Vissim Awarded Oil Spill Monitoring Contract by Repsol Norge

Vissim has been awarded a contract by Repsol Norge AS (Repsol) to implement an upgraded oil spill detection system at the operator’s Yme field on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

The new and upgraded radar-based oil spill detection solution will be installed on the Inspirer jack-up rig that is installed on the Yme oil field, which is located in the Central North Sea approximately 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,” says Håvard Odden, director of Vissim’s North Sea operations.

Vissim’s new oil spill detection system utilizes upgraded image processing technology that enables much higher sensitivity, which allows it to detect even smaller oil spills. It also capitalizes on machine learning to classify detected phenomena, thus preventing that the system generates false alarms which has traditionally been a concern in radar-based oil spill detection systems.

Håvard Odden, director of Vissim’s North Sea operations. (Image credit: Vissim)

The regulatory requirement for oil spill monitoring and detection is that operators shall possess detection technologies which combined makes them independent of weather conditions. The two-in-one solution from

Vissim allows both vessel tracking and oil spill detection through the same radar.

Other operators, including Aker BP and Vår Energi, have also adopted Vissim’s new oil spill monitoring solution.

Vissim is a software developer and turnkey sensor and infrastructure provider for advanced marine optimization systems. The company is headquartered in Horten, Norway.