Intelligent Oil Field of the Future: Will the Future Be Too Late?

Abstract

The workforce transition from the graying, experienced generation to the incumbent crop of workers underscores the absence of many advances that were promised as part of the Smart Wells and collective Intelligent/Digital Oil Field of the Future (DOFF). As we prepare to hand over controls to the thumbs seasoned on Nintendo controls, we don't commonly find touchscreen controls, 3-D visualizations, automatic diagnostics and predictive analytics widely prevelant in the industry. Environmental factors such as ubiquitous computing, networking, and communication have contributed to nurture a worker profile that is likely to exhibit a need for much more speed and openness. Incredibly adept at technology applications as compared to the outgoing workers, however, the same incumbent worker is going to be years behind on the experience scale. The average worker experience profile is going to see a dramatic drop in the next five to ten years. Workforce effectiveness and sustenance gains renewed focus in the oil field's "Big Crew Change". In that context, the delayed promises of the DOFF become painfully evident. This study challenges the notion that current pace of DOFF implementations is aggressive enough to materially contribute to the industry's future. Introduction Our quest for the erstwhile DOFF begins first and foremost with a general definition of the term. We propose that one or more of the following characteristics must be attributable to any initiative being considered a potential candidate of DOFF:Commonplace use of real-time, integrated data for wells and equipmentClosed-loop feedback cycles between Operations and Planning/AlanyticsEnhanced degrees of human collaborationUse of the latest communications technologies The precise definition can be elusive, though many have been attempted. Many oil companies have similar-sounding DOFF programs, though their details tend to vary wildly. To a certain degree this is natural, since DOFF programs need to address the most pressing problems for the company, much like any other improvement initiative. Though common pain points exist from company to company, these can be unique at the asset or business unit level - the level at which most DOFF programs originate and begin to take real shape. Status Check: Implementation Metrics and Qualifications As we attempted informal surveys among various majors, independents, and service companies to determine the approximate state of the industry, we came to realize that there is no authoritative source of data in most organizations that can clearly identify measurable progress towards DOFF. By and large, DOFF is a byproduct of general operations and optimization rather than an easily defined, distinguishable initiative by itself. Organizations generally tend to qualify metrics such as network bandwidth capability and utilization, data storage capability and utilization, and similar measures. Unfortunately, DOFF-specific progress metrics are virtually impossible to extract from those bundled numbers. Ambiguity surrounding the precise definition of DOFF further exacerbate this confusion. To be fair, it must be acknowledged that enabling, or component technologies are much more widespread than a decade ago. Examples are advanced SCADA systems for production operations, real-time monitoring centers for drilling operations, or collaboration technologies for support centers. It has been argued, however, that these represent evolutionary expansion and wider adoption rather than revolutionary progressions of capability.

Remote Field Management of Greenfield Assets in Australia and East Timor: Delivering Value by Automated Production Surveillance and Optimization Platform

“…The framework is developed for the flexible deployment aligning with the Digital Oil Field Framework (DOFF) vision (Rajan & Krome, 2008) and is continuously supported by the principles of service-oriented architecture (SOA) . The solution framework pyramid consists of three key elements: design, develop, and optimize.…”