Feasibility Studies and Front End Engineering
Whether your project is a new field development or an upgrade of an existing installation, this is a critical phase. Decisions made at the beginning of a project have a major impact on the overall success of the project, and the earlier we are involved the greater impact we can achieve. We can review the feasibility of a number of options, and ensure that the client's real needs are fully addressed, and realistic project costs and duration identified.
For upgrades on existing installations, the driving force behind the project is often the need to rectify a problem or shortcoming. Here it is critical that the root causes are identified and addressed, rather than simply treating the symptoms of an underlying problem. We have experienced several proposed projects that when we analysed the real issues required nothing more than a change in operating procedure, saving clients millions of pounds!
At this early phase in a project we have also found that our proactive approach to dealing with certifying authority and classification society design approval can have major benefits. As technology is moving faster than their class rules can be re-written, we have often found that a lower cost solution is available, but does not comply with the letter of the rules. In each case design approval of the alternative has been obtained, by demonstrating that it has an equivalent level of integrity.
Often clients have a number of projects that are competing for increasingly limited funding, and here we can carry out economic analysis to establish where the greatest economic benefits lie. This requires close liaison between the client's operations, reservoir, and business experts, and engineers who can realistically evaluate project costs, timescales and shutdown durations. All too often these decisions are made with at least one of these parties missing.
