Solution Seeker and ISDB secure major innovation contract in Brazil
Solution Seeker and ISDB secure major innovation contract in Brazil: applying AI to one of the World's largest offshore fields
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- Solution Seeker
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Norwegian AI startup company Solution Seeker and Brazilian research institute ISDB FlowTech have been awarded an unprecedented 4-year contract for delivering Hybrid AI tools for optimizing production at the Brazilian flagship field Mero/Libra.
The project is focused on increasing production through digitalization and automation of optimization workflows. This builds on the potential of the highly instrumented Libra wells, production system and FPSOs to increase production rates, recovery potential and extend the economic lifetime of the wells. The high flow rates, pressures, gas-oil content and carbon dioxide have all increased complexity and therefore call for innovative advanced optimization technologies.
"We have worked closely with Solution Seeker to establish the concept of a Norwegian-Brazilian AI-hub in Rio" points out Joao Carneiro, Managing Partner of ISDB, a leading research institute in Brazil and a spin-off from SINTEF. Solution Seeker and ISDB FlowTech entered into a strategic partnership in May 2019.
Solution Seeker's country manager in Brazil, Guilherme Kessler, looks into adding 5 data scientists/programmers to the team in Brazil within the next year, with a mix of expats and Brazilians to work alongside the research engineers from ISDB.
«This will be our biggest project so far and marks an important milestone in our journey to deliver state-of-the-art AI production optimization globally»
Vidar Gunnerud
Solution Seeker CEO
Innovation Norway and the EU innovation programme Innowwide have also been instrumental in providing financial support to get this 4-year project up and running, as has business development supplier M&O by providing on-demand assistance locally.
Libra is a consortium led by Petrobras (acting as the operator with a 40% stake) in partnership with Shell (20%), Total (20%), China National Petroleum Corporation (10%) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (10%). The field–which is located 180km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, below a 2.000-meter layer of salt and with subsurface depths reaching over 6km– is among the largest deepwater finds in history. Holding recoverable reserves ranging from 3.3-12 billion barrels, production is expected to last over 30 years and reach at least 750k boe/day based on current investment decisions (and possibly upwards of 1M boe/day for the field as a whole).
The current development is divided into four areas (Mero 1-4), each being developed separately with at least one FPSO each, with the first definitive production unit coming online in 2021 followed by a new one each year thereafter on average. Since 2018 it has been producing around 50k boe/day from a single extended well test.
Solution Seeker is an AI company supporting the next great leap in digital transformation of production teams with their proprietary software ProductionCompas AI. The software solution delivers real-time and actionable intelligence to production engineers, and drives the transition to truly condition-based operations. The company’s team has strong expertise in production data mining and analysis. Other areas of expertise are optimization algorithms, machine learning, neural networks and modeling using statistical methods, coupled with deep knowledge of petroleum production.
ISDB FlowTech is an independent Brazilian Research Institute based out of Rio de Janeiro and carrying out applied research projects within Multiphase Flow Technology & Flow Assurance, Artificial Lift and Multiphase Production Technology. ISDB moreover provides consulting and technical solutions to major Oil & Gas players in Brazil and abroad. Main customers and partners include Equinor, Petrobras, Repsol-Sinopec, Galp, ESSS, among others.
ISDB, with its team of highly qualified research engineers, is a spin-off from SINTEF’s former subsidiary in Brazil, Instituto Sintef do Brasil. Since 2012 it has been duly accredited by ANP, Brazil’s oil & gas and biofuels regulator, as a research and development partner in Brazil.