News
Trial on Snorre A
Written on april 22 2024
Equinor pilots non-intrusive separator level measurement technology from Nicoustic on its Snorre A offshore platform.
Nicoustic has successfully installed its novel sensor system for non-intrusive level measurement on a first-stage separator vessel on the Equinor Snorre A offshore platform on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Engineering, installation, and commissioning of the system was performed by personnel from Nicoustic, assisted by Bravida and Trondheim Engineering. The modification project was delivered on time and budget and without incidents.
This is the first full-scale installation of the Nicoustic sensor system, and it is a part of technology qualification with Equinor.
Nicoustic sensor technology is based on Guided Elastic Waves (GEW). It has created a lot of traction with the industry since the company was founded in June 2022 based on many years of research at Fraunhofer IKTS and an innovation challenge formulated by Equinor. Accurate measurement of levels in process vessels is a challenge in many applications, ranging from separation and storage vessels on offshore oil & gas platforms to process vessels in biorefineries. The challenge can be explained by the fact that probes and sensors that need to be mounted on the inside of process equipment are subject to harsh conditions and thus are prone to failures. Installing and maintaining intrusive level measurement systems also requires process shutdown – a challenge and big cost, considering that this is only performed once in several years for many applications. Non-intrusive level measurement system from Nicoustic does not have these drawbacks.
“We are very excited to proceed to full-scale pilot of our non-intrusive separator level measurement on Snorre A. At the same time, we are humbled by the continuing support for our technology demonstrated by Equinor. Installing equipment offshore is not a trivial task, and I am proud that Nicoustic has managed to handle the whole project, from engineering and planning to installation, on time and budget and without any incidents. We have managed to build a stellar team! This would also not be possible without a true One Team approach by Equinor” – says Dmitri Gorski, CEO of Nicoustic.
