BP Angola recently acquired Version 6.0 of ASA's OILMAP and SARMAP. The version 6.0 technology allows users to tap into the power of web services to immediately access weather data and environmental information such as forecast winds and currents which are essential for accurate oil spill and search & rescue response.
The systems delivered to BP allow OILMAP and SARMAP to connect to the COASTMAP data server for on-line 72-hour forecasts for winds and surface currents for a region. Wind data is available globally and regionally from a variety of government and commercial sources, but high resolution surface currents are still a challenge to predict on a global scale, so regional hydrodynamic models are required. For West Africa, ASA and ASA South America are running operational hydrodynamic models that provide the data required to make accurate drift predictions for missing persons or oil spills.
ASA South America has extensive experience in running operational forecast models in the South Atlantic for South American oil companies and was able to develop a new operational hydrodynamic model for the West Africa region. The scientists of ASA South America, lead by Dr. Jose Edson Pereira, have been continuing to improve the model performance by comparing data to observations and drifting buoys.
Jim Thornborough, BP’s project lead for the OILMAP and SARMAP system, sees the latest software upgrade as a great modeling and information tool set to assist in their emergency response. “The ability to have real-time forecast winds and current data as part of our search and rescue and oil spill response saves time, letting us allocate resources to where they can be used best to save lives and protect the environment.”
This technology is also used by the US Coast Guard, and other international response organizations.
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