Cegal EnergyX offers full control of the gas from the Norwegian Continental Shelf

Cegal's EnergyX platform gives Gassco full control of the gas exported from the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS)– down to a single molecule.

Gassco is a leading gas transporter in Europe and is responsible for safe and efficient transport of gas from the NCS. Gassco is the link between all producers, transporters and recipients of gas coming from the NCS. The gas goes into a network of pipelines, starting from the platforms in the North Sea to processing plants in Norway and in the United Kingdom before finally spreading out to the rest of the continent.

As a gas transporter, it is critical that Gassco has a complete overview of the gas, all the way from dispatcher to recipient. During the transport, Gassco must have full control over the ownership of every single molecule of gas.

 – Traditionally, we have obtained an overview using spreadsheets containing data from the business system Origo, says Kjell Bårdsen in Gassco.

From spreadsheets to a secure system

The gas was controlled in the Origo system. It handled planning, nominations (how much gas is to be in the pipeline), measurements and allocation (distribution) of gas volumes. All information exchange in and out of Origo between the various parties went through the messaging platform Axway B2Bi. Every month, approximately 75,000 messages were exchanged in Gassco’s Origo system.

Using spreadsheets to follow up on business-critical information and tasks has some disadvantages:

• The data could easily contain errors or outdated data.

• It requires numerous manual operations to collect data into the spreadsheets.

• The spreadsheets could be personally edited, and linked to the individual employee.

• Difficult to share information across the organisation and with partners outside the business.

– It is not easy to retrieve data from a secure system and move it over to a spreadsheet. The data must go through many steps. It is also difficult to detect errors in a particular spreadsheet, Bårdsen continues.

Using Cegal EnergyX Control, Gassco has automated the processes around measurements and allocation of the gas. It gives Gassco better control over the gas transport, removes sources of error and can make employees more productive.

– Now, we can check the condition of the gas we transport by means of an online dashboard. After the gas has been distributed, finished reports are retrieved directly from EnergyX Control. This means the data we send to the suppliers is more accurate. It has also made our working day easier and more efficient. We get quality checks directly into the system, analyses are more streamlined, and everyone has access to the same updated information. EnergyX Control allows us to drill down into the details of each individual gas molecule, Bårdsen says.

Bårdsen adds that EnergyX Control also increases security in that the data is in a system where access is closely monitored and controlled.

The next step in the development of EnergyX Control is to utilise the possibilities inherent in APIs by connecting the solution to systems at suppliers and recipients of the gas. By making data available directly from machine to machine and from system to system, even more of today’s manual work related to reports, invoicing and control can be automated.

Extensive industry and technology expertise

– What has it been like working with Cegal?

It has been wonderful! They are good people who are easy to work with. In addition to an extensive experience within the oil and gas industry, they have deep technology expertise. We only have good experiences with Cegal.

Kjell Bårdsen, Gassco

Cegal has a long-standing collaboration with Gassco, especially related to the market-leading messaging system Axway B2Bi and is a partner with Axway which delivers B2Bi.

EnergyX develops its own systems, such as Control, in the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. This enables EnergyX to easily leverage emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning or solutions related to sensors and the Internet of Things (IoT). With an agile team of developers and industry experts, EnergyX can quickly adapt to the market’s needs and become a front-runner in technology aimed at the oil and gas industry.

Cegal focuses on sustainability and will ensure continuous work for the most sustainable solutions possible for the customers, among other things by incorporating at least one of the United Nations (UN) sustainability goals. The UN has 17 sustainability goals, which is a global plan to eradicate poverty, fight inequality and stop climate change by 2030. Goal number 12 is “Responsible consumption and production” and with solutions providing full control over gas transport down to the molecular level, Cegal helps Gassco to detect wastage and leaks. Sustainable production is about promoting resource and energy efficiency and sustainable infrastructure.

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