Officer for Scandpower AS. "What will make this risk model so valuable is the quality of the data used to carry-out the assessments in combination with the immediacy in which the results are received. The ability to define the operational risk level of a BOP in 'real time', including the identification of faulty components, will be of great benefit to the industry and society as a whole.”
Because risk assessments will be completed in advance and imbedded in the BOP Monitor, rig owners, operators and regulators will receive advice on the BOP within hours, helping them to make informed decisions on whether or not to continue operations.
ModuSpec and Scandpower are establishing a Product Development Review Panel -- consisting of leading industry experts from the public and the private sectors -- to ensure the model is continuously improved.
The Product Informational Resource Committee, a group of technical experts from ModuSpec, Scandpower, the nuclear industry and drilling contractors and operators, will update the panel with feedback from the projects.
The monitor is currently being designed to model BOPs from two manufacturers, with additional designs to follow, including conventional and multiplex. The panelists will be presented with failure mode and effects criticality analyses, reliability data and the results of fault-tree analyses.
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ModuSpec BV and Scandpower AS are members of the Lloyd's Register Group. Members of the Group provide independent assurance to companies operating high-risk, capital-intensive assets in the energy and transportation sectors. We enhance the safety of life, property and the environment by helping our clients to ensure the quality construction and operation of critical infrastructure. The Group comprises charities and non-charitable entities, with the latter supporting the charities in their main goal.
For more information please contact Lloyds Register - www.lr.org
Russell Barling - russell.barling@lr.org
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