New Standardized Offshore Platform Design

To reduce the time and costs associated with designing and building offshore oil wellhead platforms, the company’s Upstream Oil Project Management team (UOPM) has deployed a new standardized design process which suits most offshore facility requirements and that is capable of handling a wide range of hydrocarbon profiles and reservoir characteristics.

 “One-Size-Fits-Most” Offshore Platforms Design

UOPM’s efforts to standardize the development of offshore facilities includes the use of the “Standardized, Simplified and SIMOPS-capable” (SSS) offshore oil wellhead platform design. 

These efforts were conducted in collaboration with other company organizations, resulting in significant improvements to the delivery schedules of projects meant to maintain the production capacity of those facilities through expansion and other enhancements – or as the team calls them: Maintain Potential Projects (MPP).

“The SSS offshore oil wellhead platform design is an initiative that was made possible by the hard work, dedication and determination of the teams involved,” said Abdulaziz Al-Dulaijan, manager of Offshore Projects Department. “The design underwent robust optimization assessments and intensive reviews in consultation with concerned company organizations to ensure compliance with the latest industry and Mandatory Saudi Aramco Engineering Requirements.”

Increasing Our Efficiency 

Prior to the deployment of a standardized design, each platform would be designed independently, requiring special reviews with multiple design variations. This often caused delays to the delivery of projects and impacted the drilling program and production requirements.

The SSS concept was initiated to mitigate such challenges by having a unified design that can be implemented in all offshore fields. The SSS wellhead platform configuration and layout is applicable for both electrified and non-electrified wellhead platform, making its usage more versatile.

Standardized platforms are easily duplicated, which allows the teams involved to continue improving their operations and to build more efficient facilities with accelerated construction cycles.

“We are continuing our efforts to deploy the best-in-class technologies and innovative solutions in our projects with a focus on safe operations, schedule improvements and cost optimization without any operational interruptions,” said Mohammed A. Al-Qahtani, General Manager of UOPM.