Symra Subsea Tie-in — complete control system software

The project

Symra is a subsea tie-in development connected to the Ivar Aasen platform, operated by Aker BP. As Software Lead for Siemens Energy, Agentas' founder is responsible for the complete subsea control system software — the layer that lets platform operators monitor and control the equipment on the seabed.

The role

Agentas' founder leads the control-system software workstream within Siemens Energy's project delivery — responsible for the software architecture, implementation, and verification, and for taking the software through factory acceptance testing to offshore commissioning.

Why the software layer matters

A subsea tie-in places production equipment on the seabed, kilometres away from the platform that operates it. The control system software is the operators' only window into that equipment: every command travels from the control room, through the topside control system, down the umbilical to the subsea modules — and every valve position, pressure, and flow reading travels back the same way. The software enforces the interlocks and safeguards that keep operations within safe limits, and when something unexpected happens on the seabed, it is the alarm handling and the operator screens that decide how quickly the situation is understood.

Scope of delivery

• Topside–subsea communication built on TFMC's 722 protocol — the link between the platform control system and the subsea equipment.
• Control logic on Siemens PCS7, with S7 communication between PLC and HMI.
• Operator screens (HMI) on Siemens WinCC for monitoring, control, and alarm handling.
• Simulation tools used for testing and verification before software meets live equipment.
• Integration of valves, flow meters, and hydraulic power systems.

Simulation and testing

No code meets live subsea equipment untested. Simulation tools model the subsea equipment — valves, flow meters, hydraulic systems — so complete operational sequences can be exercised and verified at the desk long before offshore work begins. The same discipline continues through factory acceptance testing (FAT), where the integrated system is demonstrated against the specification, and ends with commissioning offshore — bringing the real wells online against software that has already proven itself many times over.

Status

First oil achieved — all four subsea production wells are online and producing.

What this demonstrates

Software leadership on a live Norwegian Continental Shelf development: safety-critical delivery, factory acceptance testing and commissioning discipline, and integration across mechanical, hydraulic, and software domains. This is the industrial rigor behind every system Agentas ships — including the AI systems.