Aker Kvaerner and IBM collaborate

Aker Kvaerner and IBM have established an alliance for Condition Based Maintenance of oil and gas plants in Norway, a monitoring system which reduces plant downtime for ongoing maintenance.

The initial focus will be on installations in the North Sea and onshore in Norway, with long term plans to expand internationally.

With the establishment of the IBM Oil & Gas Centre of Excellence in Stavanger, the parties have defined a joint business opportunity within Condition Based Maintenance.

Collecting process data and condition data, information flow between the plant and the centre onshore, data analysis, condition reports and establishment of effective maintenance programs and routines are included in the offering.

A recent report by the The Norwegian Oil Industry's Association (OLF) states that it is possible to extract increased revenues of £21bn using Integrated Operations. One of the areas where improvements and benefits can be gained, the OLF contends, is through improving the efficiency of the maintenance process.