Overcoming the Design Challenges of Brownfield Projects

Abstract

Abstract Major investments have been made by the Oil & Gas industry in large-scale Greenfield projects to boost offshore & onshore facilities production. In today's low oil prices scenario, industry's focus is shifting towards Brownfield projects which have relatively low CAPEX and high Return on Investment (ROI). However, Brownfield project execution involves many unique design challenges that are not generally encountered in Greenfield development. The paper presents a variety of such challenges, and strategies for mitigating the same. Successful execution of Brownfield projects is inherently complex due to constraints and unknowns in existing facilities. Many issues are identified only during execution stage, and thus result in late changes in design and /or scope. Shortfalls become apparent only during execution, resulting in delays to project completion, production loss to Company and possible cost overruns to Contractor. This may lead to erosion of ROI for such projects. It is therefore essential to identify issues early on in design, and ensure alignment of all stakeholders, including the Vendors. Key design challenges usually faced during Brownfield project execution include: Limitations in existing design, especially for equipment / systems not adequately addressed in Front End Engineering Design (FEED) such as utility systems, flare systems, layout constraints, safety related design requirements, tie-ins etc. Incompatibility between the existing and new equipment / systems Data / Estimates on health of existing equipment Availability of current asset documentation / as-built data in electronic format Discrepancies between design codes / standards used in existing systems versus latest codes / standards Poor planning due to lack of details and understanding of existing facilities Design and engineering challenges are required to be addressed early on in the project lifecycle, to avoid project execution issues. For example, in one of the Brownfield Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) projects, the scope included replacement of an existing pump with a new pump of similar design. It was later found that the new pump also required modifications in the control system, recycle loops, facility layout, etc. In another case, an existing separator that was considered adequate for receiving well fluid from a new pipeline was later found inadequate based on network simulation results, and thus required major modifications in the implementation phase. NPCC has been involved in many challenging Brownfield projects. The paper describes strategies to address such design complexities and challenges based on the successful experience in a number of major EPC Brownfield projects.