It’s called Solitude and for good reason. The unmanned, floating LNG (FLNG) concept unveiled at the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (Appea) immediately caused a ripple of excitement at the prospect of removing 150 to 200 human beings from a multibillion-dollar technological marvel.

Richard Palmer, Regional Manager Australia, NZ and PNG, said he had been stunned by the reaction of potential FLNG proprietors eager to expedite the technology.

Palmer revealed that while DNV GL envisaged a 20-year time line to development, one FLNG developer, who he declined to name, had enquired about fast-tracking the futuristic concept to reality in five years.

“We may be at one end and they at the other end of the spectrum (on time lines), but certainly we both seem to be thinking along a similar line,” said Palmer.

It’s not difficult to see why. The complete removal of human beings would reduce the size of the floater by about 50%, with accommodation blocks and safety systems becoming redundant without the presence of people.

“Large elements of the concept are possible today, such as sensors and remote management. But gas turbines onboard the vessel require human intervention today. We can certainly make strides towards it, but it is a futuristic concept and we are trying to create a discussion and bring thinkers together to see where our vision for the future takes us,” said Palmer.

Palmer said the technology was already being deployed in offshore vessels and drill rigs.

“We’ve got a space station circling the earth and we send unmanned space rockets up there. It doesn’t seem completely beyond the realm of imagination that we can make something that floats independent of human intervention,” he said.

What has really stirred the interest at Appea are the potential cost savings of about 20% on opex, albeit against a 5% more expensive capex.

“Solitude has been developed with maintainability foremost in mind,” said Elisabeth Torstad, DNV GL CEO Oil & Gas. “By changing the focus from maximum efficiency to maximum reliability, and selecting robust processing options with built-in redundancy, we were able to develop a solution that ensures production levels and boosts the economic viability of FLNG projects.”

Should Solitude ever become a reality, the modularized facility would be monitored from shore with much of the routine maintenance and fault correction carried out by self-programming autonomous inspection and maintenance units, otherwise known as robots. The topsides would feature a system of rails running along each process train, providing robots with access to all the equipment.

The wireless sensors would act as the eyes, ears and noses, feeding information to a condition monitoring system overseeing fault detection, maintenance and repair.

“Existing frontier oil and gas projects have resulted in tremendous technological developments, particularly in the subsea realm, and Solitude draws on this,” Torstad said. “Operators are already controlling subsea installations and simple, fixed offshore installations from shore. Given the ongoing advances in autonomous systems and remote operations, unmanned offshore installations are a natural development over the next few decades.”

“Our aim is to present high-level concepts that can form a basis for discussion and be further developed in collaboration with the industry. We see Solitude as a new opportunity for the future,” added Palmer.

Dale Granger can be reached at dgranger@hartenergy.com

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