Oil Field Workers Research Articles

Oilfield workers’ job satisfaction: A study of social support and work stress

Oilfield workers’ job satisfaction: A study of social support and work stress

APPLICATION OF HYDROGELS FOR WATER SHUTOFF TREATMENTS. Message 1

Application of gels for well water shutoff has become a part of oilfield practice, and this direction is constantly evolving due to several objective reasons. The main reason is the growing water cut of well production, and repair and isolation operations using hydrogels occupy a worthy place in this segment of technological processes for limiting water inflow. The second reason for oilfield workers’ interest in hydrogels for water shutoff is related to the possibility of smooth regulation of their properties: they are injected with low viscosity, then mature in the required isolation interval, and their viscosity and structural-mechanical properties increase multiple times. The penetration ability of gelants (immature gels) into porous media far exceeds traditional cement slurries and synthetic curing resins. An important reason for the interest of scientists and engineers in the oil industry in hydrogels is the possibility of complexing technology: after injection they are reinforced by cement slurry or curing resins, which synergistically increases the effect of water isolation. Also, gel-forming compositions can be easily transformed into foam-gel compositions by simple manipulations, which increases their isolation efficiency. In terms of rheological characteristics, hydrogels, depending on whether they are based on organic or inorganic materials, have viscoelastic or viscoplastic properties. Organic-inorganic hybrid plugging materials combine both of these important properties, allowing hydrogels of different natures and structures to be used for targeted blocking of the source of water inflow.This article emphasizes the primary importance of determining the source of well watering, depending on which the treatment design is already built, and the appropriate materials are selected.

Fracking Evictions: Housing Instability in a Fossil Fuel Boomtown

In 2019, North Dakota accounted for 11% of American oil production. Rural counties like Williams County, ND experienced rapid in-migration of oilfield workers and, consequently, acute housing shortages. Williams County provides an excellent opportunity to study the relationship between commodity booms and housing instability because its housing market is tied so tightly to the production of a single commodity. While fracking is often presented as an economic boon to these communities, we show that Williams County has experienced “rural gentrification,” in which long-term residents are displaced by higher-income workers linked to the oilfields. To explore housing instability in an oil boomtown, this project links oil production statistics with evictions data and individual-level address histories. By showing how housing instability increased during the oil boom, this study contributes to our understanding of how rural communities are affected by extractive industry and how housing markets respond to rapid economic changes.

Роль внутренней трудовой миграции в истории Дацинского нефтяного месторождения (1949–1978 годы)

This paper determines the role of the Chinese state policy in using internal labour migration to ensure accelerated socialist construction of such large industrial facilities as the Daqing Oil Field. The history of the People’s Republic of China from 1949 to 1978 is rich in examples of labour mobilization of military and technical workers as well as young people for the construction and organization of industrial enterprises in adverse climatic conditions. After the discovery of the Daqing Oil Field in the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang in 1959, more than 40,000 military men, engineers and oil workers were relocated to this facility. Chinese workers from the eastern and western provinces took an active part in organizing the process of exploration, drilling, oil extraction and transportation, as well as launching water supply and building storage facilities. Labour migrants were quick to establish new modern settlements in the oil field area under extremely harsh northern conditions. Daqing Oil Field workers steadfastly endured all the hardships, their main slogan being as follows: “Work hard, overcome difficulties, do your best to fight”. The selfless work of internal migrants was highly appreciated by the Chinese government and the Chinese society as a whole. Over 5,000 factories and enterprises throughout China manufactured mechanical and electrical products as well as equipment for the Daqing Oil Field; 200 research and development departments provided technical support to its workers. In the 1960s, an economic campaign “Learn Everything from Daqing” was launched, aimed to share the experience of building this oil field with other regions of China. Party and government officials Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Dong Biwu, He Long and Chen Yi had repeatedly visited Daqing to inspect the work and evaluate the role of labour migrants from other provinces in the development of the oil industry in Northeast China.

Shift work is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and elevated RBP4 level: cross sectional analysis from the OHSPIW cohort study

BackgroundShift work, with its growing prevalence globally, disrupts the body's inherent circadian rhythm. This disruption may escalate the risk of chronic diseasesxacerbate chronic disease risk by dysregulating physiological, behavioral, and psychosocial pathways. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of shift work on type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) level.MethodsThe current study employed a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling technique, examining 1499 oilfield workers from the OHSPIW cohort who participated in occupational health assessments between March 2017 and June 2018.The evaluation involved shift work, sleep quality, T2DM status with questionnaires and plasma RBP4 levels in blood samples. Statistical analysis includes, Chi-square tests, t-tests, multivariate logistic regression analyses, and multivariate linear mixed models. ResultsThe prevalence rate of T2DM in shift workers (6.56%) was significantly higher than in day workers (4.21%) (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.01–2.53), with no significant difference found in the family history of diabetes, hypertension, or other chronic heart diseases (P = 0.378). The shift worker (6.89 ± 3.35) also exhibited distinctly higher PSQI scores than day workers (5.99 ± 2.87) (P < 0.001). Adjusting the age, gender, BMI, family income, tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking and PSQI, hailed shift work as a risk factor for T2DM (OR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.17–3.14). The pairwise comparison revealed significant differences in RBP4 levels across different groups: shift and non-shift workers both with and without T2DM (P < 0.001). The RBP4 level of the shift group without T2DM was higher than the non-shift group without T2DM (P < 0.05). The levels of RBP4 level in shift and non-shift groups with T2DM was higher than those without T2DM (P < 0.05). The multivariate linear mixed model showed that when age, gender, BMI, diabetes, PSQI, family income, smoking and drinking remained unchanged, the RBP4 level of the shift workers increased by an average of 9.51 μg/mL compared with the day workers.ConclusionsShift work is associated with an increased risk of T2DM and high levels of RBP4. Follow-up of RBP4 could facilitateearly detection of T2DM among shift workers.

“Oilfield Trash or Oilfield Treasure? A Pastoral Response to Living in the Extraction Economy of the Permian Basin” by Rev. Dr. Dawn Darwin Weaks

AbstractThe climate crisis is witnessed on a global scale and it is also experienced in the local communities that work in extractive industries. In this article, a pastor in the Permian Basin explores the term “oilfield trash” as it is used for oilfield workers in the Permian Basin, connecting the epithet with the negative conditions for quality of life there, and comparing it to treatment of oilfield workers in Norway. Treatment of workers is identified as essential to esteem of communities and land. Renaming workers “treasure” in keeping with the tradition of Isaiah 62:4 is identified as part of the healing needed for extractive communities to transition away from fossil fuels. Four avenues of congregational ministry within mining economies are identified, with the way of “partnership” with the workers in the industry recommended as offering hope for churches to help relieve the climate crisis.

The Levels of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Their Derivatives in Plasma and Their Effect on Mitochondrial DNA Methylation in the Oilfield Workers.

This study focuses on the components and levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their derivatives (MPAHs and OPAHs) in plasma samples from 19 oil workers, pre- and post-workshift, and their exposure-response relationship with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) methylation. PAH, MPAH, OPAH, and platelet mtDNA methylation levels were determined using a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and a pyrosequencing protocol, respectively. The total plasma concentrations of PAHs in mean value were, respectively, 31.4 ng/mL and 48.6 ng/mL in pre- and post-workshift, and Phe was the most abundant (13.3 ng/mL in pre-workshift and 22.1 ng/mL in post-workshift, mean value). The mean values of total concentrations of MPAHs and OPAHs in the pre-workshift were 2.7 ng/mL and 7.2 ng/mL, while in the post-workshift, they were 4.5 ng/mL and 8.7 ng/mL, respectively. The differences in the mean MT-COX1, MT-COX2, and MT-COX3 methylation levels between pre- and post-workshift were 2.36%, 5.34%, and 0.56%. Significant (p < 0.05) exposure-response relationships were found between PAHs and mtDNA methylation in the plasma of workers; exposure to Anthracene (Ant) could induce the up-regulation of the methylation of MT-COX1 (β = 0.831, SD = 0.105, p < 0.05), and exposure to Fluorene (Flo) and Phenanthrene (Phe) could induce the up-regulation of methylation of MT-COX3 (β = 0.115, SD = 0.042, p < 0.05 and β = 0.036, SD = 0.015, p < 0.05, respectively). The results indicated that exposure to PAHs was an independent factor influencing mtDNA methylation.

The Lady Makes Boots: Enid Justin &amp; the Nocona Boot Company by Carol A. Lipscomb

Reviewed by: The Lady Makes Boots: Enid Justin & the Nocona Boot Company by Carol A. Lipscomb Tracey Hanshew The Lady Makes Boots: Enid Justin & the Nocona Boot Company. By Carol A. Lipscomb. (Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2021. Pp. 252. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.) Boots are among the most recognized icons of Texas—in company with the lone star and the longhorn. Carol A. Lipscomb's biography of Enid Justin places one of the more instrumental leaders in the boot industry into the historical record. Justin was heavily influenced by her father, "Daddy Joe," who began his boot making business in Spanish Fort, Texas, under the name "H. J. Justin, Boot Maker" (4, 9). In 1889, he moved his family to Nocona, Texas, which began a close relationship between the Justin boot business and the town of Nocona; more importantly, it deeply established Enid's roots there in both the town and the business. This relationship would become the bedrock that saw Enid through heartbreak and contributed to her success. In 1925, when she began her own boot company, Nocona, she was an anomaly in a world of companies owned by men. Through her success, however, she "set an example for women entrepreneurs who came after her" (159). Lipscomb explains both Enid Justin's connection and commitment to her childhood community and her important contributions to Texas history, revealing her determination through the hardships of losing a child, divorcing twice, and maintaining dedication to the business in the face of such loss. At a time when women rarely worked around hypermasculine [End Page 602] cowboys and oil field workers, and knowing that some "would not do business with a company run by a woman," Enid did not let this stop her (36). When asked about her participation in the women's liberation movement, she replied "I was a libber before the word and the definition were invented" (159). Enid Justin's contentious relationship with her siblings, who managed the Justin Boot company they had inherited from their father, promoted to some degree both the Justin and the Nocona company through a series of misprints in various newspapers. But it also increased her resolve to succeed with her own company, which she built from the ground up to be competitive with big-name companies like Justin, Lucchese, Tony Lama and others. That the 80th Texas Legislature designated the cowboy boot as the "official State Footwear of Texas" in the early 2000s is due in part to the presence of these nationally known companies, including hers (201). Among the ample use of Enid's own words, like the personal quotations that begin each chapter, the one that most encapsulates Enid is, "I've been blessed to have been in this business with these people right here in Nocona, Texas. What more could I have asked for?" (179) Carol Lipscomb's account of Enid Justin's life reveals how one woman made history and earned her place among the "greats" in Texas. That her name, Justin, is synonymous with Fort Worth, and that Nocona boots maintained the label of the "best boots in the world" for years, speaks not only to her commercial success but also to her leadership and business management. This biography is long overdue and is a significant contributor to the history of the economic and cultural development of Texas. Lipscomb successfully weaves Enid Justin's life through its historical context so that even those unfamiliar with it can appreciate the importance of women's history as much as Texas history. Tracey Hanshew Eastern Oregon University Copyright © 2022 The Texas State Historical Association

“The Long Wait for Homecoming”: Looking at the Lives of Oil Field Wives in COVID-19 Times

The migration of Indians to Gulf countries can be traced back to the early twentieth century. With the discovery of oil in the region, Indian laborers began to migrate for a better livelihood, which also served as a valuable source of income for the country. Oil field workers who have migrated from India to the Gulf region are employed in oil rigs located in remote desert areas. They include both skilled as well as unskilled laborers and are employed in high-risk field-based jobs wherein family is not allowed. They work as international commuters and return home on a rotational basis at regular intervals. They constitute transnational families wherein most rely on telecommunication to connect with their family members in India and fulfill their social obligations. The economic, political, and sociocultural impact of migration has been studied by social scientists in substantial detail from the perspective of homeland as well as host land, but not much has been discussed about the experience of wives/spouses of oil field workers who are left behind at home even though their population is fairly large in India. Available data on the social and psychological impact of international migration suggest that such migration histories have both positive and negative impacts on transnational families. The COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the global scenario, did not spare them either. This article is a part of a meso-level study wherein a group of women residing in different parts of India was interviewed regarding their experience as wives of oil field workers in Gulf countries. Their husbands could not return home due to travel bans imposed by the Middle Eastern countries owing to the pandemic. This article attempts to look at significant issues pertaining to family and international migration to Gulf countries in the COVID times.

Factors Associated with an Outbreak of COVID-19 in Oilfield Workers, Kazakhstan, 2020.

From March to May 2020, 1306 oilfield workers in Kazakhstan tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. We conducted a case-control study to assess factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The cases were PCR-positive for SARS-CoV-2 during June–September 2020. Controls lived at the same camp and were randomly selected from the workers who were PCR-negative for SARS-CoV-2. Data was collected telephonically by interviewing the oil workers. The study had 296 cases and 536 controls with 627 (75%) men, and 527 (63%) were below 40 years of age. Individual factors were the main drivers of transmission, with little contribution by environmental factors. Of the twenty individual factors, rare hand sanitizer use, travel before shift work, and social interactions outside of work increased SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Of the twenty-two environmental factors, only working in air-conditioned spaces was associated with SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Communication messages may enhance workers’ individual responsibility and responsibility for the safety of others to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Anxiety & Depressive Symptoms among Oil & Gas Field Workers Amid COVID-19 Outbreak in Indonesia

Anxiety & Depressive Symptoms among Oil & Gas Field Workers Amid COVID-19 Outbreak in Indonesia

Effect of crude oil exploration and exploitation activities on soil, water and air in a Nigerian community

ABSTRACT The continuous degradation of environmental ecosystems (land, water and soil) resulting from crude oil exploration and exploitation activities continues to gain global attention. This study investigates the effects of crude oil exploration and exploitation activities on soil, water and air in the study area. Soil samples were collected in three replicates at depths of 0–15 and 15–30 cm at sampling distances of 20, 100 and 200 m a from core oil exploitation operation area and a control point. Water samples were also taken from within the study area and analyzed using standard procedures. Major pollutants concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) of the air were also measured using Air Quality Index (AQI). The results reveal that the soil, water and air parameters measured mostly at 20 m from the core oil operation area compromise the allowable standards provided for healthy living. In the same manner, some results at 100 and 200 m were slightly higher than the recommended values in some cases of heavy metals and bacteria activities in the soil. The AQI at 20 m was far above the permissible limit provided by the Environmental Protection Agency while others are gradually drawing towards the limit given for each pollutant. To safeguard the health of the residents of the host community and oil field workers, there is a need for proper and frequent environmental monitoring and assessment by authorized regulatory bodies in Nigeria. This will prevent any future exposure which may endanger the lives of the dwellers.

Examining oilmen’s notions of ‘fatherhood masculinity’ as a pathway to understand increased offshore oilfield safety behaviours

This study explores how notions of fatherhood masculine identity held by offshore oilfield workers positively influenced safety and risk predispositions in the workplace. Findings are based on a ‘rapid’, two week, embedded ethnography of a remote offshore drilling platform in the UK North Sea. Ethnography was reflective of the traditional two-week ‘hitch’ permitted for most UK offshore oilfield workers. Drawing directly from the workplace narratives of thirty-five oilmen labouring in a variety of different roles in the North Sea drilling sector, this study presents how oilmen working in the traditionally hazardous and ‘high risk’ industry redeveloped previously risky masculine notions of workplace identity. For many men, this process of reimagining was intertwined with fatherhood. Oilmen formulated “softer, safer” masculine identity practices founded upon notions of distanced breadwinning, self-preservation, and returning home safe to their onshore families. Such notions readily replaced - and rendered “outdated” - oilmen’s previous and historic identity narratives largely linked to risky and hypermasculine workplace norms. Identity reformations resulted in a safer workplace culture that normalised and respected men who upheld safety, and marginalised men who performed risky or dangerous workplace behaviours. Implications upon worksite safety and for future research are discussed.

Research on the Effects of Occupational Stress and the DRD2 Gene on the Psychological Health of Workers in the Xinjiang Desert Oil Field.

Background: This study investigated the relationship between occupational stress and the mental health of people working in oil fields in the arid desert environment of Xinjiang, and revealed the causal relationship between occupational stress and psychological disorders, while furthermore exploring the relationship between psychological disorders and genetic levels.Methods: The participants of this study included oil field company workers from the Xinjiang Petroleum Administration of Karamay City, Xinjiang, who underwent occupational health examinations. The Occupational Stress Inventory Revised Edition (OSI-R) was used to measure the occupational stress of the oil workers. The mental health status of oil workers was evaluated using the Symptoms Checklist-90.Results: Occupational tasks: The total scores of the personal strain and mental health questionnaires were positively correlated with somatization, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, terror, paranoia, and psychosis (P < 0.05). Individual coping resources and the mental health total score was negatively correlated with somatization, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, hostility, terror, paranoia, and psychosis. The following factors were identified as mental health risk factors: female gender; age 45 and above (relative to ≤30 years old); high scores on the personal strain questionnaire; occupational stress; external effort; internal investment; and high effort-low return. The following factors were identified as protective factors for mental health: Han nationality; oil transportation (relative to drilling); individual resilience; and work returns. In respect to the abnormal psychological group and the normal psychological group, statistically significant differences were found in the distribution of genotypes and allele frequencies at the rs1800497 locus (P < 0.05). The depression and paranoia scores observed between different genotype groups at the rs1800497 locus were statistically significant (P < 0.05).Conclusions: This study shows that occupational stress and the D2 dopamine receptor (DRD2) gene have an impact on the mental health of oil field workers in the arid desert environment of Xinjiang. Effort-reward imbalance and occupational stress were identified as risk factors for mental health, while rewards for work were protective factors. Higher levels of occupational stress may lead to depression and other psychological disorders, adversely affecting mental health. In oil field operators in the arid desert environment of Xinjiang, the AA genotype of the DRD2 gene in the rs1800497 locus was identified as a genotype specific to susceptibility to mental health problems, and a correlation was found between the A allele and an increased risk of psychological problems. Therefore, it is necessary to devise relevant measures to alleviate occupational stress among oil workers and increase their job rewards, so as to improve their mental health.

Unequal Reach: Cyclical and Amplifying Ties Among Agricultural and Oilfield Workers in Texas

What kinds of ties do agricultural and oil and gas workers form in the field, and how do they use them later on? Why do they use them differently? Scholarship highlights how weak ties can link people to valuable information, while strong ties can be critical for day-to-day survival. Yet many mechanisms affect how workers form and use social networks over time and space. Drawing on 60 interviews and observations with agricultural and oilfield workers in Texas, I examine how both groups form strong ties of fictive kinship when living together in the field far from home—pooling resources, sharing reproductive labor, and using the discourse of family to describe these relationships. Then I examine how they use these ties very differently later in practice. Oilfield workers often use their fictive kin ties to move up and around the industry across space, time, and companies: amplifying ties. In contrast, agricultural workers renew the same strong ties for survival from season to season, maintaining cyclical ties. The comparison highlights how industry mobility ladders, tempos, and geographies affect how workers can use their networks in practice. While both agricultural and oilfield workers become fictive kin in situations of intense proximity, structural differences give their networks unequal reach.

Study on the oxidation treatment of sodium sulfide by sodium persulfate

In view of a large amount of sulfur ions contained in oilfield sewage, finding an efficient method for desulfurization to reduce the sulfide content of sulfide in oilfield sewage has become one of the topics urgently studied by oilfield workers. In this paper, the oxidation method is used to treat sulfur ions in oilfield sewage, and it is oxidized to harmless elemental sulfur or high-priced sulate. The effects of pH, molar ratio, reaction time, temperature and concentration on the removal rate of sulfur ions were investigated. The optimal reaction conditions were determined that the initial concentration of simulated water was 75 mg/L, pH=8, the molar ratio of sodium persulfate and sodium sulfide was 1.2: 1, the reaction time was 30 minutes. The maximum removal rate of sulfur ions by sodium sulfate can reach 96.11% at 35°C.

Using Artificial Neural Network Modeling to Analyze the Thermal Protective and Thermo-Physiological Comfort Performance of Textile Fabrics Used in Oilfield Workers' Clothing.

Most of the fatalities and injuries of oilfield workers result from inadequate protection and comfort by their clothing under various work hazards and ambient environments. Both the thermal protective performance and thermo-physiological comfort performance of textile fabrics used in clothing significantly contribute to the mitigation of workers’ skin burns and heat-stress-related deaths. This study aimed to apply the ANN modeling approach to analyze clothing performance considering the wearers’ sweat moisture and the microclimate air gap that is generated in between their body and clothing. Firstly, thermal protective and thermo-physiological comfort performance of fire protective textiles used in oilfield workers’ clothing were characterized. Different fabric properties (e.g., thickness, weight, fabric count), thermal protective performance, and thermo-physiological comfort performance were measured. The key fabric property that affects thermal protective and thermo-physiological performance was identified as thickness by statistical analysis. The ANN modeling approach could be successfully implemented to analyze the performance of fabrics in order to predict the performance more conveniently based on the fabric properties. It is expected that the developed models could inform on-duty oilfield workers about protective and thermo-physiological comfort performance and provide them with occupational health and safety.

Interdependence of Professional Expertise and Occupational Risk of Oil and Gas Field Workers

The article considers the interdependence of professional expertise and the risks of workers engaged in the development of oil and gas fields. The gradual automation of processes and the introduction of high-tech equipment requires enterprise personnel to have ever-increasing knowledge, unique competences and skills, as well as certain personal qualities or professional expertise. The aim of this work is to determine the influence of the workers’ professional expertise on the occupational risk and to introduce the “human factor” in the procedure for assessing occupational risks. A possible way of assessing a worker and his professional expertise is the so-called System for Assessing and Controlling Occupational Risks, the main purpose of which is to preserve the health of enterprise personnel. To implement this system, we chose Irkutsk Oil Company LLC, namely, the development site of the Yarakta field located in the Irkutsk Region. Based on the analysis and evaluation, it was found that a worker with a high level of professional expertise was able to perform tasks in particularly hazardous production working conditions at the proper level. This approach allows giving an objective assessment of the knowledge, skills and competences of each worker in a particular workplace.

Series of COVID-19 outbreaks in several settlements of Mangistau Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan

COVID-19 is a severe disease, which mainly affects respiratory system and causes lung failure. The disease spread dramatically over the world, including Kazakhstan. Between March 13 and September 30, 2020, a total of 107,979 laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 were registered in the republic. The aim of the study was to describe the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 outbreaks in five localities of Beyneu and Karakiya districts of Mangistau region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Mangistau region for the period from 31 May 2020 till 06 June 2020 to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of several COVID-19 outbreaks, and to assess the effectiveness of implemented intervention. Results. In the Mangistau region, in the oil production area, five outbreaks of COVID-19 were registered: two in the Beyneu region (Beyneu settlement and Borankul village), one in the Karakiyan region (Senek village) and two at the Kalamkas and Zhetibay oil fields, where there were foci with the number of cases from two to 100 cases. Discussion. The main reason for the spread of the disease was overcrowding and cross-contact between oilfield workers, which influenced the registration of outbreaks among workers in field camps. The active movement of workers between camps, the involvement of medical workers with no experience in using PPE to work at checkpoints and local hospitals, as well as the presence of a confirmed case of COVID-19 at funerals where participants did not use respiratory protection also influenced the spread of infection. Conclusions. This article describes the epidemiologic features of the outbreak series in five settlements located in the oil production zone of Mangistau region of Kazakhstan during May - June of 2020. An exponential increase in numbers of COVID-19 patients in Beyneu district appeared to be caused by exposure among the members of in canteens and dormitories for shift workers in oil-producing areas with the additional community- and hospital-transmission. Keywords: COVID-19, outbreaks, Kazakhstan.

Human Centric Digital Transformation and Operator 4.0 for the Oil and Gas Industry

Working at an oil and gas facility, such as a drilling rig, production facility, processing facility, or storage facility, involves various challenges, including health and safety risks. It is possible to leverage emerging digital technologies such as smart sensors, wearable or mobile devices, big data analytics, cloud computing, extended reality technologies, robotic systems, and drones to mitigate the challenges faced by oil and gas workers. While these technologies are not new to the oil and gas industry, most of its existing digital transformation initiatives follow business or process-centric approaches, in which the critical driver of the technology adoption is the enhancement of production, efficiency, and revenue. As a result, they may not address the challenges faced by the workers. As oil and gas workers are among the essential assets in the oil and gas industry, it is vital to address the challenges faced by these workers. This paper proposes a human-centric digital transformational framework for the oil and gas industry to deploy existing digital technologies to enhance their workers’ health, safety, and working conditions. The paper outlines the critical challenges faced by oilfield workers, introduces a system architecture to implements a human-centric digital transformation, discusses the opportunities of the proposed framework, and summarizes the key impediment for the proposed framework.