Norwegian company scores contract with Repsol for oil spill monitoring

Repsol Norge has chosen the Norway-based company Vissim to implement an upgraded oil spill detection system at its Yme field on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

Vissim will install a new radar-based oil spill detection system on the Inspirer jack-up rig at the Yme oil field, situated in the Central North Sea, about 160 kilometers northeast of the Ekofisk field.

“Repsol has utilized Vissim’s systems for many years. We have first-hand witnessed the company’s dedication to not only comply with rules and regulations but also push for improved environmental monitoring solutions. This latest contract is proof of the latter,” said Håvard Odden, Director of Vissim’s North Sea operations.

Vissim said its new oil spill detection system utilizes upgraded image processing technology that enables much higher sensitivity, which allows it to detect even smaller oil spills.

According to the Norwegian company, the solution, which combines vessel tracking and oil spill detection using the same radar system, also capitalizes on machine learning to classify detected phenomena, thus preventing the system generates false alarms which have traditionally been a concern in radar-based oil spill detection systems.

In addition to Repsol, operators like Aker BP and Vår Energi also use Vissim’s renewed oil spill detection solution.