BE Magazine - Volume 5, Issue 1 - (Page 27) GEOSPATIAL BE Award Winner Beneath the Sea Asset-tracking system maps subsea obstacles for safer, faster offshore oil basin operations E xtending from Vitoria to Rio de Janeiro off the southern coast of Brazil, the Campos Basin covers 100,000 square kilometers of the continental shelf. Since 1977, the state-owned oil company Petrobras has developed more than 55 oil fields in this basin alone, helping Brazil achieve its oil self-sufficiency goals in April 2006. As offshore activity has increased, however, subsea obstacles have multiplied, posing a hazard not only to offshore operations, but also to other ships navigating the basin. Petrobras S.A. has reduced the risk of accidents and oil spills by creating a continuously updated 3D map of the basin and all the pipes, platforms, and oil wells it contains. First developed in 1996 for the Campos Basin, the $20 million Sistema de Gerenciamento de Obstáculos (SGO) Obstacles Management System has been systematically mapping surface and deepsea obstacles for more than 10 years. It now has over 40,000 registered obstacles in the Campos Basin, as well as the Santos, Espirito Santo, and Rio Grande do v More than 800 users in several Petrobras business segments—as well as third-party Norte oil basins,. Together they total about companies—access the system to locate and visualize subsea obstacles 160,000 square kilometers. More than 800 users in several Petrobras business segments— obstacles are in a specific area can access SGO, select the area in as well as third-party companies—access the system to locate the system, and visualize the surface and deep-sea obstacles in a scaled 3D model. The system has also reduced the total time required to install PROJECT OVERVIEW and manage pipes. Before SGO was created, all piping operations began with a survey of the target region. This costly operation SGO Project-Petrobras Subsea Assets Tracking required a survey ship to launch a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV), which then took several days to create and deliver accuOrganization rate maps. SGO eliminated this step by providing a continuously Petrobras S.A. updated map of the region. As a result, piping operations take 40 BE Awards Category percent less time, saving as much as $100,000 per day. Geospatial Mapping and Cadastre “SGO enables the planning and safe execution of all activities that depend on geo-referencing, making possible the high-precision Project Objective visualization and identification of all obstacles,” said Ruy Santos Systematically map surface and deep-sea obstacles in 160,000 square Cova, SGO project lead. “All offshore operations have been optimized kilometers of oil basins in this way.” and visualize subsea obstacles in their areas of operations. Applications include projects related to installing, managing, and collecting pipe; positioning and managing platforms, floating production storage, and off-loading facilities; conducting seismic surveys and environmental impact studies; and piloting tankers through the oil basins. The SGO project has significantly reduced environmental damage that resulted from accidents at marine installations. Without visibility into the subsea hazards, a ship could drop anchor on submarine pipes, or pipes could impinge on obstacles that cause leakage. Now any authorized user who needs to research what Volume 5, Issue 1 | BE MAGAZINE 27
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.