This paper will provide a description of the benefits of the remote operations alternatives developed over a decade in the North Sea. Substantial support from Hydro/Statoil, starting in 1999, with remote data monitoring, re-manning the rig site with remote support, and the transfer of rig-based work tasks to a remote operations centre has changed the way we operate today and will also influence how automation will be integrated in the future. Reduction in personnel-on-board (POB) and alternative remote operational models implemented resulted in measurable reductions in cost and HS&E exposure. The paper will give a thorough description of how continuous high operational performance and efficiency gains to operations at different levels has been achieved and documented in the North Sea and translated to the Brazil environment. Other key areas for discussion are: improved performance and reliability, decreased NPT, standardized work processes, 24/7 technical support, real-time drilling optimization, cross-training of personnel, real-time data processing, immediate access to experts. Current remote operations models will continue to evolve by further integrating several classic service deliveries, like directional drilling, measurement and logging-while-drilling (MWD/LWD), mud logging, drilling fluids, wireline logging and other services and job functions. This integration will occur because automated advisory systems will be available, delivering advice based on a wider range of surface and downhole data as well as historical databases and best practices, replacing individual judgment and assumptions. This will significantly contribute to improved HS&E performance as well as risk mitigation. Automated systems in close combination with new cross-trained functions in the operations centers and re-manning of rig sites with reduced POB therefore will become the next step in automation of the overall drilling process.
Since the late 1990s, remote operations centers have focused on infrastructure and remote data gathering as some of the key resources in the intelligent oil field. Data gathering has low direct value unless used to mitigate risk and enhance operational efficiency. Rigsite experts work under the framework of health safety and environment (HS&E) and operational progress, with limited ability to analyze data. There is limited value in data gathering without real-time analysis of the information. This analysis is becoming one of the most important factors of daily work in remote operations centers. Real-time analysis is performed by multi-disciplinary teams, and remedial action can be taken immediately to mitigate risk. This is the strength and force of the operational centers; available interpretation technologies and time to perform the tasks in an environment without the rigsite stress factors. During traditional operations, the wellsite personnel are responsible for the well and for ensuring nothing hazardous occurs, or taking action before or after an unwanted occurrence. In many cases, this is too late. Operations center planning, modeling and analysis – to avoid unwanted situations - are all part of the operational procedure, providing trends and thresholds for procedure change prior to an incident. The wellsite personnel determine indications of well instability with potential to lead to extensive use of resources to ensure stable conditions. This is often based on experience and local knowledge. The onshore team focuses on proactive processes to ensure the overall operational progress is conducted in a safe manner. To illustrate data gathering and risk mitigation of a remote operational center, the BEACON center concept is used to display rigsite workflow, data analysis and feedback for maximum progress and minimum risk. Subsurface knowledge through drilling optimization and BHA reliability will be covered.
Drilling, completion, production and general surveillance are all areas that benefit greatly from remote real-time analysis, providing significant value to operators through proactive, rather than reactive, responses to challenges during day-to-day operation. Several different disciplines that previously operated separately are today integrated in their work; both in the field and remotely, continual monitoring and remote data analysis includes and integrates areas such as drilling optimization, pressure management, pore-pressure predictions, and wellbore stability. Software models that utilize case-based reasoning and physics, together with real-time drilling and well data, enable immediate situational analysis and trend monitoring. Advice today is provided remotely, requiring fewer personnel at a rig site. However, there are several challenges to remote services with many of these elated to communications issues, a fear of job loss and working outside a comfort zone. What is considered an important development goal for a business might be regarded as a threat for an individual, leading to reduced development within remote services. This paper presents the consequences of an ever-more automated oil field -benefits, challenges and a future outlook. Traditional Operations modelsTraditional operations models have been more or less unchanged throughout several decades and are, by default, the models most organizations in the oil and gas (O&G) industry follow. Traditional models do not promote service or function integration and endorse separate operations environments.These models are also field personnel centered with limited or no remote real-time data analysis. The majority of ongoing oil and gas projects utilize telephone/ fax connections and e-mail where available for communication between the field and offices; real-time data, if available remotely, is not being utilized at its potential. Remote Operations business modelA remote operation business model removes geographic location and physical distance in all phases of oilfield service delivery. It reduces the cost of delivering services, increases geographic reach and improves safety and are enabled through: Organizational change Cross-training within and across product lines 24/7 operations monitoring, support and supervision Local and global subject matter experts (SME) available in collaborative environments Knowledge management Real-time data streams, data transfer and remote control
For more than a decade, Baker Hughes has developed a number of IO applications and WellLink technologies building its BEACON (Baker Expert Advisory Centre Operation Network) platform for the digital oilfield. The scope of BEACON is remote access of real-time rig data, drilling data and wireline data, production and pump monitoring, and static file management. These technologies have enabled the company’s collaboration centers around the world primarily to monitor, support, and optimize operations without having to be physically present at rig site. This development has been a foundation for a successful roll-out of remote collaboration and re-manning of operations, where Baker Hughes has reduced the number of personnel needed at rig site by 25-50%. Monitoring and remote supervision of real-time information 24/7 to optimize overall performance and paperwork (logging, petrophysical analyses) are now all done by people in the office using information communications technology to connect to the rig site. Larger-scale re-manning can also be done with services such as reservoir navigation, drilling optimization, pump management, liner hanger down hole technical support, et cetera. On the Norwegian shelf, where re-manning has been done at higher levels than in many other regions, nearly 50% of Baker Hughes’ staff who would traditionally have been offshore can be re-manned during operational peaks – this means they are either in an office onshore, or their responsibilities have been changed. Baker Hughes’ cross-training of personnel facilitates this flexibility, allowing for efficient and HSE-compliant re-manning.
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