Majority state-owned Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is harnessing 3D printing technology to manufacture thousands of unique spare parts for its oilfield operations with technological support from French startup Spare Parts 3D (SP3D).
Paris-based SP3D specializes in helping manufacturers digitalise their spare parts inventory through additive manufacturing (AM) – a technology that uses a CAD-generated 3D model directly to fabricate a three-dimensional object by adding layer-upon-layer of material. SP3D announced in a press statement that it is assisting PDO in assessing the 3D printability of 150,000 unique spare parts.
Within a period of six months, the PDO-led team processed 150,000 coded spare parts in order to define a 3D printing adoption matrix based on technical feasibility and economical attractiveness, said SP3D. This was made possible by SP3D’s data-driven funnel methodology, its unique machine-learning-based software, DigiPART, the availability of material coding information records, and the commitment of a multidisciplinary team at PDO, it stated.
“After having selected non-suitable parts, ourselves, we contracted SP3D for their ability to enrich our partial dataset. This helped to select the right spare parts to focus on for PDO’s AM journey,” said Mohammed Yahyai, 3D Scoping workstream Lead and Lead Rotating Equipment Engineer at PDO.
According to SP3D, PDO now has a tool to enable its 3D printing deployment roadmap – speeding up additive manufacturing deployment by an estimated two years, and helping the company remain at the forefront of innovation in the Middle East.
“PDO now has access to an agile decision tool covering over 60,000 spare parts. Customised business cases filters enable PDO to select the most relevant parts to print and install or switch from physical to digital inventory,” said Paul Guillaumot, CEO of Spare Parts 3D.
“The ability to provide valorisation on AM potential is a first in Oman and of great support to accelerate In-Country Value initiatives and build our Industry 4.0 ecosystem in the Sultanate of Oman,” added Sulaiman Ruqaishi, In-Country Value Business Development Lead at PDO.
The partnership allows PDO to accelerate its AM journey based on extensive and comprehensive analysis. Enriching PDO’s existing data via the use of algorithms enabled the creation of a 3D printing parts selection matrix including both technical and commercial feasibility considerations.
“Our fundamental issue was to logically and quickly screen and identify 3D printing candidates to define PDO AM scope and move forward. With the support of our partner SP3D, PDO is now able to make informed decisions, accelerate deployment, and support stakeholders,” added Philippe Dupont, Head of Material Procurement and Inventory Management at PDO.
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