Optimizing Offshore Sand Control
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Company Background
Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production, Ltd. operates an extensive offshore wellhead platform network in the Gulf of Thailand. With over 100 active platforms, maintaining mechanical integrity in high-sand production environments is a continuous operational priority.
Sand production is a known challenge in mature offshore reservoirs and directly impacts pumps, hydrocyclones, separators, and downstream compression systems.
Sand production is a known challenge in mature offshore reservoirs and directly impacts pumps, hydrocyclones, separators, and downstream compression systems.
Challenges
Sand ingress into upstream systems created recurring reliability and performance issues:
- Accelerated erosion of pumps and piping
- Increased vibration in rotating equipment
- Reduced hydrocyclone separation efficiency
- Manual sand cleanout campaigns
- High offshore workforce exposure
- Manual inspection routines
- Reactive vibration analysis
- Disconnected historian systems
- Limited real-time insight into hydrocyclone performance
Solution
Chevron implemented a centralized analytics framework using Seeq to connect and contextualize sand-related operational data from multiple offshore process historians.
1.Historian Integration
Data streams including:
Data streams including:
- Pump vibration
- Flow rates
- Pressure differentials
- Choke positions
- Hydrocyclone parameters
2. Self-Service Analytics
Using Seeq Workbench, production and reliability engineers developed their own sand monitoring models without reliance on data science teams. Key analytics included:
Using Seeq Workbench, production and reliability engineers developed their own sand monitoring models without reliance on data science teams. Key analytics included:
- Custom hydrocyclone “K-value” performance calculations
- Correlation of vibration spikes with sand breakthrough events
- Differential pressure trend monitoring
- Event analysis of historical sand-related failures
3. Proactive Sand Control
Real-time dashboards were deployed to the Integrated Operations Centre, enabling:
Real-time dashboards were deployed to the Integrated Operations Centre, enabling:
- Early detection of sand breakthrough
- Optimized choke management
- Stabilized hydrocyclone efficiency
- Reduced erosion risk
Benefits
Operational Efficiency
- Reduced unnecessary sand cleanout interventions
- Improved hydrocyclone separation stability
- Extended pump runtime
Asset Reliability
- Lower vibration levels in upstream pumps
- Reduced erosion-related equipment damage
- Early detection of sand breakthrough events
- Reduced offshore helicopter trips and personnel exposure
- Lower material replacement frequency due to extended equipment life
- Unified visibility across 100+ platforms
- Eliminated manual historian data extraction
- Empowered engineers with self-service analytics capabilities
Cost Saving
Extended pump runtime, avoided erosion damage, and reduced offshore intervention campaigns generated significant operational cost reduction.
To understand the quantified impact model — including avoided equipment replacement, reduced downtime, and offshore manpower savings — connect with us to review the cost-saving assessment methodology.
To understand the quantified impact model — including avoided equipment replacement, reduced downtime, and offshore manpower savings — connect with us to review the cost-saving assessment methodology.
