Initiative for the dismantling of oil and gas infrastructure

Who cleans up the mess?

Nexstep is a joint initiative of the Dutch state, represented by EBN, and the Dutch oil and gas industry, represented by NOGEPA. The goal of this initiative is to promote reuse and collaboration in the dismantling of oil and gas infrastructure in the Netherlands.

Background

The initiative is committed to the dismantling and reuse of outdated oil and gas installations in the North Sea. Nexstep plays a crucial role in reducing environmental impact and promoting a circular economy by actively sharing knowledge on reuse and dismantling.

This platform facilitates collaboration and knowledge exchange between the government, industry, and local communities, which is essential for effectively addressing environmental issues.

Project request

The core idea was to facilitate collaboration, but its execution required an exploratory approach. Given the many stakeholders involved and the need to translate in-depth knowledge into practical functionality, thorough strategic planning was essential to determine the best approach.

Our solution

Aiming to enhance collaboration, we organized brainstorming sessions with our client and stakeholders. These sessions helped us identify the fundamental questions of the project. Together, we defined the challenges and developed concrete solutions to ensure seamless execution of all project aspects.

As part of our solution, we developed a specialized digital platform for the operators. This platform facilitates the anonymous exchange of knowledge between different operators, enabling them to learn from each other’s experiences. Nexstep acts as an intermediary and moderator to ensure the quality and relevance of the shared information. The platform is equipped with an advanced moderation system, allowing operators to track the status of their contributions and see feedback on others’ insights.

The application was developed with Laravel and uses Elastic Search for efficient information search and filtering. For optimal security, the system is strictly hosted on a private Azure environment with minimal internet connections to protect the integrity and confidentiality of the data. Additionally, the application was audited by Fox IT, providing an extra layer of security verification and trust.

Besides the internal platform, we also developed a public website for Nexstep. This website serves as a central communication channel to share all developments and relevant information with the broader public.

Result

After thorough research into the needs of stakeholders and target audiences, we carried out the complete information architecture, UX design, web design, and development. Made in Haarlem contributed to the branding, ensuring overall visual consistency. The developed digital solutions are designed to make information accessible and understandable to a wide audience, effectively supporting communication about the project and its goals.

Techniques & services

In this project, we applied advanced techniques such as concepting, back-end and front-end development, and UX design principles to ensure both user-friendliness and technical robustness. We used Elasticsearch for efficient search functionalities and Laravel for platform development, hosted on a secure Azure environment to ensure reliability and scalability. These technological choices were crucial to provide seamless integration and a secure user experience.