Abstract
After becoming one of the first shale producers to adopt advanced data analytics, Devon Energy is now one of its most ardent champions. The results speak to why that is. Since 2012, when Devon began investing in big data technology, its 90-day production rates from horizontal wells have increased by 250%—an improvement that according to IHS Markit data has lifted the Oklahoma City-based company’s early-time production from new wells to the highest level in the US onshore market. Additionally, Devon’s costs to drill, complete, and operate its well have fallen by as much as 40%, the company said. It is fair to attribute some of these significant gains to the quality of the company’s positions inside North America’s most prolific shale plays, and also the pressure that oilfield contractors are under to make price concessions in a down market. However, that does not complete the story. From exploration and drilling to completions and production, Devon has put to work a small arsenal of sophisticated algorithms designed to find the otherwise hidden insights and engineering tweaks that are driving more value out of the shale fields it operates. This realm of computer science has also made routine tasks that once took engineers hours to complete possible to do in a few minutes, or less. And that some of these programs can literally think for themselves, although in a limited mathematical sense, is not hyperbole. Today’s offerings in artificial intelligence and machine learning technology can be trained to look for defined outcomes, or they can be set free to decide on their own what to look for and will rewrite their underlying algorithms in order to do so. Humans Still in the Loop As intriguing as this emerging world of intelligent software is, when discussing how it has changed her company, Kathy Ball, manager of advanced analytics and data science at Devon, begins by stressing the importance of the human element.
Published Version
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