Case Study – Restoring a 12 Year-old MCC to Life
Project Brief
Project Name
Reviving a 12-year-idle MCC from near obsolescence to full offshore operational readiness
Client Name
Undisclosed
Location
West Africa
Industry
Oil & Gas: Upstream
Facility
A critical offshore oil production facility contributing significantly to the region’s revenue and economic growth.
Scope
Obsolescence Management, end-to-end project management
Customer’s Question
The customer needed a safe and dependable way to bring the MCC back into operation after 12 years of sitting idle, without going for a complete system replacement. Their goal was to restore the MCC to a field-ready condition that met offshore safety and electrical standards; while also ensuring it would remain reliable and easy to maintain in the long term.
This meant carefully assessing and addressing the damage caused by corrosion, moisture ingress, and prolonged inactivity, as well as replacing components that had failed or become obsolete. In addition, the MCC had to be thoroughly tested, calibrated, and recommissioned, with protection settings adjusted to suit the platform’s operating conditions. Ultimately, the restored MCC needed to integrate smoothly with the existing electrical and control systems to reliably support critical water injection and production operations, while keeping downtime, operational risk, and costs to a minimum.
Benefits Delivered
- INTECH restored an MCC idle for over 12 years, extending its service life and avoiding costly replacement, protecting the client’s capital investment.
- Remediation of corrosion, moisture damage, degraded components, and latent faults reduced operational and safety risks, enabling safe energization and reliable offshore operation.
- The restoration converted an idle liability into a productive, revenue-generating asset, unlocking value from existing infrastructure.
- Comprehensive testing, relay calibration, ETAP-based optimization, and targeted upgrades ensured stable, coordinated operation compliant with offshore standards.
- A restoration-first approach avoided extended shutdowns and long replacement lead times, supporting continuity of offshore operations and long-term confidence.
Scope of work
INTECH’s scope of work included:
- Mechanical refurbishment of MV and LV switchgear
- High-potential (Hi-Pot) and contact-resistance testing
- Identification and replacement of degraded and faulty components
- Protection relay testing, calibration, and parameterization
- Soft starter testing and commissioning
- Optimization of electrical settings based on ETAP power system studies
- Full system energization and integration into the client’s operational architecture
End-to-end project management: Comprehensive restoration and commissioning services to revive, integrate, and make the MCC field-ready to power the platform’s critical water injection and production systems.
INTECH’s Execution Approach
Comprehensive Condition Assessment & Risk Evaluation
INTECH’s scope of work began with a comprehensive on-site assessment to understand the actual condition of the MCC after more than a decade of inactivity in a harsh offshore environment. INTECH’s skilled engineers carried out detailed visual inspections, mechanical checks, and electrical diagnostics to uncover corrosion, moisture damage, insulation degradation, hidden short circuits, and mechanical failures within the MV and LV switchgear, starters, protection relays, and auxiliary systems. This initial phase allowed INTECH to map every risk point and define a restoration strategy tailored to the client’s operational realities.
Mechanical & Electrical Restoration
Building on this assessment, INTECH undertook extensive mechanical and electrical restoration activities. Rusted and damaged panels were refurbished, mechanical defects in the switchgear were corrected, and moisture-affected components such as motor starters, relays, and auxiliary devices were repaired or replaced. Obsolete and failed parts were identified early and substituted with compatible, serviceable alternatives to ensure long-term maintainability. Throughout the process, strict offshore safety and quality standards were followed to restore the MCC’s structural integrity and functional reliability.
Electrical Testing, Protection Setup & System Optimization
Electrical testing and validation formed a critical part of the scope. INTECH performed high-potential (Hi-Pot) testing, contact-resistance measurements, insulation resistance testing, and functional checks to verify system health. Protection relays were thoroughly tested, calibrated, and parameterized, while soft starters were commissioned to ensure smooth motor operation. Electrical settings were optimized using ETAP power system studies, ensuring coordination, selectivity, and system stability under real operating conditions.
Safe Energization, Commissioning & Integration
The final phase was commissioning and integration. Once restoration and testing were completed, the MCC was safely energized and integrated into the platform’s existing electrical and control architecture. INTECH validated system performance under operational scenarios, ensuring seamless interaction with critical water injection and production systems. Through a structured, end-to-end execution approach, INTECH transformed a long-dormant MCC into a reliable, field-ready asset, restoring confidence, reducing risk, and enabling sustained offshore operations.
Challenges and Solutions
Critical Asset on the Brink of Obsolescence
Challenge
After more than 12 years of inactivity, the MCC had transformed from a mission-critical asset into a significant operational liability. Prolonged exposure to a harsh offshore environment led to corrosion, insulation degradation, seized mechanical components, and an increased risk of hidden electrical faults, posing serious operational and safety concerns.
Solution
INTECH deployed a Strategic Revival Framework. Rather than defaulting to a costly replacement, INTECH specialists performed a comprehensive condition assessment to identify both visible deterioration and hidden faults resulting from prolonged inactivity. INTECH developed a targeted restoration plan that prioritized high-risk remediation, successfully transforming a decade-old liability back into a high-performance production asset.
Harsh Offshore Environment and Visible Deterioration
Challenge
Continuous exposure to salt-laden air and high-humidity cycles in the West African offshore environment had severely affected the MCC’s mechanical and electrical integrity. Corroded enclosures and moisture-affected starters increased the risk of insulation tracking, short circuits, and operational failure.
Solution
INTECH addressed these challenges through a targeted restoration program, repairing or replacing damaged panels and components while restoring moisture-affected devices to full functionality. These actions reinstated mechanical integrity and electrical reliability in line with offshore standards.
Hidden Electrical Faults and Protection Risks
Challenge
The primary danger lay in what couldn’t be seen: failing protection relays, high-resistance contact points, and degraded internal wiring. These “hidden killers” made safe energization impossible without an absolute guarantee of system coordination.
Solution
INTECH performed extensive electrical testing, including Hi-Pot and Ductor tests, to identify and eliminate hidden faults. Protection relays were tested, calibrated, and parameterized to ensure accurate fault detection and system protection.
Future-Proofing through Obsolescence Management
Challenge
The project was a race against time and technology. With several critical components obsolete, the client faced a “maintenance dead-end,” where a single component failure could result in prolonged or indefinite downtime.
Solution
INTECH leveraged a global supply chain and engineering expertise to source and integrate Modern-Equivalent Upgrades. By replacing unserviceable parts with current-generation technology while maintaining total system compatibility, INTECH provided the client with a clear pathway for long-term serviceability and spare-parts availability.
System Integration and Operational Readiness
Challenge
The final and most critical hurdle was ensuring that the restored MCC operated in complete harmony with the platform’s existing electrical and control architecture to support critical water injection and production systems.
Solution
Using ETAP-based power system studies, INTECH optimized protection settings to ensure selectivity, stability, and operational reliability. The MCC was then safely energized, commissioned, and integrated into live operations, providing a stable power supply that directly supports the facility’s water injection and production objectives.
Conclusion
The successful restoration and recommissioning of the MCCs significantly improved the reliability and continuity of the client’s operations. With stable electrical power re-established, the platform’s water injection system was brought back into full operation after more than a decade of dormancy.
Beyond restoring operational capability, the project delivered long-term value. By extending asset life and strengthening system performance, INTECH enabled greater operational efficiency, improved asset longevity, and increased confidence in long-term production sustainability. This outcome underscores the value of strategic asset restoration in driving production resilience and maximizing returns from existing infrastructure.
