TechnipFMC and DNV GL sign a partnership to set the benchmark for trust in oil and gas industry’s digital twins

TechnipFMC and DNV GL have entered into a partnership to develop the oil and gas industry’s first methodology for qualifying the integrity of digital twin technology, the company said in its release.

The methodology aims to bring a level playing field to the sector’s varying technical definitions of, and expectations towards digital twins. It will set a benchmark for oil and gas operators, supply chain partners and regulators to establish trust in digital twin-generated data for performance and safety decision-making in projects and operations.      

Digital twins, a digital representation of a physical asset and its behaviour, have the potential to rapidly emerge as the foundation for asset design and operation across the oil and gas value chain. Oil and gas companies are increasingly using the technology to bring asset information from multiple sources together in a single and secure place and connecting 3D models with real time field data during operation phase. Through digital twins, operators will also be able to get more insights and simulate the behaviour of the asset depending on operational conditions to facilitate the decision-making.

The new methodology will be built upon DNV GL’s Recommended Practice (RP) for Technology Qualification: DNVGL-RP-A203. The RP was first published more than 20 years ago to provide a common framework for the oil and gas industry players to gain acceptance for implementing unproven hardware technology. It has since been used to demonstrate the trustworthiness of hundreds of technologies globally.  

The digital twin technology qualification methodology will be piloted on a subsea field development project delivered by TechnipFMC starting early 2020. It is expected to be published as a recommended practice during the second half of next year.