Company Background – Chevron
Optimizing Offshore Sand Control
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, hydro cyclones, separators, and downstream compression systems.
Challenges
The Hidden Costs of Sand Ingress and Fragmented Data
Managing sand production across more than 100 offshore platforms relied heavily on reactive vibration analysis, manual inspections, and disconnected historians. This lack of centralized visibility prevented proactive intervention, leading to shortened equipment lifespans, accelerated erosion, and costly manual cleanout campaigns that increased offshore workforce exposure.
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
Operationally, sand monitoring relied on:
- Manual inspection routines
- Reactive vibration analysis
- Disconnected historian systems
- Limited real-time insight into hydrocyclone performance
Solution
Empowering Operations with Self-Service Insights
Chevron implemented a centralized analytics framework using Seeq to connect and contextualize sand-related operational data from multiple offshore process historians.
01
Historian Integration
Critical data streams—including pump vibration, flow rates, and hydrocyclone parameters—were streamed from various offshore historians into a single, real-time environment. This unified approach completely eliminated fragmented analysis and created a comprehensive operational data hub.
02
Self-Service Analytics
Engineers utilized the analytics platform to build custom sand monitoring models—such as hydrocyclone performance calculations and vibration correlation—without relying on data science teams. This self-service capability allowed them to rapidly iterate and refine models based directly on their field expertise.
03
Operational Optimization
Real-time dashboards were deployed to the Integrated Operations Centre, enabling the early detection of sand breakthrough and optimized choke management. Operators were empowered to stabilize separation efficiency and intervene proactively before vibration escalated into costly mechanical damage.
Benefits
Realizing the Benefits
Operational Efficiency
- Reduced unnecessary sand cleanout interventions
- Improved hydrocyclone separation stability
- Extended pump runtime
Asset Reliablility
- Lower vibration levels in upstream pumps
- Reduced erosion-related equipment damage
- Early detection of sand breakthrough events
Sustainability
- Reduced offshore helicopter trips and personnel exposure
- Lower material replacement frequency due to extended equipment life
Organizational Impact
- Unified visibility across 100+ platforms
- Eliminated manual historian data extraction
- Empowered engineers with self-service analytics capabilities
Cost Saving
Quantified Financial Impact
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.
