Field/project development

Kongsberg To Build Digital Twin for Shell’s Nyhamna Gas Facility

As part of the $11-million deal, Kongsberg will establish a dynamic virtual representation of the plant, which serves as a gas processing and export hub for the Shell-operated Ormen Lange in the Norwegian North Sea.

Shell's Nyhamna Gas Facility
Norske Shell AS

Kongsberg and Shell have entered an $11-million (NOK 100-million) deal to create a fully realized dynamic digital twin of the Nyhamna facility, a gas processing and export hub for various fields connected to the Polarled pipeline in the Norwegian North Sea. Among these fields is Ormen Lange, the Shell-operated deepwater project that that provides around 20% of the UK’s gas supply.

The companies said in a statement that Kongsberg will apply its Kognifai Dynamic Digital Twin to create a dynamic virtual representation of the gas plant and its behavior, continuously updating it with integrated information reflecting the facility’s status in real time. Kongsberg said the model will give Shell the ability to simulate scenarios and uncover new options for optimizing its real-life counterpart.

“With the implementation of the dynamic digital twin, we believe Nyhamna will be at the forefront of digitalization in the oil and gas business,” Norske Shell Managing Director Agnete Johnsgaard-Lewis said. “With the digital twin, we expect new insights that we can leverage to further improve the productivity, reliability, and performance of the gas facility.”

Kongsberg debuted the digital twin technology last August, following a successful feasibility study with Equinor. The company said it utilizes high-fidelity simulators to enable the simulation of process data combined with real-time and historical data. This enables advanced machine learning algorithms that, when paired with physical models, can provide virtual sensors for the noninstrumented part of a facility, which can then be leveraged to perform scenario analysis and determine the best route to optimize the facility.

Kongsberg said that the virtual collaboration and situational awareness fostered by a digital twin across disciplines can drive down maintenance and operating costs while enabling remotely operated assets and more efficient operations centers.

Nyhamna has been operational since 2007. Originally built as a land facility for processing and exporting gas from Ormen Lange, the plant is now able to process gas to other fields connected to the Polarled pipeline following a 2017 expansion.

Initial delivery is due sometime this fall.