American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2015 - 40

SpecialReport: Oil & Gas Computing

"Advances in
real-time computing
include ubiquitous
digital sensor systems,
high-speed wireless
connectivity, vast data
management and analytic
capabilities, and the
near-universal
distribution of powerful
computing and
interaction devices."

40 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Advances in RTC are leveraged on the
exponential growth in a broad front of information technologies, including ubiquitous digital sensor systems, high-speed
wireless connectivity, vast data management and analytic capabilities (the big data
paradigm), and the near-universal distribution of powerful computing and interaction devices such as smart phones and
tablets. In combination with more powerful distributed control systems, the OT side
of the upstream is undergoing a rapid evolution in RTC.

The Internet Of Things
Specific examples of the convergence
of technology trends with RTC in the oil
field include the Internet of Things (IOT),
embedded intelligence, and big data and
analytics. IOT involves the dramatic and
near-universal increase in the measurement, control and connectivity of everything at an unrivaled pace.
While a rather abstract concept, IOT
can be viewed as a fully networked world,
where virtually every digital device is
linked through the Internet to all other devices, and of course, to people. This may
include anything from a cell phone to a
geophone, as well as the multiple individual components and control systems used
in a production facility.
Data collection and connectivity already
are encompassing virtually all areas of technology, from consumer goods to industrial control processes. Adding sensors and
intelligence to the information infrastructure extends into every aspect of every business, and even into our personal lives.
Oil and gas is a particularly informationintensive industry, and managing large volumes of data collected at multiple points
across an operation or organization is not
a new challenge. What is new, however,
is not just integrating all that data, but networking all the sources of that data as well.
Real-time computing is a natural fit
with IOT technology. The dramatic increase in data and connectivity is driving
a completely different approach to computing. Real-time systems provide faster
results and enable better decisions and
more timely actions. They change information and computation flows, and leverage operations technology such as the supervisory control and data acquisition systems used to automate and manage oil and
gas fields, gathering systems and processing plants. Real-time systems also change
the human/technology relationship.
IOT and RTC are powerful enabling

technologies on their own merits, but together, they can enable companies to operate their assets more efficiently and productively, with greater operational insights
and higher levels of safety.

Embedded Intelligence
Data sensors are becoming smaller and
cheaper, and they increasingly have embedded intelligence and connect wirelessly. In the pocket of a safety vest, they track
the wearer's movement. In the kitchen,
they monitor a refrigerator's electricity use.
In the oil field, they enable more measurement, greater control, and expanded levels of automation.
The devices used for data acquisition
are changing as well. New classes of devices, such as drones, are rapidly finding
a place in surveillance and lightweight deliveries. The extended physical nature of
oil and gas operations lends itself to opportunities such as visually monitoring
field operations, detecting anomalous
conditions, and recommending an on-site
visit by a maintenance or security crew.
Just as tablets and smart phones have been
adopted widely as standard tools in the
field, so will be new computing and connectivity devices not yet fully imagined.
Depending on the type of completion
and artificial lift system installed, more and
more wells already have at least a limited
ability to acquire and transmit data to the
surface. In the not-too-distant future,
nano-devices and downhole robotic tools
could be part of the standard well completion to not only acquire and transmit data,
but also to perform a range of on-demand
duties within the wellbore environment.
With sensors deployed across the oil
field, new types of measurements and asset management protocols will become
practical. For example, monitoring air and
water emissions would become a far easier and more economic task with sensors
already integrated throughout an asset area.
Data analysis even can lead to predictive
maintenance schedules that prevent emission problems from occurring. This is a
huge benefit for operators, especially in
shale plays where compliance can be an
issue because of the density of producing
wells, and storage and treating facilities.
With the growth in real-time data
sources, RTC likely will find numerous opportunities for oil field applications from
the advancements in big data and "informatics" technologies. The big data analytics approach is to utilize all the diversity
of current data streams and historical data

American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2015