BE Magazine - Volume 5, Issue 1 - (Page 28) GEOSPATIAL ensuring that users are accessing the most accurate information. The graphical environment of MicroStation allowed programmers to provide a user-friendly interface. Last year, the system was accessed more than 44,000 times and generated more than 1,300 maps. The Bentley solution also allowed developers to continually update the program, evolving from MicroStation 95 in 1996 to MicroStation XM in 2007. All SGO MicroStation Development Language tools have been adapted to run under the latest version of MicroStation. With each evolution, data remained intact and accessible, making the SGO a trusted source of vital information. Petrobras estimates that SGO saves up to $30 million per year. By clearly visualizing the location of deep-sea obstacles, the engineers who design and maintain oil pipelines can define the most efficient layouts while v Visualizing the location of deep-sea obstacles provide the most efficient avoiding interferences. This results in direct cost savlayouts for engineers who design and maintain oil pipelines ings: Deep-sea piping costs about $1,000 per meter, meaning that a 500-meter reduction in piping alone can save Patented technology $500,000. The company has announced a strategy to continually Technological innovations such as SGO have helped to make increase production and exploration in the Campos Basin, which Petrobras the 14th largest oil company in the world. After a 43-year has an estimated 25 to 30 years of reserves. Over the lifetime of monopoly of the oil and gas sector in Brazil, Petrobras faced interthis basin alone, the SGO project will realize a significant return national competition when the National Petroleum Agency opened on investment. the market in 1997 with oil concession auctions. Petrobras thrived in the competitive environment and, in less than 10 years, increased profits from $1.4 billion to nearly $12 billion. Most of Brazil’s oil is found at great depths, which requires overcoming major technical challenges to pump the oil to the surface. As production soared toward record levels—1.9 million barrels on one October day in 2006—optimizing operations and minimizing risks became a priority. SGO was developed to track subsea assets by the company’s Geodesy Unit, Under Sea Services Management, in the Exploration and Production division based in Dutch agency maximizes property portfolio Macao. The technology has since been patented by the Brazilian by integrating SAP and GIS data Industrial Property Institute. What makes the SGO system unique is its ability to continuously he State Property Service, part of the Dutch Ministry of update the database of obstacles, which include manmade installaFinance, is the largest owner of land in the Netherlands. tions—rigid and flexible pipes, manifolds, platforms, and oil Comprised of 250 employees, this Dutch government agency wells—as well as natural features such as deep-sea topography and operates like a midsized corporation. In 2005 alone, it managed a bathymetry. The initial database was constructed from a traditional land bank of approximately 4 million acres, or 1.6 million hectares, survey of the Campos Basin. In 1995, a ship equipped with an with 60,000 individual parcels. Revenues in 2005 were approxiROV, navigation and mapping software, global positioning system, mately $600 million (500 million euros). and hydro-acoustics surveyed the basin and compiled a database The State Property Service has the fiduciary responsibility to of all installations. manage the state property assets optimally on behalf of the Dutch Using MicroStation, the Geodesy Unit programmed a cusgovernment. This means achieving an optimal return on the assets tomized interface to allow users to query the database and genmanaged whether through rental agreements, long-term leases, or erate maps of specified areas. Now when companies install, outright sales. Its diverse range of land assets and buildings relocate, or remove pipes and other obstacles in the basins, they includes central government buildings, educational establishuse the SGO to send a report of their activities to the Geodesy ments, hospitals and healthcare buildings, military establishments, Unit. This in turn updates, adds, or removes obstacles from the buildings of historical importance, farmland, harbors, roads, and system. A batch process updates the database on a daily basis, motorway service stations. BE Award Winner Integrating Innovation T 28 BE MAGAZINE | Volume 5, Issue 1
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.