A new unmanned FLNG concept - Solitude - unveiled by DNV GL at the APPEA conference in Melbourne, promises to overcome the challenges currently faced in unlocking the potential of remote offshore gas fields.

Should Solitude ever become a reality, the modularised facility would be monitored from shore with much of the routine maintenance and fault correction carried out by self-programming autonomous inspection and maintenance units - robots.

The topsides would feature a system of rails running along each process train, providing robots with access to all the equipment.

The wireless sensors would act as the eyes, ears and noses, feeding information to a condition monitoring system overseeing fault detection, maintenance and repair.

‘Solitude has been developed with maintainability foremost in mind,’ said Elisabeth Torstad, DNV GL CEO Oil & Gas. ‘By changing the focus from maximum efficiency to maximum reliability, and selecting robust processing options with built-in redundancy, we were able to develop a solution that ensures production levels and boosts the economic viability of FLNG projects.’

Richard Palmer, DNV GL’s regional manager Australia, NZ and PNG, said he had been stunned by the reaction of potential FLNG proprietors eager to expedite the technology.

Palmer revealed that while DNV GL envisaged a 20-year timeline to development, one FLNG developer, who he declined to name, had enquired about fast-tracking the futuristic concept to reality in five years.

‘We may be at one end and they at the other end of the spectrum (on timelines), but certainly we both seem to be thinking along a similar line,’ said Palmer.

It’s not difficult to see why. The complete removal of 150-200 human beings would reduce the size of the floater by about 50%, with accommodation blocks and safety systems becoming redundant without the presence of people.

‘Large elements of the concept are possible today, such as sensors and remote management. But gas turbines onboard the vessel require human intervention today. We can certainly make strides towards it, but it is a futuristic concept and we are trying to create a discussion and bring thinkers together to see where our vision for the future takes us,’ said Palmer.

Palmer said the technology was already being deployed in offshore vessels and drill rigs.

‘We’ve got a space station circling the earth and we send unmanned space rockets up there. It doesn’t seem completely beyond the realm of imagination that we can make something that floats independent of human intervention,’ he said.

What has really stirred the interest at APPEA are the potential cost savings of about 20% on operating expenditure, albeit against a 5% more expensive capital expenditure.

‘Existing frontier oil and gas projects have resulted in tremendous technological developments, particularly in the subsea realm, and Solitude draws on this,’ Torstad said. ‘Operators are already controlling subsea installations and simple, fixed offshore installations from shore. Given the on-going advances in autonomous systems and remote operations, unmanned offshore installations are a natural development over the next few decades.’

‘Our aim is to present high-level concepts that can form a basis for discussion and be further developed in collaboration with the industry. We see Solitude as a new opportunity for the future,’ added Palmer.