Guest editorial The severe downturn in oil prices over the past 3 years has made business transformation complicated for the upstream sector. Early in the downturn, companies were focused on cutting costs and restructuring for future growth. Many organizations are now taking advantage of gradually increasing oil prices to launch digital transformation efforts. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) 2018 Oil & Gas Predictions Report, by 2020, 80% of large oil and gas companies will run their business with help from cognitive/artificial-intelligence (AI) agents. The report found that 62% of users say outcomes from cognitive initiatives exceed their expectations. Cognition quite simply refers to thinking—and cognitive systems such as IBM Watson can understand, reason, learn, and interact with us. Cognitive systems excel at understanding natural language, pattern identification, and knowledge location, and have endless capacity. This allows humans to focus on interpreting, analyzing, and adjusting designs, plans, and activities, and make decisions based on the data provided. For example, a company’s cognitive system can focus on finding geohazards before drilling offshore. The system does 6–8 weeks of manual research in seconds, identifying specific geohazards buried within tens of thousands of pages of drilling reports, and dynamically converts text into easy to understand tables and graphs highlighting areas of interest. The goal is not to eliminate humans but allow highly skilled geoscientists and drilling engineers to spend time doing what is most valuable—defining the safest, most cost-effective drilling plan. This is why IBM prefers to reference AI as augmented intelligence because it augments or improves upon the expertise, capability, and potential of the decision makers and teams. Cognitive systems differ from traditional programmed systems that provide predetermined outcomes based on specific rules. They consume all types of information from structured to unstructured and historical to real time. These technologies include but are not limited to: Natural language processing Predictive analytics Recommendation engines Robotic automation Machine learning systems Cognitive systems are adding value to oil and gas companies around the globe in multiple functions. Here are a few samples. Near-real-time analytics identifies underperforming wells. A global oil and gas company set out to improve its rate and phase calculations using analytics to optimize oil production and maximize revenue streams. With near-real-time data from well sensors, the analytics solution rapidly executed a set of fluid rate and phase calculations to detect subtle changes in pressure and temperature. An imbalance/out-of-tolerance triggered an automated alert to the operations center, allowing the company to make adjustments, as necessary, quickly. This led to $11 million uncovered in revenue opportunities, 99% faster execution of rate and phase calculations, and 97% accuracy in detecting underperforming wells, allowing the company to make adjustments.
Innovations in various collaboration technologies are helping companies to make the Intelligent Oilfield (or DOFF) a reality. Core to the Intelligent Oilfield are collaborative environments (or remote operations centres) -a high-tech, communications, visualization, and audio-enhanced monitoring or control room that enable more effective data collection, monitoring, communications and knowledge & information sharing. These environments are designed to help resources make more informed decisions and to take the appropriate actions across the enterprise. In addition, they enable alignment, focus, and a common understanding to help prioritize opportunities.There are currently two differing philosophies for the implementation of these centres -an asset-based centre that services a single asset; and a central hub model that services multiple assets. Each approach has its own particular merits and potential pitfalls. Although there is no single right answer, certain considerations are recommended before construction begins that could assist in determining the most appropriate approach for the given circumstances. Factors such as corporate culture, employee skill base and complexity of workflows can have a huge impact on the success of the final choice. Without such an evaluation, many efforts will continue to be burdened or opportunities will be deferred or lost.The paper proposes to look at the circumstances in which each approach has been adopted and consider the pros and cons of each and some of the factors that will influence the design choice.
Introduction The Intelligent Oilfield (IOF), also known as the Digital Oilfield of the Future (DOFF), encompasses a collaborative environment (CEs) for communication, data collection, reporting and monitoring, and knowledge & information sharing. These environments, or physical workspaces, are intended to help people make more informed decisions and to take the appropriate actions across the enterprise. In addition, it enables alignment, focus, and a common understanding to help prioritize opportunities. Innovations in various collaboration technologies are helping companies to make the intelligent oilfield a reality. One of the key implementation components currently attracting attention is the collaboration or remote surveillance center - a high-tech, communications, visualization, and audio-enhanced monitoring or control room. Although the facility is intended to create an atmosphere for improved communications, multifunctional work, and a means to help eliminate organizational barriers, the center itself is only the physical manifestation of the desired spirit of richer and increased human interaction. There are currently two differing philosophies for the implementation of these centers - an asset-based center that services a single asset and a central hub that services multiple assets. Each approach has its own particular merits and potential pitfalls. Although there is no single right answer, certain considerations are recommended before construction begins that could assist in determining the most appropriate approach for the given circumstances. Factors such as corporate culture and employee skill base can have a huge impact on the success of the final choice. Without such an evaluation, many efforts will continue to be burdened or opportunities will be deferred or lost. Collaboration Center Defined Webster's dictionary defines collaboration as:to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor, orto cooperate with an agency or instrumentality with which one is not immediately connected. That said, the oil industry has been collaborating internally, such as a business unit with an R&D group, and externally, such as with suppliers, for years. What makes the recent CEs different from the collaboration in the past is the reliance on real-time data and information, with the intent of real-time analysis and decision-making, in a fixed, fit-for-purpose physical space. The degree of real-time action-taking, whether through remote control or other means, is much more variable for CEs, even within the same company. The collaboration of today is also about interacting for a common goal. The main theme or purpose for installing collaboration centers is for increased "situational awareness" - that is, the expedient understanding in an organization of what it is faced with and how to respond or exploit that particular situation. This alignment can be difficult given the autonomous nature of E&P organizational structures and governance models, combined with the numerous situations that require a globally diverse support network. Therefore, the new CEs not only represent a new physical workspace, but a new operating model that has many unintended consequences. As an enterprise considers the value of a collaboration center, there are various factors and consequences (intended and unintended) in design, installation, and operation. The center itself is merely the physical manifestation of a spirit of data, information, and knowledge sharing within an organization. It should be noted that the benefits of this collaborative spirit can, ideally, be achieved without the physical space by virtue of well-connected, collaborative workforce. But, the new CEs may be the valuable first step in an evolution that leads towards real-time collaboration anytime anywhere.
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