How automation meets the modern digital oilfields

We have enough budget, the needs are identified and people fascinated with the automation initiative as part of the digital oil field project or program. We decided the level of automation, designed it and started to implement instruments, PLCs, communications links and SCADA systems to obtain as much information as possible from the field... This sounds familiar to you?

Many of the best automation initiatives -inside a Digital Oil Field project- start in this way. This approach is possible due to a lot of knowledge acquired in the past in a fast way. Most of these projects finished successfully at the end.  It is natural, and it is not unique in the automation / digital oil field spheres.

Today we learn to start a project from the other side; from the business need, analyzing the business process, the people, the technology and how to obtain the best workflows to optimize the results. And from this point, start to decide the best designs. Also, we learn to follow the project life cycle, like it has been done in other industries or projects. This is especially applicable in huge oil fields in terms of extension, amount of productive wells, amount of injection water, CO2 or chemical wells, amount of people or complexity. Each one of these complexities, make your project unique.

But what is hiding behind this life cycle, referred to the automation applied to digital oil fields? 

Let´s analyze each point, not the meaning or use, but taking a look at the particularities of this cycle in this kind of complex projects:

"Business process improvement expectation”: The cycle starts here? Not necessarily.  Sometimes the expectation is aligned with long term plans, the best way to match with this point, is trying to synchronize each life cycle turn, with the long term plans, your current situation and the technologies obsolescence. Depending on other factors, 5 to 10 years I think is an appropriate range.

"Vision": Is company's vision aligned with a fully digital and automated oil field? OK, let's move forward.

"Survey and visualization": In first instance, we are evaluating not only the current company technologies, people and workflows. We are taking a look at the market too. Are your local distributors ready to provide a good service in the following years? Do you have access to independent assessment when needed?

"Situational gap analysis": With these expectations, visions, current situations in terms of technologies and people ’I want to be there'.

"Diagnosis": Here we are preparing ourselves for the next step. Please sit back, and take your time to identify the cause of the phenomenon happening in the organization. This diagnosis will really help you to design an automation level (as part of your digital field) that really matches with your organization culture, the technologies available and the process being used (or being identified to be modified).  At this point, we need to ask us a question; what consequences will automation bring?

"Conceptualization and work plan" and "Engineering and development plan": this is the easiest part. Are you an automation specialist? OK, let´s do your part. But .. I have 3 words starting with A to be taken into account over the whole process. Align, Align and Align. Align your concept and design with your vision. Align your concept and design with the people, the process and the technologies. And don't forget, align your conceptual/design developing people to do the best job. Here we need to ask some more questions: Will automation reduce or eliminate the gaps? What is the automation level needed to achieve the objectives? Can it be automated today?

"Change management and implementation”: Ready to start up  ... Wait, wait! We are not ready yet. When we were thinking in an automated oil field, aligned with people, workflows, current and new technologies, we were thinking in the gap that we are covering.  At the startup point, this gap should be managed in an orderly and planned manner. Change management is the best solution. As in the first stage of the initiative and over the whole project, keep in mind the operators, maintenance, telecommunication, IT, RRHH people, and all your stakeholders. Don't see the change management in automation as bureaucracy working against you. Look at it as a tool that will protect you, and will help to achieve the project objectives in a steadily way. Do the change management as a project itself. A successful change management is as easy as a well-documented description of the current situation before the change, the situation during the change, the situation after the change, and keeping the stakeholders in the loop.

"Knowledge transfer”: You will be there because you will be part or the whole project, or will you be there at the end or at the beginning of the life cycle? The knowledge transfer from the design or implementation team to the people (maintenance, IT, workflow key players etc.) is not just training; it´s keeping these personnel in the strategic loop. Are you ready to be part of a new improvement cycle?

"Measurement and control”: Yes! Here we are. Automation from the base of the pyramid. We are the right team to allocate the information needed to complete this cycle. We can measure in "real time” and control the cycle in small cycles tending to achieve the expectation.

Undoubtedly automation is a key player, from the technologies side, to achieve digital oil field results in a fast way. In a huge digital oil field initiative, it is not suitable to approach the project from the classical control systems point of view. Instead of that, using the life cycle and new approaches linked with business process, technologies and people will be a right decision.