ASSET INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT

IN THE NORTH AFRICAN OIL AND

GAS SECTOR

Copyright 2015 IQPC Middle East. All rights reserved.

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ASSET INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT IN THE NORTH AFRICAN OIL AND GAS SECTOR

Produced by IQPC Middle East in association with the Asset Integrity Management in North Africa taking place in 22 25 November 2015 in Cairo, Egypt.

The North African oil and gas

sector is currently at an interesting
crossroads: rapid urbanisation and
rising energy demands represent
excellent growth opportunities but
this is tempered by a series of
significant geo-political challenges
such as falling oil prices and civil
unrest.

In Egypt, the
uncertainty of the
revolution has passed
and a stabilising
government
committed to
infrastructure
investment means
that theres huge
expansion potential.

In Egypt, the uncertainty of the

revolution has passed and a
stabilising government committed to
infrastructure investment means that
theres huge expansion potential.
Much of it centres around the
national mega projects such as
the Suez Canal Zone development
which includes new industrial zones
for petrochemical companies to
build a presence in. Morocco,
Algeria and Tunisia are following
suit with governments that are
keen to demonstrate swift progress
in infrastructure development,
presenting further opportunities for
energy procurement companies.
However, the ongoing civil conflict in
Libya, as well as repeated incidents
of civil unrest and terrorist activities
across the region means that until
the political situation is settled,
oil and gas operations are likely
to suffer further constraints and
disruptions.
In this uncertain climate, its vital
for oil and gas asset managers to
fully understand the importance of
Asset Integrity Management (AIM).
Its principles allow them to fully
understand the options that are
available when trying to decide how
best to maintain value from their
ongoing operations.

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Challenges facing
oil and gas Asset
Managers in North
Africa
Dropping oil prices: Falling oil
prices are causing a lot of operators
to make significant operational
cutbacks. While a necessary
measure, this can ultimately lead
to serious asset integrity issues
without the proper foresight and
maintenance/inspection checks.
Ageing infrastructure: Many
operators in North Africas oil and
gas sector (particularly in Egypt)
have infrastructure assets that are 40
years or over and they are faced with
the dilemma of deciding whether
it is more cost-effective to invest in
upgrading the existing assets or
replace them entirely.
Control systems upgrades:
Increasingly sophisticated command
and control systems technologies
are entering the global oil and gas
market. North African operators need
to decide if the time is right to make
an upgrade in order to derive greater
value from their existing assets.
Corrosion issues: High velocity
winds carrying sand particles at
speed result in severe and ongoing

ASSET INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT IN THE NORTH AFRICAN OIL AND GAS SECTOR

corrosion issues for oil and gas

pipelines as well as other key
infrastructure elements. General
attack corrosion, environmental
cracking, flow-assisted corrosion
(FAC) and fretting are all causes for
significant concern.
Life extension issues: Effective
asset life extension efforts are being
hampered in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria
and Egypt by the continual threat of
civil unrest and acts of sabotage by
non-state players which interfere with
accurate data gathering and decisive
decision-making.
Standards and compliance:
Environmental damage from oil spills
and pipeline leaks has become an
increasingly important priority for NA
governments. As such, regulatory
authorities are looking to raise
the required standard of pipeline
materials and safety inspection
regimes.
Obsolete spare parts: Expert
analysts estimate that 70% of the
North Africas oil production comes
from oilfield assets that are more
than 10 years old. Much of the
regions hydrocarbon infrastructure
is far older than that. Ageing
infrastructure can lead to AIM
complications as acquiring spare
parts for faulty equipment becomes
more difficult or even impossible due
to them becoming obsolete and out
of production.

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Potential Asset Integrity

Management Solutions
Considering the scale and diversity
of challenges that the sector faces,
its vital for asset managers to
achieve an accurate breakdown of
the integrity levels of their assets and
establish which course of action is
the most economical.
An overhaul of an existing asset
complete with equipment
replacements and refurbishments
often comes with a hefty price
tag, but it may prove to be a more
valuable investment than waiting for
the asset to fail or become obsolete.
Similarly, dedicated life extension
efforts can enable an operator to
derive additional value from an
asset through months or even years
of further operations but under the
wrong circumstances they can
represent a poor investment that is
only delaying an inevitable overhaul.

Considering the
scale and diversity of
challenges that the
sector faces, its vital
for asset managers to
achieve an accurate
breakdown of the
integrity levels of
their assets and
establish which
course of action is
the most economical.

In order to decide the best way

forward, oil and gas operators
in North Africa need to adopt
a successful AIM strategy that
effectively accounts for their
particular circumstances and asset
integrity levels.
Systematic operational analysis:
Leading oil and gas companies in
the region have enjoyed success in
using consultancy to systematically

ASSET INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT IN THE NORTH AFRICAN OIL AND GAS SECTOR

investigate each facet of their

operations and identify which assets
are in most need of upgrading/
replacing/overhauling.
Sequential asset integrity
improvements: Its often impractical
or even impossible to fully upgrade
several major assets all at one time.
A dedicated refurbishment/overhaul
of one asset at a time means that
with the right workarounds and
redundancy considerations, its
possible to maintain operational
continuity.

As oil and gas

operators in North
Africa look to their
future operations
they are put in a
position of extreme
complexity.

Deploying bespoke technological

solutions: Asset integrity issues
often require highly specialised
solutions from technology providers.
For example, corrosion management
services are available to conduct
rigorous testing on pipelines for
cracking, thermal wear and all
corrosion types. High tech solutions
such as ultrasonic scanning and
fibreglass piping are becoming
highly sought after as they represent
significant long-term cost savings.
Dedicated inspection regimes:
For aging infrastructure that is
10+ years old the key concern is a
critical malfunction causing a major
accident. Asset life extension efforts
need to be coupled with adequate
inspection regimes in order to ensure
that all upgrade/refurbishment
work has been effective and the
infrastructure is working safely and
as intended.
Appropriate material selection
for new/replacement piping: Too
often operators are now experiencing
leaks and cracking with oil and gas
pipelines as they discover that the
material chosen was not suited
for the high temperatures and
corrosion conditions of North Africa.
Increasingly, AIM departments are
becoming an integral part of the
decision making process when
deciding which materials to use
in future projects. This extends to
working with technological solutions
providers who are investing in
advanced material designs for more
durable pipelines.

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Aiming to Ensure
Operational
Continuity in the
face of Challenging
Circumstances
As oil and gas operators in North
Africa look to their future operations
they are put in a position of
extreme complexity. Falling oil
prices combined with the regions
political uncertainty are placing
increased production demands and
restrictive budgetary considerations
upon them. While new investment
and exploratory opportunities are
opening up, these new projects vie
with existing, ageing infrastructure
for budgetary consideration. All
the while, business continuity and
resilience are more important now
than ever in these uncertain times.
Therefore, the value of a wellconceived and implemented AIM
strategy cannot be overestimated
for companies looking to derive
maximum value from their ongoing
operations. Accurate data gathering,
inspection and assessment of
all company assets allows for a
complete breakdown of integrity
levels and can determine the correct
course of action. Choosing the most
cost-effective solution be it asset
life extension, refurbishment or a
complete overhaul will safeguard
ongoing operations and secure
cost savings that can be realised for
future expansion projects.
In order to achieve a comprehensive
AIM strategy, oil and gas companies
working in North Africa need to
familiarise themselves with the
leading providers of the latest
inspection technologies, advanced
pipeline and infrastructure materials
and comprehensive AIM consultancy
services.

ASSET INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT IN THE NORTH AFRICAN OIL AND GAS SECTOR

Asset Integrity Management (AIM) is fast becoming an essential element of the ongoing
operations of the oil and gas sector in North Africa. Download this paper to discover the key
challenges affecting oil and gas operators in the region and how a comprehensive AIM strategy
can steer them towards cost-effective solutions on asset refurbishments, replacements and
complete overhauls.
Visit www.assetintegrityna.com for more information.

Copyright 2015 IQPC Middle East. All rights reserved.

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Publisher contact details: Vidhya Suman | IQPC Middle East | enquiry@iqpc.ae

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ASSET INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT IN THE NORTH AFRICAN OIL AND GAS SECTOR