Aker Kvaerner, IBM Form Condition Based Maintenance Alliance

Aker Kvaerner and IBM have established an alliance for Condition Based Maintenance of oil and gas plants in Norway. Condition based maintenance reduces plant downtime for ongoing maintenance to the minimum by means of a heightened monitoring system.

The agreement integrates Aker Kvaerner's competence in engineering, planning and maintenance with IBM's expertise in data acquisition, integration and analysis. The initial focus will be on installations in the North Sea and onshore in Norway, with long term plans to expand internationally.

Aker Kvaerner is a leading provider of operation and maintenance services in the North Sea, and has established a unique competence through long term contracts with the operating companies at the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The company is an established provider of operation and maintenance services in Norway, Great Britain, Canada and USA.

As the global technology partner in the development of integrated operations, IBM offers the market's largest selection of innovative technology, products and expertise for the oil and gas industry.

With the establishment of the IBM Oil & Gas Centre of Excellence in Stavanger, the parties have defined a joint business opportunity within Condition Based Maintenance.

Collecting process data and condition data, information flow between the plant and the center onshore, data analysis, condition reports and establishment of effective maintenance programs and routines are included in the offering.

Integrated Operations are key to the future for the integrated operation of oil and gas fields, increasing daily production and extending the life of oil existing fields. A recent report by the Norwegian Oil Industry's Association (OLF) states that it is possible to extract increased revenues of NOK 250 billion using Integrated Operations. One of the areas where improvements and benefits can be gained, the OLF contends, is through improving the efficiency of the maintenance process.

Condition Based Maintenance

Most maintenance in the industry requires a time-consuming and expensive total shut-down of equipment. Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) reduces the downtime through more efficient condition monitoring. Inspection and exchange of data in real time communicated through open integrated systems and solutions in real time provides increased operating time, reduced maintenance costs; improved exploitation of resources and better maintenance of equipment.

Warnings of potential equipment problems are provided in advance, reducing safety hazards at both on- and offshore plants. The alliance will also investigate ways of reducing costs associated with both planned and unforeseen maintenance work.

"To Aker Kvaerner the partnership with IBM is very exciting. Aker Kvaerner carries out work for all the operators on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and for many of the oil and gas companies globally. This co-operation implies outstanding business opportunities not only in our home market in the North Sea but also internationally. We are connecting two strong companies, each with an extremely wide background experience and thus enable a united competence which totally will give our partners a considerably added value," says Mr. Tore Sjursen, President of Aker Kvaerner Offshore Partner.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for us," says Morten Thorkildsen, Country General Manager of IBM Norway. "IBM's global expertise in research and development and technological know-how enables us to help solve the challenges of existing and future oil fields. Our collaborative partnerships -- with clients, business partners, academia, and other key constituencies -- enable us to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative technologies and business strategies. And that is exactly what we are seeking to do with Aker Kvaerner -- develop innovative solutions in cooperation with the best companies in the industry and which may be exported to other oil producing markets," says Morten Thorkildsen.

The IBM Oil & Gas Center of Excellence located in Stavanger is one of five IBM facilities focused on the global oil and gas industry that have opened in the past two years. Other IBM facilities include: IBM Oil Sands Centre of Excellence in Calgary, Canada; the Energy Competency Center (ECC), Abu Dhabi; the Energy Competency Center (ECC) Beijing, and the Energy Competency Center (ECC) Moscow.