Persistent volatility in oil and gas markets worldwide has not only resulted in consumers rethinking the most efficient ways to get from point A to point B, it has also, surprisingly, given leaders in these industries opportunities to both reimagine as well as rethink investment in their core operations moving forward.
Many oil field services (OFS) companies, in fact, are crafting a new strategy for the future of energy, consistent with the parallel path of emerging technology defined by the acceleration of digital transformation that results in an effective reengineering of traditional OFS business models and solutions.
Why is this so? According to Deloitte, and contrary to conventional wisdom, a strong oil price enables investment in riskier and expensive green energy solutions, such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). Moreover, 76% of surveyed O&G executives state that oil prices above $60 per barrel will most likely boost or complement their energy transition in the near term, which suggests that the industry itself is on the verge of a major pivot regarding energy transition. That includes investment in technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), automation, and the connectivity networks that support it.
Indeed, the fastest way in which the O&G industry can tackle their carbon footprints and the perception by the general public that fossil fuels are just not the answer long-term to the world’s energy crisis and the ongoing debate around climate change, is to go digital, using data gathering methods alongside analytics tools to optimize plant operations, track carbon emissions, and streamline work processes.
What better time to do that when profits are on the upswing and stakeholders can pick and choose which technologies they can invest in for a credible ROI? The answer is clear: digital transformation will increasingly be the path forward for these industries, enabling them to reap cost-saving benefits as well as increased productivity.
The digital oilfield comes of age
Today’s oil operations are safer, more collaborative, and more productive than ever before. The processes and technologies that have allowed these improvements are centered on better workflows and efficiencies. More data from more areas of the operation is coupled with advanced analytics to provide an increased understanding of the physics and activities of the oilfield. The different trends that have always made the upstream an exciting theater of technology still come and go, but the main focus remains on advancements in workflows that provide long-life benefits and OPEX-driven savings.
To meet the increasing and challenging demands of safety, collaboration, and enhanced oil recovery, Oil & Gas companies require a reliable and versatile network infrastructure that offers high performance and security, and supports multiple end devices which are often moved to different locations around the field. Each element of this network must operate with mission critical reliability and in extreme environmental conditions while supporting a multitude of business applications simultaneously and the emergence of the so-called “Digital Oilfield.”
So, what springs to mind when you think of a digital oilfield? Maybe a dedicated physical location somewhere? Some kind of control room or building filled with screens and technology? It’s tough to visualize the digital oilfield because it’s not so much a destination or place as much as it is a process. So, in this sense, maybe the digital oilfield may not look much different. However, if you look closely you can see the digital oilfield elements starting to pop up everywhere from company headquarters to well sites. In fact, as the oil & gas industry is moving to digitize its processes and infrastructure, the digital oilfield is all about outcomes. These include:
- Increase production efficiency
- Increase safety of employees, visitors and assets in the oilfield including during severe weather events
- Increase situational awareness within the oilfield
- Extend the capacity/life of the oilfield
They are also faced with operational challenges as they seek to implement advanced communication solutions to meet requirements such as:
- Single converged network for voice, surveillance, data, automation, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications with specific real-time Quality of Service (QoS) requirements
- Industrial grade reliability and security
- Limited spectrum availability and increasing cost to acquire spectrum
Ultimately, there are three main components of the digital oilfield. First, there are data collection devices like sensors, cameras and microcontrollers for monitoring remote systems in real-time. Secondly, there’s the physical network. Wireless use in oilfield operations are ubiquitous; however, they still require hardware to transmit high bandwidth data. Thirdly is the software to manage and process huge amounts of data.
How do these components come together, and what kind of outcomes do they produce? The big three ways the digital oilfield is emerging are in artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and the industrial internet of things (IIoT).
AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) depends on data science efforts to extract and evaluate information from many different parts of the business. Through machine learning, AI can analyze numbers independently to make decisions. These AI-led interpretations may come in the form of predicting risks from fault patterns, calculating drilling torque, or detecting malfunctioning pipelines.
Automation
Oil and gas automation aims to increase productivity by delegating mundane, repetitive tasks to machines, jobs like pipe handling, and pressure drilling. Removing skilled labor from these jobs frees experts to apply their knowledge to more complex, analytical tasks. As a result, critical-minded work will become more important and more common in the digital oilfield.
IIoT
IIoT oil and gas applications are a final example of the way the digital oilfield manifests itself. Operational efficiency and risk management can be greatly improved through online devices like GPS technology, oil and gas video surveillance, and RFID detection. With oil and gas industry asset management now online, operational processes like measuring oil pressure, tracking deliveries, and detecting leaks can be done remotely, in real-time.
Outcomes
So, these are what the components of the digital oilfield look like, and the processes they assemble to create. But what are the results?
- Heightened communication and enhanced collaboration across and within teams, incorporating data across departments and sites quickly and easily.
- Improved environmental outcomes that are more easily achieved, the result of more effective field operations and AI-powered intelligence.
- Reduced risk to workers safety due to things like wearable tech-like biosensors, fewer site visits and more data-enabled safety protocols.
The result is an Intelligent Digital Oilfield that has a high-performance IP-core network with a high-capacity, low-latency wireless transport which operates across a large range, in extreme climates, provides non-line of sight functionality and is interoperable with devices from many vendors.
Bringing it all together
While the perspective of how and where oil and gas companies can and should invest their profits depends on whether you’re a consumer or stakeholder, these industries have clearly summoned an inflection point that takes stock of the benefits of digital transformation and the very real benefits it presents, including fully reengineering traditional OFS business models and solutions.
Additionally, to pivot to an investment that will, over time, enable the reliable and timely delivery of the massive scale and variety of data from every corner of the field operation while producing timely, sustainable outcomes (e.g., a reduced carbon footprint) that benefit consumers, employees, investors, shareholders, and, maybe even the Earth itself.
