In this post we be will be looking at the meaning of Oil and Gas Automation, the business benefits of oil and gas automation and Steps to Autonomous Operations for Oil and Gas.
INTRODUCTION
There are clear indications that the oil & gas business is moving towards unmanned and automated operations of oil fields. This is a step towards autonomous oil fields, which includes the operation and supporting functions of having licenses to operate. The market for oil and gas is rapidly growing, and the use of automation in this industry is expanding right along with it.
Demand for an increased oil and gas supply is particularly prevalent in developing regions due partially to population increases in these areas. Most companies in the oil and gas industry want to become more autonomous in their operation, production, automated start-ups, drilling, maintenance, and supporting functions such as logistics and 3rd party functions. While transmitting, extracting, and refining oil and gas can be incredibly complex, automation helps to simplify the process. By incorporating automotive practices, companies can increase productivity, decrease costs, and provide greater safety and convenience for personnel.
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Automation is particularly beneficial due to the fact that oil and gas wells are frequently located in remote locations that are difficult and dangerous for people to work in. What we mean by autonomous operations is that the oil and gas fields would be fully automated, with decisions made and tasks performed without human intervention. A completely automated oil field can perform all operating functions under all conditions. The systems take the required actions and only informs the human if it decides that it is necessary.
In this situation, humans only oversee and monitor the operations. There are several levels of autonomy to aim for depending on the technology, systems, decision making levels, and operating procedures involved. Having a clear understanding of the different levels should provide clarity to the industry about the specific requirements of different automation strategies and add content to the different layers of asset support that drive multi field operation strategies for decision making
What is oil and gas automation? Oil and gas automation, also known as oilfield automation, in the oil and gas industry refers to a growing number of processes, many involving digital technologies, that can help energy producers better compete in global markets. While some industry areas are riper for automation than others, top oil and gas automation candidates include drilling, production operations and process control, logistics and supply chain, safety and retail operations.
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Oil and gas automation often utilizes sensors based on the internet of things (IoT), predictive and self-learning systems to increase productivity, and expert systems/use of artificial intelligence (AI) to fill in gaps brought on by a skilled labor shortage.
The Business Benefits of Oil and Gas Automation.
The benefits of automated operations are higher productivity, reliability, availability, increased performance, and reduced operating costs. Moving to lights-out operations yields a good return on investment. Oil and gas automation promises producers a multitude of business benefits, including:
- Reduced cost: AI and digital technology make it possible to reduce costs by both replacing some human labor and enhancing the safety and accuracy of existing human-driven tasks. Automating manual portions of the drilling process, like pipe handling, can reduce safety risks. Oil and gas automation cuts back on time, allows for more scalable processes, and reduces jobsite injury and death.
- A more connected enterprise: Upstream producers working in remote areas benefit from automation by using drones and submersibles to help monitor inspection processes. Measurements of pressure and flows of oil and gas can be improved through automation and can benefit upstream, midstream and downstream producers. Interconnected, automated systems allow for the easy distribution of data and greater efficiency enterprise-wide.
- Improved efficiency and output: Modernizing and automating internal IT processes helps all energy operations to simplify production and boost yields, reducing carbon footprints while increasing potential revenue.
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Steps to Autonomous Operations for Oil and Gas.
Autonomous operations have been the goal of the oil and gas sector for many years, but despite many false dawns the autonomous future appears to be as far away as ever. Successes have been few and far between. One such was earlier this year when a project by the Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) started developing a mobile robot for autonomous operational inspection of offshore platforms.
Remote operations and collaboration rooms: Technology is now available whereby an expert can sit in a collaboration room in Houston and remotely operate, inspect and maintain the facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. This will save traveling time and expenses and draw on specific skillsets quickly and efficiently.
Manual operations into automated processes: Thousands of manual operations will be distilled and refined into a small number of automated processes, managed by the touch of a button. This has already been seen at Aasta Hansteen where ABB delivered the world’s fastest start-up process for first gas through our ABB Ability System 800xA simulator which was used to do a virtual start-up of the plant. A sequence of over 1000 steps was automated, reducing a complex set of manual interventions to just 20. It is estimated that this work has saved about 40 days in the commissioning phase of the project, leading to a reduction in troubleshooting and corrections, saving about 2700 man-hours.
Robotic Inspections: The robots can not only carry out inspections, passing clear images back to the remote operator, but can also maintain the equipment at the same time, such as painting platform legs subsea. This removes humans from dangerous situations in inhospitable high-risk environments.
Predictive maintenance and condition monitoring: With technologies such as sensors becoming more affordable and robust, and with these sensors attached to standard equipment, overall asset health can be monitored more efficiently. Collating this data gives operators a better overview of the condition of their assets, and by looking at patterns, we can begin to predict when equipment might fail. Operators can then intervene before this takes place, ensuring maintenance is implemented, downtime is reduced, and efficiencies are increased.
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Subsea applications: Finally, the world of subsea operations, a vital area for developing some of the world’s untapped resources particularly in offshore Africa and Brazil. Putting an oil and gas production facility on the seabed has been one of the holy grails of oil and gas exploration. New digital solutions will enable intelligent remote control and unmanned operations. This saves money, reduces risks to personnel and provides continuous exploration in the most extreme environments.