Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - RiserSure (Rapid Integrity Assessment of Flexible Risers for Offshore Oil and Gas Installations)

Teaser

RiserSureâ„¢ is based on a novel subsea digital radiography detector that is able to inspect and determine internal structural details within risers. The inspection provides specific information on damage to various layers of the riser. One of the major developments is the...

Summary

RiserSure™ is based on a novel subsea digital radiography detector that is able to inspect and determine internal structural details within risers. The inspection provides specific information on damage to various layers of the riser. One of the major developments is the improvements in deployment of detection system by development of a rotating system able to move the sensing system around the riser to perform 360° scanning around the riser. The RiserSure™ project enhances and develops the technology from the current TRL6 level to TRL9 through deployment of a scanning system that enables it to be demonstrated to end users onsite in-field operational subsea risers. The project will also develop an appropriate manufacturing and commercialisation plan for exploitation of the final RiserSure™ solution.
The overall objective of this project is to bring to market a commercially viable RiserSureâ„¢ product, based on the novel radiographic sensing system already developed by the consortium and certified to a depth rating of 100m in subsea conditions. This will be achieved through meeting the following specific objectives:
•Conduct prototype site trial and obtain end user/customer feedback to finalise the required product specifications
•Complete the needed engineering work to adapt the RiserSure™ results into a commercially viable product
•To verify the performance of the commercial RiserSure™ product in real-world operational environments
•To certify the RiserSure™ product according to international quality and technical standards
•Protect Intellectual Property (IP) of the RiserSure™ system and its components
•To promote and increase market uptake of the RiserSure™ project results
•To disseminate and protect key product features
Preliminary site trials of the integrated prototype RiserSureâ„¢ system testing was conducted at the Underwater Centre facilities at Fort William. The aim for the tests was to verify and evaluate the performance and capability of the RiserSureâ„¢ system under calm sea conditions off the pier at Fort William Underwater Centre.

Work performed

In the first year of the project, the project partners have worked together to develop prototype system for on-site testing in a controlled environment for a 230 mm diameter riser. Several technical meetings were held to agree the design approach to be adopted and finalise the details of the main RiserSureâ„¢ system components. The details are as follows
1.Gamma source and detector development work carried out by TWI
2.Scanner system designed and built by LSBIC with support from InnotecUK
3.Test trial details organised and agreed by the full consortium
The first prototype inspection system able to inspect along the entire circumference of the riser has been developed and tested in a controlled environment at Fort William. The system is able to be deployed on to a riser and once installed, is able to rotate to perform the needed 360° inspection. Good quality images were obtained, and the partnership is now further enhancing the design to allow subsea deployment and inspection in a variety of scenarios and of different riser diameters. Such subsea deployment requires considerable ruggedisation of the system under the harsh environments likely to be encountered in real-world situations.
In terms of exploitation and dissemination, the consortium is using a series of online and offline tools and strategies throughout the project’s lifetime to bring attention to the project, gain trust and ensure acceptance of the inspection tools that will be created as well as the results of the demonstration trails. The promotional materials are part of the project’s external communication and as such they will be updated regularly as the project progresses, highlighting its technical and commercialisation developments. The promotional materials for dissemination of the RiserSure™ project consists of project logo, website, templates, general presentation, press release, newsletter, brochure, poster, factsheet, social media profiles. These materials are regularly updated to fit the ongoing needs of the RiserSure™ project and to adapt to its evolution, to its results and to the project’s targeted audience.
Website: http://www.risersure.eu/
Social media profiles:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riser.sure
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiserSure?lang=en-gb
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riser-sure-107176157/

Final results

The project will bring to market a unique, innovative product, the RiserSure™ system, for assessing the condition of flexible riser pipes widely used in offshore oil and gas production. RiserSure™, is expected to generate a wider economic benefit and significant impact by developing new revenues for the consortium, improving the profitability of platform operators and NDT service providers as well as producing a quick return on the EU investment, reducing, at the same time, the environmental impact and leading to safety improvement of offshore production. The RiserSure™ product will initially generate significant revenue from sales of new equipment that will enhance the competitiveness and growth of the SME led consortium. As this is a finite market, it is expected that equipment sales will stabilise within around 3 years at 17units p.a. creating annual revenues of €9.35M by 2023. As the installed base continues to rise, provision of after-sales support in the form of software and hardware maintenance and servicing, repairs and training, will become an important contributor to profit, generating €6M p.a. revenue by 2023. During this period 64 new EU jobs will be created at InnoTecUK in manufacturing and after-sales support. 15% of net profits are expected to be returned to the consortium partners IKH, TWI and LSBIC as license fees (5% each), allowing them to expand their operations, employing up to 10 new staff within 5 years of the end of the project.
Revenue forecasts for the NDT service providers show potential revenues of €85M over five years, as well as around 470 new jobs created many of which will be in the EU. Moreover, the rapid commercial deployment of the RiserSure™ results and delivery of new services will make significant savings for operators in the oil and gas industries, by reducing incidence of costly and environmentally damaging leaks and failures, and improving, at the same time, the safety of their offshore operations.
Finally, based on the above projections, it is expected that the RiserSure™ project will have generated a cumulative net profit of €50M for the consortium within 5 years, giving a return on EU investment (€2.9M grant value) of17:1. For the NDT service providers RiserSure™ is expected to have generated cumulative profits of €100M in the same period, providing a ROI of 35:1. Wider economic benefit beyond commercial success for the consortium will come from reduced down time and production losses from leaks, which can cost €3M in lost production alone. If RiserSure™ prevented 20% of these incidents, that would give a cost saving to the industry of €54M p.a. and a return on EU investment of 96:1. Therefore, the total return on investment from manufacturing, after-sales support, new NDT service provision and savings to the industry would be 148:1. This economic benefit also reflects a wider impact on the environment by reducing pollution from loss of containment incidents and, especially, reducing the risk of possible environmental and human catastrophe.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.risersure.eu/.