Engineering Innovation in
Smart Energy & Utilities
Our simulation model supporting the operations to exploit the largest oil field discovered in the last 40 years.
Approach & Solution
Approach
Our stakeholder is a special purpose company for the development and exploitation of the largest oil field discovered in the last 40 years. The oil field is located in the middle of the North East Caspian Basin in Kazakhstan. Developing this field presents enormous technical challenges: the field is located in a very shallow area (with a water depth of 3m), subject to ice and wind-driven water surge events in a context of continuous water drop, with a high presence of H2S in a very unique environmental environment (mammals, birds, etc.).
Since 2006, an archipelago of 10 artificial islands has been built and according to some sources, the cost of the project is one of the most expensive in human history. The project is still ongoing and many more islands need to be built to maximize the revenue for the Republic of Kazakhstan and to reduce the operating expenditure.
It is a race against time, as the sea is drying up at an observed rate of 10 cm per annum with some fluctuations due to wind-driver events (called “up or down-surges”), so much so that within 15-20 years it is estimated that it will no longer be navigable by marine vessels, thus making it impossible to reach the field with the equipment needed to support the ongoing and future operations considering this ever more challenging environment.
It is a race against time, as the sea is drying up at an observed rate of 10 cm per annum with some fluctuations due to wind-driver events (called “up or down-surges”), so much so that within 15-20 years it is estimated that it will no longer be navigable by marine vessels, thus making it impossible to reach the field with the equipment needed to support the ongoing and future operations considering this ever more challenging environment.
Solution
We at Engineering were called in to create a simulation model that faithfully replicates the entire supply chain, allowing to determine the optimum size of the fleet of vessels and equipment needed to logistically support the construction and drilling operations in this battle against time.
The extreme flexibility of the solution created will allow to evaluate in advance the advantages and disadvantages of the various alternatives, enabling to test even the extreme events in order to choose the most resilient logistical configuration at the lowest possible cost.
Results
Logistical support of operations
Optimisation of time and costs
Extreme flexibility of the solution
Project value
Visibility
Process performance
Enabling Technologies
Digital Twin
Engineering proprietary products & other technologies
Anylogic
Project Team
Industry & Services