Xodus has said bon voyage to two of its Aberdeen based engineers – Chiin-Hooi Tan, senior process engineer and Chris Smith, principal engineer – who have been seconded to Pau in southwestern France to provide key support to TOTAL for a field monitoring project.
The contract with TOTAL, which began in January this year, involves Chris supporting the development of a well performance monitoring tool that is based on the online deployment of OLGA®, a transient flow simulator running in real-time.
Similarly, Chiin’s role is to support the development of topsides monitoring tools using various applications including Hysys®, a powerful software for simulation and design of a process.
Field monitoring is an initiative taken by TOTAL that uses a suite of online monitoring and optimisation tools to enhance production and improve operational efficiency. The initiative, which is planned to be rolled out globally across the TOTAL group, is currently in the design phase, with the build phase due to start later in 2008.
Both Chiin and Chris have a great deal of experience in the deployment of software products during design, and in the online deployment of both Hysys® and OLGA® using the Xodus Group proprietary software, XPLORE. Working to develop the tool to meet requirements, they are also key interfaces with the selected IT integration partner.
In addition to the secondment of Chiin and Chris, a number of personnel in the Aberdeen office are providing TOTAL with technical expertise to model topsides equipment by examining the key plant data that is to be used as input. Additionally the team in Aberdeen is also considering what can potentially be achieved through the online monitoring of a wide selection of topsides based equipment including, packed and trayed columns, pumps, heat exchangers and produced water systems.
“This contract with TOTAL to support their e-field solution is a great example of how we can develop a tailored programme and deliver an integrated approach to meet the needs of our clients.” said Steve Hamilton, director, Technology Division. Xodus support for the project is planned to continue throughout 2008 and potentially into 2009.
|
