The DNV GL-led joint industry project (JIP) scoped out and agreed on a set of typical subsea production systems (SPS) and functions with common terminology and a required minimum set of documentation between E&P operators and contractors.
A first issue of the RP, which established industry guidelines and recommendations, is now available to JIP partners and will be publicly available later this year. The work has been performed in Norway but has an international focus that is not limited to applications in the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The JIP comprises Aker Subsea AS; Centrica Energi; Det norske oljeselskap; DNV GL; FMC Technologies; GE Oil & Gas; GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS; Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies; Lundin Norway; Oceaneering; OneSubsea; RWE Dea Norge; Statoil Petroleum; Subsea7; Subsea Valley; and SUNCOR.
DNV GL JIP project manager Jarl Magnusson said the group had made "significant progression" in standardising the vast set of documents for designing, approving, manufacturing, verifying, operating and maintaining subsea equipment.
"The RP is an important element in DNV GL's wider drive to streamline the global subsea sector and to increase efficiency, predictability and assure quality," he said.
"We are now in dialogue with oil majors in Houston with the aim to build an even broader international network collaborating and capitalising on the joint work."
Det norske subsea manager Halvar Larsen said the collaborative approach to solving a common industry challenge through a JIP on neutral ground was the fastest way to develop a common global standard.
"Alignment between operators, contractors and suppliers and establishing a common understanding of the need for appropriate information have been interesting to witness through this JIP," he said.
He added that he had also noticed increasing interest from industry in the project.
Jan Ragnvald Torsvik, lead engineer of Life Cycle Information at Statoil and co-chairman of the project, is now operationalising the draft RP in Statoil - implementing the RP result from 2014 with Statoil's technical requirements for Life Cycle Information.
This requirement will be adopted for new projects including development of the Johan Sverdrup field. Statoil is one of the first international E&P companies to implement the new standard.
Subsea 7 engineering department manager Torgils Skaar said that as a contractor, processing, handling and expediting various types of documents to and from suppliers, clients and third parties represented a "significant portion" of the man hour costs on typical subsea EPCI projects today.
"Aligning documenting procedures and paperwork will present marked financial savings and provide a higher level of predictability for the production, handling and administration of technical documents and time taken to undertake such tasks," he said.
The next phase of the JIP is to extend the current scope of SPS to also include subsea, umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) and to further address documentation requirements between contractors and suppliers.
Phase 3 of the JIP will be run next year and will include, among other activities, identifying an improved and shared solution for governance of information and a finalised DNV GL RP.
