Having insight into several parts of the organization is very positive for new employees, regardless of which department you work in. That is why we announce graduate positions every year. These are permanent jobs where there is extra focus on learning across departments and disciplines the first year. This means that you get a broader understanding of what other departments do, and which projects they work on on a daily basis.

This time the graduate assembly took place at Aker Solutions’ yard in Egersund. Aker Solutions is an alliance partner for Aker BP in both the Fixed Facilities Alliance, Wellhead Platform Alliance, Subsea Alliance and Modification Alliance.

The alliance model is special for Aker BP, and the goal of restructuring the value chain in this way is to create value for all parties through long-term cooperation. By blurring the lines between customer and contractor, it means that Aker BP is involved from the start and that the alliances can work as their own organisation. It also means that the risks and rewards are shared, which leads to more trust between the alliance partners.

In addition to a tour of the shipyard, the participants also received a detailed presentation about the Yggdrasil project and the SRU project at Valhall, which Aker Solutions is currently working on. SRU stands for Sulphate Removal Unit and the project’s aim is to remove hydrogen sulphides from the gas at Valhall. The Yggdrasil project delivered PUD just before Christmas, and Aker Solutions will be a very important partner throughout the project.

– What I found most exciting was hearing about the Yggdrasil project and how they think from a pre-OPS perspective. At the same time, it was interesting for me, who sits at an office, to see how the fabrication takes place out in the shipyard. Things truly are bigger than you get the impression of from a GA drawing, says Øyvind Jia-Chen Åslie, who is a graduate and works as a Flow Assurance Engineer at Aker BP.

This was the second to last gathering for the 2022 graduate programme. They have previously gotten to know how Aker BP works strategically with digitalisation, strategy, as well as trying out the simulation tool OilSim, which covers the entire value chain in our part of the industry.

– So far I have really enjoyed the graduate programme. It is a well-thought-out plan where we get an overall understanding of what the various departments in Aker BP are doing. In addition, we get to know other graduates , and you get a small network of colleagues who are at the same place in their professional career, which I think you will benefit from later, says Øyvind.

Graduate positions are advertised in August of the previous year, with an application deadline in September.

The Edvard Grieg and Ivar Aasen production platforms on the Utsira High area in the North Sea are now operated with electric power from shore. Two gas fired turbines have been shut down, and thus we achieve a significant reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases.

“We achieve several positive effects by getting electricity from land, both operationally and in terms of reduced emission of greenhouse gases”, said Kari Nielsen, Asset Manager Edvard Grieg & Ivar Aasen, in Aker BP.

“By shutting down the gas turbines, we reduce emissions of CO2 from the production phase by around 200,000 tons annually, or around 3.6 million tons over the life of the field. In addition, we reduce operating costs since we will no longer operate our own power plant on the platform”, Kari Nielsen said.

The gas-powered turbines on the Edvard Grieg platform have supplied both fields with the necessary power and heat since start-up in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Edvard Grieg were prepared to receive electricity from shore right from the construction phase back in 2012 to fulfill requirements from the authorities. In 2014, the Parliament (Stortinget) decided that a solution for power supply from shore should be developed for Johan Sverdrup, and the other installations in the Utsira High area should be connected in conjunction with phase two of the Johan Sverdrup development.

The project has been carried out as two sub-projects. A project for the installation of the seabed cable between Johan Sverdrup and Edvard Grieg, and a project for the development and installation of a solution with electric boilers that ensures the necessary heat required in the process plant. This has required adaptation and technology qualification of equipment that was initially developed for use on land.

The project is delivered on time and cost, without injuries to personnel. NKT HV Cable has delivered the power cable. The boiler package has been developed and built by Parat Halvorsen, while Aker Solutions has prepared and installed the boiler package on board Edvard Grieg.

Aker BP has won two prestigious awards in the “Awards of Excellence” by The Energy Council. CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik accepted the awards on behalf of Aker BP at a ceremony in London Tuesday night. 

Aker BP won in the two categories best “Mid Cap” and “Deal of the Year”. 

It is the acquisition and integration of Lundin Energy Norway that is awarded “Deal of the Year”.  

The jury states; “With the integration of Lundin, Aker BP is the largest listed E&P company focused exclusively on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and has been lauded across the sector. 

Lundin held a portfolio of high-quality, low-emissions assets and synergies, that came at a premium but were worth every penny. Any deal of such size and stature will be challenging to get over the line, however in this instance, it was done so with superb and ultimately, successful execution.” 

The jury also mentions the acquisition of Lundin in the “Mid Cap” category as well; 

“Having previously struggled to compete for capital within the BP business, under the new structure Aker BP has seen successful expansion. Most notably, the 2022 acquisition of Lundin provided more scale and enhanced greening credentials. Following the merger Aker BP is working on a total of 15 development projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and is set to invest over $15billion in the area over the next 5-6 years. This investment is expected to increase production by 125 000bpd by 2028, a significant addition to the company’s current 400 000bpd.» 

Aker BP’s CEO, Karl Johnny Hersvik was proud to accept the awards. 

Read more about the awards here.

Innsiktsprisen is the Norwegian Computer Association’s innovation award, and the prize was awarded on November 17th. The Wells value stream-team, a collaborative project between Aker BP and Inmeta, won.

The team has developed a solution for automatic interpretation of underground data. The new tool uses algorithms and machine learning on data from well logs to solve two problems that are fundamental to be able to handle a wide range of challenges in the interpretation of well data.

One of the challenges is called ‘BadLog Flagging’. This means quality-assurance of large amounts of data before they are further interpreted. This is normally manual work that is time-consuming, but is also very important, as bad data can ruin future interpretations. Therefore, it is important to ensure good quality in the data material.

The second area is ‘Shale volume interpretation’. This is the first interpretation of the data, and at the same time the most time-consuming and subjective. Here, you try to understand where and how big the reservoirs are. All interpretation beyond this point is affected by these.

An automated solution that ensures quality and consistency of input data is of great value to the company. – It was incredibly great that our team won this year’s insight prize. Being recognized in this way for the work we have done gives us motivation to further develop the project, says Martine Dyring Hansen, who is a Data Scientist at Aker BP and is part of the Wells value stream.

Geophysicist Jan Erik Lie from Aker BP receives the OG21 Technology Champion award for 2022 for his efforts in developing and using new technologies for understanding the underground. Congratulations!

The award took place at the OG21 forum organized by the Norwegian Research Council on November 16th. The Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland presented the award. He pointed out that understanding the underground forms the basis for value creation from the Norwegian continental shelf, and the results from Jan Erik Lie’s work have therefore benefited both Norwegian society, suppliers and energy companies.

A total of 18 people or organizations were nominated. Jury leader Roy Ruså, who is digitization director at Petoro, said that many of the nominees could have been worthy winners of the award. But that Jan Erik Lie was still considered the best candidate this year because of the many, important technologies that he has been driving.

Jan Erik Lie is an Advanced Geophysicist at Aker BP. He has been central to the development and introduction of the technology TopSeis for seismic acquisition, which has been used in several areas of the Barents Sea, and for the use of machine learning in the processing and interpretation of subsurface data. Jan Erik is recognized and respected for his profession far beyond Norway’s borders.

In his acceptance speech, he pointed out that he accepts the award, not only on his own behalf, but for the community of which he is a part of. And that important factors for success in the development of new methods and technologies are to dare to try, and to allow yourself to make mistakes. You learn a lot from mistakes.

This is the second time the OG21 Technology Champion award has gone to an Aker BP employee. In 2019, Kalle Hersvik won as one of two winners. He shared the award with Bjørn Rudshaug from Equinor.

If you set high goals, you must find new ways to reach them. Challenge established truths. Find new ways of working. Improve all aspects of our operations.

We want to change the oil and gas industry. We are the rebels seeking radical improvements. At Aker BP, we welcome the rebels – because we will achieve something meaningful. Important to us and vital to you.

We are a rebel with a cause.

Aker BP is a proud pure play upstream oil and gas company operating on the Norwegian continental shelf. Access to energy is essential for our modern way of life, and we produce much-needed energy for the world. Not only will we continue to do so over the following years – we will increase our production significantly.

Oil and gas will be essential for decades to secure energy for the world’s population. We believe that tomorrow’s winners will be oil and gas producers with the lowest emissions and costs.

Being a winner is what we aim for, and we begin by reducing our emissions. Therefore, we pledged to become a net zero emission company by 2030.

Managing shared natural resources means, at the same time, managing the trust that has been placed in us. We take this responsibility seriously. That is why we will maximise value by utilising available resources in the best possible manner.

We are already the largest private Norwegian taxpayer, but we want to go further. The global upheaval in the energy chain affects us all. It is a shift that will require massive financial resources. By maximising value creation, we provide our owners and society with capital. In turn, they can invest in alternative energy sources and new industries.

We will digitalise, automate and robotise the future of oil and gas exploration and production.

We are rebels, revolutionising productivity for the cause of energy production and value creation.

We are rebels with a good cause!

Aker BP is developing digital operations twins in cooperation with its strategic partners Aize and Cognite. The ambition is to contribute to software that can be scaled to other companies and industries, thereby creating values extending far beyond Aker BP.

“The need for clean energy delivered in a secure and safe manner has never been greater. As an oil and gas producer, Aker BP needs to think outside the box. Our commitment to the digital operations twin will make Aker BP more competitive. We are going to be a safer and more reliable operator, with reduced emissions. This will allow us to deliver better solutions for the world’s energy needs,” says Hege Fjell Urdahl, Aker BP’s VP Integrated operations.

All operations data available in the same place

In order to operate oil and gas fields, you need to be in full control of the facilities’ performance, maintenance and safety. It can be difficult to see the big picture when vast volumes of data are spread across different applications.

Aker BP is solving this in collaboration with Aize and Cognite by developing a digital twin for operations, which will connect people in a digital workspace with all operations data available at their fingertips.

Aker BP is transforming development and operation of assets through digital technology. The company is digitising project execution in the development of the NOAKA area. Data is collected digitally and made available to everyone involved in the project – increasing efficiency and reducing engineering hours.

In 2027, first production is expected from the large NOAKA area in the North Sea. Aker BP is operator of the southern part of the area – NOA Fulla. Together with strategic partners Aker Solutions, Aize and Cognite, Aker BP is transforming project execution with digital solutions.

The project team creates a digital representation of NOA Fulla and all the data is made available to the end-user in the Aize workspace.

All data in a single workspace

“Through the Aize workspace, I can already now visualise how the NOA platform will look in the future. I can familiarise myself with the installations and check that the design meets my needs. If not, I can give feedback on the design,” explains Vidar Otnes, Commissioning Manager in the NOA Fulla project.

Otnes is responsible for ensuring that everything is tested before the systems and platforms are handed over to operations and first oil in 2027.

Better visualisation of construction method

“Visual construction planning” is one of the modules within Aize.

Anders Tore Børtveit is Construction Method Lead for the NOA topsides in Aker Solutions. He is involved in developing the module for visual construction planning.

The NOAKA development is currently being matured towards a final investment decision and submission of Plan for Development and Operation before the end of 2022. Pending approval by the Norwegian authorities, the plan is to cut the first steel for the NOA topsides at the Aker Solutions yard at Stord in 2023.

“I will be responsible for the construction method. High efficiency and quality in project execution are essential to make large capital projects valuable in an increasingly demanding market,” says Børtveit.

Collaboration with vendors

Hundreds of vendors will contribute to the NOA Fulla project. What makes Aize unique, is that it is open to these vendors. Everyone can share data and collaborate together in a joint workspace.

“We review and collaborate in the same workspace. We will benefit both in efficiency and quality,” says Commissioning Manager Vidar Otnes.

Aker BP and Halliburton are revolutionizing well planning and construction. Through Halliburton’s IEnergy® cloud solution, Aker BP increases efficiency, and reduces well risk and well cost. The next step is planning software for entire field concepts, covering both subsurface and well construction.

“We have successfully implemented Collaborative Well Planning for optimal well placements, reduced risk and increased resources. We are close to designing a well in a day with high quality in the open Digital Well Program® built on Halliburton’s IEnergy solution. With Field Development Planning we are accelerating our digital transformation to the next level,” states Tommy Sigmundstad, SVP Drilling and Wells for Aker BP.

“We build on a close and collaborative relationship over many years. We combine this with expertise, transformative and game-changing technologies that Aker BP and Halliburton have brought together, and agile work processes,” adds Chandra Yeleshwarapu, senior director at Halliburton Landmark.

Collaborative Well Planning

In Aker BP’s onshore operating centre, a team is focussing on a Collaborative Well Planning session involving a new central platform project in the Valhall area in the North Sea.

“Through Collaborative Well Planning all disciplines contribute to the well planning resulting in efficient, stable and productive wells, explains Sindre Hadland, senior Geologist.

There are already 400 wells drilled on the giant Valhall field. Now the team is placing an additional 16 wells to extend the lifetime of the field.

For the new central platform project in Valhall, collaborative well planning has reduced well cost and risk, which in turn has improved project economy.

Digital Well Program

Once the team has identified optimal well placements and trajectories, the work is moved into the Digital Well Program. This is where wells are ultimately designed and planned.

Digital Well Program is a cloud application built on an open architecture. It provides a platform for integrated well planning and design, which promotes increased collaboration and connectivity across drilling activities.

“Together with Halliburton we have created an open platform, the Digital Well Program, on their IEnergy solution. One of the important principles in this application is that fact that any third-party application and system can be integrated into our workflow. Data flows freely between the different applications and systems,” explains Arnfinn Grøtte, digitalisation lead well construction.

Design a well in a day

Through Digital Well Program engineers have access to automated workflows which guide them through the work process to design a well. For senior drilling engineer Jeroen Nijhof well design is now more efficient:

“Before I used Excel and multiple stand-alone applications, where every concept was handled manually which was very labour-intensive. Now I can – in real time – investigate historical data & lessons learned from other offset wells. I can use various types of drilling and well simulation tools,” explains Nijhof, and continues:

“And I can do this while always having a 3D visualisation of my plan. I connect the engineering workflow to third party applications, without spending time worrying about the data quality, because 90 percent is now automated.”

Aker BP is now close to fulfilling the ambition of designing a well in a day – with high quality.

Field Development Planning

The next step in the Aker BP and Halliburton digital partnership is the co-development of a next generation field development planning software. The collaboration delivers a new cloud application – Field Development Planning.

Field Development Planning converts the manual process of collating field development data to make the decision gate process more efficient and auditable and provides a common audit trail across the subsurface community.

«This software will enable us to understand and mitigate risk and uncertainty on a whole new level. Through Field development planning we can understand how engineering work matures during the development phases of a project. This increases efficiency, maximizes value and allows us to make data-driven decisions for entire field concepts», concludes Arnfinn Grøtte.

Aker BP and Aker Solutions have signed a long-term agreement with owner and real estate developer Hinna Park Utvikling (HPU) for modern and energy efficient office buildings in Stavanger from 2024/2025.

The new office complex will be located seaside near the leaning tower in Jåttåvågen. The total contruction cost is NOK 2 billion.

«This is a great and important milestone for Aker BP and Aker Solutions. Through the agreement with HPU we secure long-term, modern and future-oriented offices for the good of the Aker companies in Stavanger. It also reflects our intention to continue with a high activity-level for many years to come», says Marius Gjære, SVP Project Resources and Manager of Aker Solutions Stavanger office.

«The new office complex is tailor made for flexibility and collaboration. The future offices will support our ambition to be in the forefront in the transformation of the oil and gas industry, and will among other things include an integrated operation center for remote operations of our offshore fields», says Ine Dolve, SVP Operations and Field Development and Manager of Aker BP’s Stavanger office.

The development project has been named «Valhall» and will consist of two six -story buildings of a total of 71,000 square meters. Aker BP and Aker Solutions have signed separate long-term leases for a total of 48,000 square meters, split on the two buildings.

There will also be area available for third-party tenants in the office complex. The new buildings will accommodate extensive digital collaboration and efficient execution of activities onshore and offshore. The buildings will be located in close proximity of public transportation, including bus and train.

HPU owns of the property and will be responsible developer in cooperation with main contractor HENT. Construction start is scheduled for September, provided public approvals.

The first phase of the development project is schedule for completion by the end of 2024, while the remaining office space will be ready before the summer of 2025.

The parties have signed a lease agreement with a duration of 10 years for the main part of the office complex. In addition, Aker BP has signed an extended lease agreement for 15 years for a specially designed collaboration center in one of the buildings.

During the coming 10 years, HPU is planning to transform Jåttåvågen to a central residential and business area for the region, with 1500 housing units and 6000 office places that will be developed together with restaurants, parks, public services and swimming area.

With this agreement, Aker BP and Aker Solutions will play a central role in the development of the area.

Facts:

• Hinna Park Utvikling (HPU) owns the ground where Aker BP and Aker Solutions’ new office buildings will we located
• HPU is owned by Stavanger utvikling KF, Entra, Camar Eiendom and OBOS
• Aker BP and Aker Solutions will lease a total of 48,000 square meters divided on the two separate buildings that are a part of the Valhall office complex. They will have separate leasing agreements
• The basement floor, which includes parking spaces for cars and bicycles, amounts to approximately 14,000 sqm
• The project will be developed as buildings for the future with high focus on environment, quality and sustainable solutions, including energy class A and Breeam-Nor Excellent environmental certification. In addition, Valhall will be built according to the WELL Building Standard
• The buildings will be located on either side of the new buss road that is planned through the area

Contact: Ole-Johan Faret, Press Spokesperson, tel.: +47 402 24 217