Real-time analytics extends equipment lifetime

EMGS has a fleet of electromagnetic (CSEM) vessels for oil exploration services, and these have been running for several years. As with any such complex fleet of systems, some requirements arise from the actual use of the systems themselves. EMGS fleet utilizes towing winches for deep-towed and surface-towed equipment. These winches use expensive umbilical wires where wear and tear of the cable can quickly become an issue. The heave compensated winces constantly adjust holding tension on the umbilical cord, causing the hold position part of the wire to move back and forth over sheaves for extended periods.

It became apparent that logging the umbilical cord usage hot points must be added to the system with analytics components and additional HMI panels for the operators. The current cable degradation displayed on HMI panels allows the operators to be informed about the existing cable wear along the complete cable length enabling the operator to start the heave compensation mode to get an even wear distribution.

CDP systems are very well suited for these kinds of retrofit projects because CDP Studio supports a wide range of industrial protocols to integrate with existing systems. CDP Studio also provides simple means to add new functionality like logging, control and analyzing modules and supports creating modern HMI panels.

CDP system in the EMGS retrofit project added umbilical cord wear logging to the control system. Analyzing and logging the level of wear each position in the cable has accumulated. With the historical data and real-time data from the winch operation available, it was possible to create HMI panels that display the overview of wear on the umbilical cord. A detailed representation (zoom in view) of the wear for the cable section on the sheaves allows the operator to see the precise wear points and areas. With these tools in hand, the operators can avoid creating hot spots of usage on the cable extending, the lifetime of the whole system and providing EMGS significant savings.

Equipment wear-levelling or wear-tracking can have a swift return on the investment. Even wear on the whole system generally leads to a longer lifespan for its components or provides precise maintenance targets. Using accumulated data about the running system and applying data analytics algorithms to the collected data, it is possible to warn proactively about potential upcoming problems. Or visualize the wear in real-time to keep everyone involved informed the way EMGS has chosen to do.

About EMGS

EMGS: http://www.emgs.com/
EMGS is a complete solution provider for marine CSEM (Controlled-Source Electromagnetic method) and MT (Magnetotellurics method) for oil exploration. EMGS vessels have performed more than 950 surveys in frontier and mature basins worldwide, from the Arctic to Australia, in water depths ranging from around 30 to 3600 m.