ENERGY INDUSTRY EMBRACES NEW TECH
Information can help pick best site for well; safety goggles can show sensor numbers
Big data, advanced analytics and the internet of things are rapidly changing operations in an era of low oil prices and slim profit margins.
Big data, advanced analytics and the internet of things have taken longer to gain traction in the oil patch compared to some parts of the economy. But they are rapidly changing operations in an era of low oil prices and slim profit margins.
“Our industry and world are changing faster than I or anyone else could have imagined just a few years ago. It is exponential. If companies don’t get on board now, they will be left behind,” Brian Pugh, chief operations officer for production at BP Lower 48, said during a panel at the Colorado Oil and Gas Association’s Energy Summit on Tuesday.
Oil and gas producers have deployed remote sensors and gathered data for years. What has changed is their ability to make sense of all the information and act on it.
“It lets us connect large, complex and disparate data sets,” Pugh said. “We can quickly visualize and spot trends.”
He provided a real-world example of how BP, which owns wells on the West Slope and is moving its headquarters to Denver, is using technology to improve operations and save money.
Field crews used to meet each morning to chart out what wells they would visit. At times, the routes chosen seemed random, such as a worker visiting a well late in the morning because it was close to a favorite lunch spot.
“Up to 60 percent of wells visited were not valued add,” Pugh said. “Analytics helped us spot problems.”
Now, the company uses big data to optimize routes based on what wells need the most attention, the materials on a given truck and geography. Workers are provided with a detailed route each morning and directions on how to get to each well.
In the last few weeks, the company has added another innovation — safety goggles that allow workers to read sensor information on their lenses. For example, when they look at a tank, the temperature, pressure and level show up on the lens.
If workers run into an issue they need help on, they can call up technicians and show them the equipment in question through the goggles. They are coached on how to make the needed repair, avoiding the down time that comes with putting in a repair ticket and waiting for a technician to come out.
The company was able to deploy the new glasses because it found a way to use its work trucks to boost Wi-Fi coverage in its fields from 30 percent to 90 percent.
Big data also can help on the front end, before a well is drilled. Noble Energy, for example, has detailed information on 2,000 wells in the Denver-Julesburg Basin and other areas.
“We can predict the best well location within a couple of feet,” said Dave Stover, president and CEO of the Houston-based company, during an earlier session at the Energy Summit, which runs through Thursday.
Noble Energy workers in a database room in Houston monitor all the active rigs deployed in real time. Changes, such as adjusting the speed of the drill bit to accommodate a harder rock type, can be made on the fly, based on what has worked best under similar scenarios, Stover said.
Those kind of technological advancements have allowed Noble Energy to drill two miles laterals in under five days versus the two weeks or more it used to take.