Location, Location, Location A key issue to be addressed by companies facing the challenge of the digital oil field is: What is the best location to store data? The key should be storing data to maximize the return on investment in digital data collection, and in today's world of the digital oil field, there is a lot you can do with data. The location of the data will determine its ultimate value to the organization. The digital-oilfield step change is as significant as the introduction of PCs into the oil field or the introduction of effective internal networks and the Internet. Both technologies changed the types of data available, how the data are stored, and how security is managed. What does the next step change of the digital oil field require? Today's challenge is to manage distributed and global organizations, involve internal and external experts, and collaborate effectively with partners. Data volumes have increased by orders of magnitude and will continue to do so with the increasing volumes of real-time data. The number of expert resources inside oil companies has generally decreased, increasing dependence on external experts and partner companies. At the same time, information and communications technology (ICT), including oil/gas software, has developed significantly. However, the ICT philosophy and practices of most companies do not reflect this new reality of industry's need or ICT capability. Oil industry ICT practices are inhibiting effective implementation of the digital oil field. Part of the solution for the digital oil field is to move data and applications outside our traditional organizational structures. Having data and applications on the network enables providing appropriate secured access for experts and collaboration partners and makes use of the available advances in ICT. Maximizing the value of data and enabling the digital oil field will require significant change, which will include moving our data and applications onto the network. Data location will be critical. Intelligent Fields Technology additional reading available at the SPE eLibrary: www.spe.org SPE 99963 "Continuous Well-Production Flow Monitoring and Surveillance" by H. Poulisse, Shell Intl. E&P B.V., et al. SPE 99243 "Integration of People, Process, and Technology for Right-Time Production Management and Optimization in Brunei Shell Petroleum" by S. AlKhadhuri, Brunei Shell Petroleum, et al. SPE 99850 "ISIS—A Real-Time Information Pipeline" by J. Foot, BP plc., et al. IPTC 10319 "Automatic Optimization of Infinite Variable Control Valves" by S.M. Elmsallati, SPE, Heriot-Watt U., et al.