Roadblocks to Automation of Tubular Running Operations

Abstract

Remote control and automated systems affiliated with Tubular Running Operations have been in use for the past 15 years with varied levels of success. Unsuccessful implementations have not elicited solutions, nor have successful implementations translated into a thriving industry standard. Though the oil and gas industry has changed much over the past 15 years, some of the same implementation challenges still exist. Service providers tend to have a "scattershot" approach to automating everything, rather than a concerted focus on exploiting small successes to realize specific company goals. This factor may be due to differing attitudes throughout the organization, ranging from upper management to business development to engineers. This can lead to the inability to cultivate a culture of technical progression among operators commensurate with the technical progression of equipment. From the service provider's perspective, an unwillingness to learn new technical concepts among operators may yield a general indifference about their own relevance within an automated industry, while the end customer may remain skeptical of the need for automation and become dissatisfied with the overall cost and time needed to implement automated solutions. Historically, industry insiders tended to mistake automation's inability to yield operational efficiency immediately as a failure. Overlooked is the fact that even the most cleverly implemented automation realizes better operational efficiency over time, with constant improvements and further integration. Additionally, some clients fail to realize that control systems are inconsistent from rig to rig. The absence of standardization may stem from corporations assigning more value to the retention of trade secrets than to an industry-wide focus on standardization. The following paper will examine—from the Tubular Running Services (TRS) provider perspective—the challenges associated with developing and deploying remote control and automated equipment. It will also give pragmatic solutions towards the successful implementation of this technology and prove that automation is not solely a technical hurdle for engineering to overcome.