OPTIMIZING MARITIME LOGISTICS FOR OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS

Abstract

Maritime cargo transportation is crucial for the oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Thailand for the case company. However, the current utilization of cargo vessels is not optimized, particularly in terms of deck utilization, which is currently at only 63.57 percent. Additionally, the direct delivery routes to the destination platforms result in numerous platforms requiring cargo delivery. This necessitates the use of crew boats to transport crane operators to lift deck cargo onto various production platforms along the vessel's delivery route. Furthermore, the transportation of bulk cargo is conducted by fully loading the cargo vessel each voyage. However, destination rig often cannot accept bulk cargo due to insufficient storage space. This research studies methods to improve the transportation process by recommending a reduction in shipping frequency from 4 to 3 times a week and optimizing the shipping routes using the spoke-hub distribution theory. This involves consolidating deck cargo at selected production platforms and utilizing crew boats to help distribute the cargo. Additionally, it recommends the use of a bulk cargo ordering system based on the Material Requirement Planning (MRP) concept to reduce fuel costs for cargo vessels. Simulation tests indicate that the proposed improvement methods can reduce fuel costs by approximately 26.74 - 28.43 percent per year compared to the current shipping management practices of the case company, without affecting the transportation of goods and equipment to the operational areas.