Shape Digital has expanded its artificial intelligence-based gas flare monitoring technology to 10 FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) units owned by MODEC in Brazil. This move follows the success of an initial trial aimed at reducing unexpected gas flares and improving operational efficiency at sea.
Shape Lumen Technology
The Shape Lumen platform analyzes data from oil, gas, and water production systems of an asset to identify the root causes of unexpected flares. This technology monitors operational limitations and reviews sensor data before a flare event occurs to identify the process conditions that lead to this issue.
Shape Digital has stated that this system can automatically classify the root cause of unwanted flares on an hourly basis. This helps reduce the time engineers need for necessary analysis, which can take up to 10 days, turning it into real-time monitoring.
Average Reduction of Unexpected Flares
In one application, this technology has resulted in an average reduction of over 12 percent in daily emissions of unexpected flares. For an FPSO unit with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, this reduction is estimated to lead to savings of around $200,000 annually based on gas and carbon prices.
Following the initial trial, MODEC began expanding the use of Shape Lumen to 10 FPSOs in its Brazilian fleet in 2026. Leonardo Machado, Vice President of Growth at Shape Digital, stated, "Lumen transforms complex process engineering data into direct and mitigating actions to predict bottlenecks and prevent the recurrence of unexpected flare events."
This platform also includes an AI-based predictive model that forecasts cumulative flares for the current month and alerts operators if they are approaching regulatory limits. Shape Digital indicated that implementing this technology takes about a month for each marine unit, and this time can be minimized if the basic tool requirements are available. The company plans to expand further in Brazil and other international markets.
