BP 2015 Annual Report Download - page 29

Steam clean savings
Refinery tank cleaning, which is done by hand,
is not always efficient as it is based on
estimates of waste within the tank.
Downstream teams tested an existing steam
injection method that was new to BP that
separates the build up into sediment on the
bottom, then water, and a layer of recoverable
oil floating on the top. The oil and water are
pumped away, leaving the sediment to be easily
cleaned up in the final manual cleaning step.
Since the process was implemented at the
Rotterdam refinery in 2015, it has significantly
reduced cleaning times – from 9-12 months
down to three, reduced risks to cleaners and
saved more than $3 million. It is now being
adopted across BP with further savings expected.
Making storage simpler
Throughout more than 50 years of operations in
the North Sea, BP had built up large quantities of
equipment that were spread around 172 locations,
with significant storage fees and long lead times
to get these materials offshore. By updating and
improving our materials management process we
reduced the number of stored inventory items by
half and brought the number of storage locations
down by about 65%. We also generated around
$32 million by selling surplus materials and scrap.
BP is embedding cost efficiency and simplification into everyday activities
as well as large-scale changes in response to market conditions.
As with other companies within our industry,
BP is taking measures to respond to the
impact of a lower-price environment by
limiting capital spend, looking to benefit from
cost deflation and reducing headcount. In
addition, for some time we have been
encouraging everyone in BP to find and
implement smarter ways of working, without
compromising safety. From large-scale
behaviour changes to small and simple ideas,
our employees are helping to make a positive
difference to the reliability and efficiency of
our operations.
Logistics planning
Driving supply boats to our offshore Egypt rigs
can consume a lot of fuel. Through detailed
logistics planning we calculated that a 25%
reduction in speed consumed about 40% less
fuel per trip. We also found that keeping a vessel
outside the 500 metre rig zone required less
engine power than the full dynamic positioning
mode needed within it, and this reduced fuel
consumption by around 80%. We have applied
these changes across the region’s fleet and are
expecting to save more than $400,000 a year. We
are sharing this cost-saving approach globally.
Easing the bottleneck
The Cherry Point refinery rail facility receives
crudes directly from US and Canadian producers.
But with only two tracks available, the mile-long
trains often had to wait to offload their oil supply.
This prevented the refinery from maximizing its
rail offloading efficiency. Teams at the site, along
with the supply organization, worked to resolve
the problem by installing additional track to
reduce congestion and allow full utilization of
the rail facility. In 2015 we safely executed this
rail upgrade ahead of schedule and within
budget.
A helicopter-sharing first
When changing crews on board BP’s Skarv
platform in the Norwegian North Sea, a
helicopter flies the replacement team offshore
and brings the current team back to land. On
these journeys an average of six of the 19
seats were unused. We discovered that nearby
operator, Statoil, was in the same situation and
so looked for opportunities to maximize seat
usage on our journeys. Statoil offered BP a
50% share in its contracted helicopter capacity
and the companies entered into a cost-sharing
agreement for scheduled flights. With fewer
flights offshore we have reduced costs and
CO2 emissions.
Foundations for success
BP drilling and cementing teams in Azerbaijan
regularly review well design and construction
to ensure they are safe, efficient and reliable.
In efforts to improve cementing technology,
a key element of well construction, the teams
identified ways to simplify the process and
decrease drying times. By changing cement
and optimizing parameters, drying time has
been reduced and more than $1 million has
been saved. The process can be replicated
elsewhere.
★ Defined on page 256.BP Annual Report and Form 20-F 2015 25
Strategic report