Cluster Insight with Nicoustic

– More or less every operator on the Norwegian continental shelf that I have spoken with, have shown interest in our novel technology for non-intrusive measurement of separator level, says Dmitri Gorski.

Cluster Insight is a column where we ask six questions to catch a glimpse into the daily business-lives of the partners and members of GCE Ocean Technology.

This week we have spoken with Dmitri Gorski to learn more about him, and his work in Nicoustic – a company that has set out to develop and commercialize a novel technology for non-intrusive measurement of separator level utilizing Guided Acoustic Waves.

1. What is your role in Nicoustic?

Formally it is sales and marketing. But in a tech start-up everyone “wear many hats" – my background as commissioning engineer and many years of offshore experience allows me to contribute also to the technical and operational side of things.

2. Your primary focus at work right now is?

Right now, we have two main goals. One is to pilot our technology on an Equinor offshore platform, which we hope will happen in 2023. This pilot will be focusing on measurement of solids and liquid levels in an oil and gas separator.

The second goal is to kick off an R&D project aimed at developing our technology further to be able to measure emulsion and foam layers, and maybe even provide vessel integrity monitoring data with the same hardware.

3. Biggest challenges and opportunities for Nicoustic in the future?

Our biggest opportunity is the huge market for tank/vessel level measurement and the fact that we have a unique advantage by offering a non-intrusive technology not based on nucleonics.

I just came back from the ONS conference and exhibition in Stavanger, and I am very pleased by the level of interest I see from operator and service companies. More or less every operator on the Norwegian continental shelf have shown interest in what we are doing, which is very encouraging!

One of the reasons for that is that it is easy to see the advantage of a non-intrusive level measurement. When a separator vessel typically runs for years without stopping, installing instruments inside of it is not an easy task. And the HSE benefits are clear – no flanges means no exposure to hydrocarbons. And pretty much everyone struggle with measurement of solids levels in their separators, which for us is a piece of cake.

The biggest challenge right now is technical. We have a prototype system ready for offshore installation and great support from Equinor, who have been supporting the development of this technology since the beginning. Now, we have to prove that everything works in the field and also expand our capabilities to challenging areas such as emulsion layer measurement.

4. Best part of being member in a cluster?

I see two big advantages. One is the network and the other is the development opportunities offered by the cluster employees. It can be anything from project development to courses – all of this is an invaluable resource for a small company!

5. Your business/life motto

Never give up.

6. Which cluster member should we interview next?

Eelume.

Thank you for the insight Dmitri.