Techbits: Digital Technologies Highlighted at Conference

Abstract

The energy industry is at the start of an unavoidable renaissance, driven by increased globalization of E&P, the development of a multicultural workforce, and the increased need for data on demand. This was the message of the SPE 2007 Digital Energy Conference and Exhibition, held in April in Houston. The 2-day event was organized through SPE's Gulf Coast section Digital Energy Study Group. The conference began with a focus on current successes in implementing digital technologies in the workplace and what technology is needed going forward. Charlie Williams, Chief Scientist of Well Engineering and Production Technology, Shell International E&P, gave the first keynote address, describing how Shell has implemented digital technologies in its field operations with particular emphasis on "smart fields." An executive roundtable that followed brought together executives from operating and technology companies to discuss business drivers in the E&P community and the types of supporting technologies that have been developed to address these drivers. The luncheon keynote was delivered by Phiroz Darukhanavala, BP Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Digital and Communications Technology. "Knowledge, computing power, and technological evolution are exploding at such a rate that we are seeing a blurring of boundaries between the physical world and the digital world," he said. These advances are evident on the Internet and in fields such as aviation, and the oil and gas industry has been swept up in this digitization as well. "It's happening upstream and down, from the initial exploration efforts to drilling to production, refining, transportation, and out to the customer's gas tank," he said. Darukhanavala pointed to several current examples of how digital advances affect daily operations. One is in so-called smart drilling, being able to run an analysis at the rigsite and get the results in minutes vs. having to capture mud samples, send them to a laboratory, and wait 2 to 3 days for results. Other examples include being able to quickly measure production flow rates, wirelessly monitoring the working condition of rotating equipment, and seamlessly tracking the location and movements of rail cars and other transportation vessels. While all of this digitization has resulted in an exponential growth in the amount of information available to make informed decisions, Darukhanavala warned that it might be too much of a good thing. "With this deluge of data, the question becomes, How do we manage it and not drown in it? In my opinion, a data plug is almost as bad as a data drought, and even more expensive for the business," he said.