What to do with all that data?

Once again, technology has created a looming monster about to overwhelm many independent producers. Before remote monitoring of oil and gas production facilities became commonplace, it used to be that producers/engineers were lucky to get one accurate daily reading from their field personnel of what was happening at a given well site/tank battery. Even as remote monitoring was implemented, early systems were usually only polling sites two to four times a day. But as telemetry costs continued to decline, many systems now offer sample rates as frequent as every five minutes!

So what to do with all that data? The opportunity is to:
1. Do optimal scheduling and dispatching of field personnel
2. Do predictive maintenance allowing minimal maintenance expenses with maximum production
3. Plan for and manage required resources to eliminate waste and ensure timely availability of resources
4. Have more granular data for reservoir modeling

The ability to balance the first three above competing objectives stems from the development of three techniques previously available only for the major oil companies for decision support.
The first is PROBABILISTIC SIMULATIONS that periodically process the incoming data from the remote monitoring system to understand the range of potential future outcomes that may occur for that well/field. The second is INTELLIGENT AGENTS that are embedded in the simulations who react to events according to rules used by the operational process. The third is an OPTIMIZATION ENGINE that can “shape”, under uncertainty and risk, the range of outcomes of a plan so that decisions can be made to move toward the desired results, while minimizing effort.

These concepts have been successfully applied to several major oil and gas field operations. To do it successfully requires not only the remote monitoring data but a commitment to an iterative process where the above tools “learn” over time to fit with the actual field being operated. It also requires integration with the cultural and procedural context of the organization (in other words, what the organization believes is the best way to operate). The result of the interaction between the decision support system and the organization is a continuous learning process for the life of the production field.

So to enable the investment in remote monitoring to be fully realized, a producer has the opportunity to acquire additional tools to avoid being buried in data. Using these techniques, instead of drowning in too much data, the operating company will be able to react more quickly to problems and opportunities and plan better for the future. Data is good, once you pass it to new tools that react to events as they occur in the field.

Co-authors:

Dr. Lester K. Sisemore
President and CEO
VGO Oil and Gas

Dr. Sisemore has over thirty years experience in the Exploration and Production sector of the oil and gas industry as a senior technology executive with Chevron, an executive consultant with IBM Global Services, and an independent consultant. Focus areas have included geophysical research, exploration operations, upstream data management, and technology management. Expertise includes strategy and planning, operational modeling, business process management, project valuation, portfolio decision-making, and technology implementation. Dr. Sisemore has specialized in the implementation of Upstream Petroleum Technology – including the strategy, planning, and change management that are a necessary part of this process. Focused on the improvement and sustainability of oil and gas portfolio and asset performance, is able to help clients create competitive advantage by solving important operational problems.
Contact information: les@vgo-oilandgas.com or 281-344-0351

Greg W. Scoggins
Vice President
Wellkeeper, Inc.

Mr. Scoggins has over 20 years experience in the oil and gas technology solutions business. His focus areas have been remote data monitoring solutions, operations and production process efficiency improvement, reserves and economics software systems and integration of engineering software tools using decision tree analysis. Mr. Scoggins came to Wellkeeper from OGRE Systems, where he also served as Vice President. Previously, Mr. Scoggins was a Vice President at Implicit Monitoring Solutions and Landmark Graphics Corporation. Mr. Scoggins has a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Management from Dallas Baptist University, and is a 28 year member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), as well as IPAA.

Contact information: 888-WELLKEEPER (888-935-5533) or Greg@Wellkeeper.com