Brazil's offshore oil and gas turns to digital twins, with equipment life claimed to reach 15 years
CESAR says monitoring 40 subsea flexible pipes extends equipment life; the scale is small and unverified.
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CESAR, a Brazilian research center, says a digital twin system it developed with Petrobras now monitors 40 flexible pipes connecting subsea wells to offshore production platforms.
The system combines real-time equipment data with physical models to assess wear and predict fatigue and corrosion. According to CESAR, some equipment designed for a life of about 10 years has run for 15 to 18 years under digital monitoring and more precise maintenance.
These figures are CESAR's own account, presented at the Rio oil and gas show; the life-extension effect has not been independently verified, and 40 pipes cover only a small slice of Brazil's deepwater operations.