Smart Field Deployment - Towards the Appropriate Level of Smartness

Abstract

Smart Fields solutions add a lot of value to further field development and well, reservoir, and facility management. Over the years, Shell has developed and deployed many integrated Smart Fields solutions. However, as each field is different, with more complex field development types, ‘stacking’ of different solutions is becoming common, we need to ensure that we identify and deploy the right balance of solutions. The "Appropriate Level of Smartness" (ALoS) describes the desired stage. The focus of the Smart Fields programme has therefore shifted from "selling" individual solutions to achieving ALoS in all our key projects (help assets know and implement the balanced mix of solutions). In this paper, we describe how we screen, decide applicability, and deploy Smart Field solutions for the Shell portfolio. The screening identifies the relevant Smart Fields Solutions for a project or asset that will maximize the project value and help reduce its key business uncertainties, taking a full lifecycle view. Deployment will help projects to ensure that the value opportunities identified through the Screening are materialized into solutions deployed at the asset, realizing the value to Shell. Solutions need to be tailored for the specific field, production type, purpose, or environment (Archetype). We have developed a framework to ensure that we deploy the right Smart Field solutions for each type of field and asset. As guidance, we make use of a newly built Solutions Advisory. This advisory, for example, highlights which solutions are standard in which environment, meaning that you would have to justify why not to implement. At the end, we will show how Smart Fields has already added substantial value in brownfields, whilst ALoS guarantees our future value and effectiveness of greenfield projects, ensuring that we do it right from the beginning, so no retrofitting is required.