DNV is now inviting the subsea industry to jointly obtain synergies by developing a best-practice approach in the construction of a subsea project. The aim is to reduce long delivery time due to compliance with oil companies’ individual requirements and production costs and improve material quality, thus reducing the risk throughout the supply chain.
Due to quality concerns, the end users of subsea systems are stipulating company-specific requirements for subsea forgings, such as those used for X-mas trees. “This has made the stocking of prefabricated forgings and thereby shorter lead times difficult for the vendor industry. The typical delivery time can be in excess of seven months, and has a high potential for being shortened,” says Mr Bjørn Søgård, Business Development Manager at DNV’s Well, Pipelines and Subsea Section.
“One pre-requisite for shortening the lead times and effective project execution is the timely availability of forgings that meet all likely end users’ quality requirements. A unified set of requirements across the industry would be a solution with a synergetic effect, make procurement easier and help reduce quality challenges,” he points out.
Based on this and in response to requests from key stakeholders in the subsea industry, DNV has established a Forging-material Joint Industry Project (JIP). It will run for 14 months and include valuable contributions from major oil companies, subsea contractors and manufacturers of steel forgings.