DNV’s core philosophy is that technology development and knowledge sharing increase innovation and safety. So when the industry is facing challenges, the best way of solving these is for industry players to join forces through Joint Industry Projects (JIPs). Together we in this way develop the world’s best practices and standards.
“Both the growing demand for energy and the fact that the time for easy oil is over create a continuous need for the development of new and the revision of existing standards. DNV’s philosophy is that by combining our own development resources with those of the industry, we can all achieve so much more,” emphasizes Kim Mørk, DNV Energy’s new technical director.
He continues: “That is also why every year DNV kicks off a vast number of Joint Industry Projects (JIPs) within the energy industry, thus encouraging cooperation and development between the players and authorities. Their faith in DNV’s independence is why the energy stakeholders agree to and ask us to run such cooperative projects. Here, our role is often to develop new technologies, benchmark and qualify new approaches and to share best engineering practise from our vast knowledge base. The main driver is to balance the needs of all the stakeholders.”
In 2008, DNV facilitated 41 such joint industry ventures and the aim is to have at least the same high level this year. Some projects find solutions to specific technical challenges in the energy industry, while others aim to develop new unified global standards and recommended practices. Some great examples are projects that will provide common methodologies for the whole carbon capture, transport and storage value chain.
30th year of setting standards
DNV issued the first principles for offshore drilling platforms as far back as in 1970 and has issued a large number of new and revised codes since then. An example is DNV’s pipeline standard, which has been recognised to such an extent that about 70 percent of all offshore pipelines are designed, constructed and installed to meet its requirements.
2008 was a record year when it came to launching standards for the energy industry. DNV launched a 49 new or updated standards and recommended practices. All the major players from around the globe have been involved in developing several of these.
Increase the level of innovation
Kim Mørk emphasises that even though the world is facing difficult financial times, the challenges and risks still prevail.
“It is therefore highly important that DNV, together with the industry, continues to focus on technology development. We are ensuring that the concepts and methods are flexible, and we facilitate novel solutions to old problems by developing standards and best practices. These reflect modern design philosophy and support all stages of the decision making for the benefit of the energy industry,” concludes Kim Mørk.