Exploring Logistic Setup Challenges during a Scheduled Offshore Platform Shutdown

Abstract

© 2020, World Academy of Research in Science and Engineering. All rights reserved. The offshore plant shutdown is a process to ensure the reliability of the equipment and to avoid loss of income because of an unplanned shutdown. This process requires proper coordination among the stakeholders involved in offshore operations. The common issue faced during the offshore plant shutdown is mainly associated with the logistic setup process which directly impacting the shutdown cost, loss of revenue, loss of customer trust, and unnecessary claim due to a delay of the shutdown process. Hence, the successful implementation of the offshore plant shutdown depends on the appropriate coordination of the Oil & Gas Company to manage the process. There is limited literature discussing the process of the offshore plant turnaround shutdown for an academic reference. As such, this study is motivated to fill up the gap in the literature by exploring the challenges of logistics setup during a scheduled shutdown process at the offshore platform which turns to be a major problem for oil and gas companies. In this research, a qualitative method was adopted due to the complexity of the process that requires close investigation to understand the real issue. A focus group approach was used to extract the information and established the theme on the challenges faced by the logistics set up. The findings revealed the absence of logistics involvement during the upstream planning which is the major problem that contributes to delay in schedule and increase to the project cost. A proposed framework of logistics scope during the offshore platform shutdown was developed to provide an insight into the proper planning and improvement in the process.