New solution for offshore energy projects risk
|
|
New solution for offshore energy projects risk
30/04/2010
Groundbreaking nerve centre developed by NSIG member
Potential disasters facing multi-million pound offshore energy projects are the focus of a groundbreaking ‘nerve centre’ system developed by a Scottish energy company.
Pioneering offshore wind and marine renewables developments, accelerating around the shores of Scotland and internationally, must overcome multiple barriers of risk and uncertainty to succeed.
Now energy consultancy Xodus has developed an intelligent, web-based tool to anticipate and avert costly set-backs, from delayed consenting procedures to major production breakdowns in renewables and oil and gas sectors.
“Oil and gas operators across the world are constantly looking for better risk management and, with the offshore renewables industry blazing the trail for the rest of the world here in Scotland, this is good timing for a system that integrates and simplifies the process,” said Liz Foubister, Orkney-based Alternative Energy Director at Xodus, who are headquartered in Aberdeen.
Replacing traditional, fragmented risk management systems, the ‘Xrisk’ management tool deals with likelihood, severity and cost implications of risks, and prioritises counter-activities.
“Most systems involve emailed sharing of reviews and actions on various documents and spreadsheets, making activity relatively slow and inefficient,” said Ms Foubister. “This internet-based system combines a single, securely shared risk register, enabling managers located anywhere in the world to build clear plans with actions assigned, managed, tracked and auditable.”
Xodus staff have already used Xrisk successfully in risk management consultancy for major oil and gas and renewables operators and are now developing it as a stand-alone tool for direct use by client companies.
Xodus’s Orkney office is central to the Pentland Firth area, where 10 major marine energy projects are currently seeking consent, and close to the European Marine Energy Centre, also in Stromness, where full-scale wave and tidal devices are trialled.
|