BP Andrew VIEC Package Approvals

We provided electrical engineering review and approval services for the Vessel Internal Electrical Coalescer (VIEC) on the BP Andrew Area Development project.

The use of VIEC technology carries the aim of improving the efficiency of an oil and water separation process. The key coalescer components are mounted inside the Kinnoull Separator vessel on the new Kinnoull process module and consist of a ‘wall’ made up of several VIEC ‘elements’.  An electrical charge is applied to plates held inside a cast-resin block (element) and this charge accelerates the separation process within the vessel. The innovative technology is a significant investment and is not yet widely used within North Sea O&G installations, so we were delighted to be able to apply our expertise for this particular project.

Our involvement for this scope was to conduct periodic review of specialist vendor design and test documentation. We also attended factory testing of the VIEC elements in Siegburg, Germany.  The design and test documentation included equipment layouts, interconnection diagrams, schematics, parts lists, test and commissioning procedures. The factory test activities included document review, equipment inspections and witness testing in accordance with the approved test procedures.

Our involvement in this project scope ensured the successful delivery and test of the VIEC system components with particular focus on ensuring quality of product and functional integrity for service in the field.