OMV planning for Wisting with Pims Software

OMV Norway has started to plan for the Wisting field, in the Barents Sea, which may host the company’s first development project as an operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Omega’s Pims Software has already been utilized as a project management system in the planning phase, in order to ensure preparedness for the wider project.

The execution phase of the Wisting project is planned to start in 2020, however the operator, OMV Norway, has already started to use Pims as their project management system. OMV, Austria’s largest oil company, established their Norwegian business unit in 2006. The Norwegian Continental Shelf is one of OMV’s core areas, and Wisting is one of the projects that is estimated to have the largest potential in the years ahead.

”Wisting is our first project as an operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and it was important for the company to find a system that would secure the information flow and make interaction across the project more efficient. We gathered references from several companies that had a lot of experience with Omega’s system, and chose Pims as a result of this feedback,” explains Paul Arne Aaserud, Pims Focal Point in OMV Norway.

“OMV is an innovative company which has exciting projects in Norway. It is very useful for us to take part in a project at such an early phase, and it is a vote of confidence that a company that chooses to go big in Norway, wants to go for Omega and Pims,” says Department Manager in Omega PS Johnny Vik (left), here together with cost controller in OMV, Bjørn-Lasse Tranvåg and Paul Arne Aaserud, Pims Focal Point in OMV Norway.

Full Pims package for Wisting

For more than 25 years, Omega has provided Pims Software to leading international companies within the oil and gas industry. Omega’s Pims portfolio consists of various modules that each cover a discipline including Risk Management, Cost Management, Contract Management, Document Control, HSE, Quality Assurance, and Completion. The modules can be implemented separately, or as a complete package; the latter method was chosen by OMV Norway for the Wisting project.

The advantage with Pims is that all the modules speak to each other, Aaserud points out.

“What we looked for was an integrated solution that efficiently and consistently uses and communicates project data across disciplines to avoid ‘information silos’. To make the information available for all the modules and the project in general is incredibly important to avoid errors,” explains Aaserud.

Well prepared

OMV Norway is in an early phase of the Wisting project, but has chosen to utilize Pims at this point to standardize the work methods in the organization at an early stage. The system will then be an incorporated part of the project organization, when the execution phase starts.

“For us, it is important to incorporate a good project management system as early as possible. This will ensure we are well prepared and able to avoid challenges in terms of the system,” says Aaserud.

Wisting is the northernmost field discovery in the Barents Sea and is located approximately 310 kilometers north of Hammerfest in Norway. The field is estimated to have an oil reserve of between 200 and 500 million barrels of oil. In comparison, the Goliat field had a reserve of approximately 180 million barrels when it was developed.

OMV Norway is the operator of the Wisting license along with partners Statoil, Petoro, and Idemitsu. OMV’s production currently comes from Gullfaks, Gudrun, and Edvard Grieg, whilst they also are working on startup at Aasta Hansteen, a deep water gas development in the Norwegian Sea.

Growth in oil and gas

OMV Norway is one of several newcomers on the Norwegian Continental Shelf that has started utilizing Omega’s Pims Software on their projects in recent years. As Omega has started to gain a foothold within new markets such as building and transportation, the company has also further consolidated its position within the oil and gas industry.

“Pims is built on more than 25 years’ experience from large projects, both in Norway and internationally. The improvements we make to Pims for one client are also integrated for other clients, so that our customers are continuously contributing to creating a better product,” explains Johnny Vik, Department Manager in Omega PS Norway.

He also points out that the cost and resource-efficient benefits of Pims represent reasons why the system is likely to continue to take a greater share in new markets in Norway.

“We deliver a complete project management system. Pims also serves as an efficient system which saves organizations from using large resources; this is becoming increasingly important for our clients,” says Vik who is looking forward to cooperating with OMV Norway.