From Integrated Operations to Remote Operations: Socio-technical Challenge for the Oil and Gas Business

Abstract

Remote operations started with integrated operations (IO) some years ago where designated tasks and roles were shifted from off- to onshore. Remote operations, however, is more than remote control as the operational model or concept is key: it defines the scope for the tasks to be conducted remotely. With this increased ambition and scope, sociotechnical concerns play an increasingly important role. With increased autonomy and automation in the oil and gas business, the reliance upon digital representations of the process conditions that the center/control room follow up becomes more complex, technically but not the least organizationally and institutionally. Operational, organizational and information infrastructure issues are key considerations for remote operation including employer-employee relationships and collaboration with vendors. How will these new centers differ from traditional control rooms and the previous generation of collaboration centers that came with integrated operations 10–15 years ago? What are the key capabilities around which you build scalability and replicability in the design of such control centers? We discuss and empirically illustrate different configurations of remote operations.