Oil and gas

Trends and innovations
    With advancements in industry 4.0 innovations, the oil & gas (O&G) industry trends are set to transform the industry in terms of efficiency, safety, and smart solutions. The oil & gas industry is exploring ways to efficiently and competitively digitise, automate, and solve complex sub-surface engineering challenges. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, in addition to providing a competitive edge, also enables oil & gas companies to increase field or well productivity.   Further, the gradual adoption of advanced robotics and data management practices invigorates scientists to develop novel practices that accelerate the processing times and reduce human labor.

The Impact of Oil & Gas Industry Trends
    The internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) form the broadest oil & gas industry trends, with most of the other top trends utilising IoT and AI to improve oil & gas processes. Big data analytics, cloud technology, predictive maintenance, and manufacturing execution systems offer vital data management and analysis tools that significantly impact overall operational efficiency. Further, AI also enables robotic applications in oil rigs and refine oil well imaging processes. Oil & gas also develop Blockchain solutions to offer visibility and transparency across the entire oil & gas value chain. Finally, augmented and virtual reality technologies improve worker safety and enable remote operations, as well as virtual training and maintenance operations.

Internet of Things (IoT)
    The oil and gas industry utilises IoT to improve production, optimise equipment, ensure worker safety, and monitor remote areas. Sensors placed inside wells, blowout preventers (BOP), and choke valves enable real-time data collection. Using this data, O&G companies identify faulty equipment quickly, helping field engineers predict and react quickly. IoT solutions allow oil and gas facilities to minimise maintenance costs and gain detailed visibility into their equipment or processes.
    Sensital provides solutions to extract maximum value out of the IoT ecosystems for many industries. For the oil & gas industry, they offers its IoT platform iBOTics that automates control, remotely monitors, and initiates maintenance tickets. This also improves the safety, reliability, and efficiency of the wells, pipelines, and industrial equipment. iBOTics also helps oil & gas operators minimise the overall operating expense (OPEX) and maximise the return on investment (ROI).

Artificial Intelligence
    The oil & gas industry increasingly applies AI and data science to solve complex problems in upstream, midstream, and downstream operations. AI-enabled platforms support decision-making with insights from predictive, prescriptive, and cognitive analytics. In this way, AI helps petroleum engineers and oil & gas industry managers discover and implement new exploration & production ideas on the field to increase ROI.
    AI solutions for upstream oil and gas companies. They helps field engineers develop their resources more confidently and efficiently. The AI platform FracDax incorporates advanced analytics and data science, such as deep learning and reinforcement learning (RL). FracDax allows oil and gas operators to analyse thousands of oil-well parameters, assess completion options and formulate refracturing solutions.

Big Data & Analytics
    Everyday operations in the oil & gas industry generate large volumes of unstructured data. Big data platforms help the industry’s data analysts draw insights from production and performance data. This is also useful for engineers looking to optimise production and ensure the safety of reservoirs. Further, historical data of previous operations better train and test AI-driven algorithms and models. By using big data analytics, the oil and gas industry derives more value from everyday decisions to reduce operational costs and the industry’s carbon emissions.
    Drilling, production, and waterflood optimisation solutions using data analytics. In addition to the reservoir modeling algorithms, Pheonix RDS also offers optimisation workflows for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Oil and gas asset owners and operators benefit through these solutions as they increase reservoir sweep efficiency and reduce injection volume requirements. This enables oil companies to further reduce costs and increase asset value.

Robotics & Automation
    Often, oil & gas operators work in complex and rugged environments, posing a significant risk to human safety. To address this risk, the oil industry is adapting to robotics solutions that increase workplace safety as well as the speed of operations. Robots are also useful for inspection, surveying, and industrial automation in oil rigs and refineries. Robotics and process automation not only speeds up operations but reduces the manpower requirement, in turn, increasing efficiency and reducing human-induced errors.
    kinds of robots that work in rugged industrial sites and harsh environments. The robots include First Responder for incidents involving explosive gas, Emissions Detector to battle fugitive emissions, Co-Operator for remote facilities, and Investigator for data collection. For the oil and gas industry, EXRobotics offers a cloud-based RaaS platform. The platform allows industrial operators to increase operational efficiency, safety, and reduce costs.

3D Modeling & Visualisation
    3D modeling & high-quality visualisations help create realistic representations of subsurface reservoirs and other O&G equipment. In combination with historical production data, 3D modeling simulates the production and injection phases during a reservoir’s lifecycle. This helps to predict risks that impact the safety of the reservoir. Based on the data, oil & gas engineers optimise the production and operations planning. Further, 3D modeling, and visualisation lowers costs and reduces risks while increasing performance for the oil and gas assets.
    Cloud-native solution oilfield.ai to automate reservoir modeling and visualisation and make real-time decisions. Malliance combines geoscience, physics, and AI-based analytics. Oilfield.ai finds applications in production optimisation, field development, and reservoir management. Petroleum and reservoir engineers use the platform to train reproducible models that predict reserve estimates and optimise production.

Cloud Computing
    Cloud computing is capable of storing and processing data on remote servers, freeing up expensive local memory and computing capacities. The oil and gas industry generates enormous amounts of data in its daily activities. Using cloud technology and software applications boost oil & gas efficiency, security, scalability, and also eases digital transformation. Cloud-native tools, such as ‘as-a-service’ platforms – platform, storage, infrastructure, data, and more – enable advanced analytics, informative visual dashboards, and remotely accessible real-time insights.
    A cloud-native digital field management platform, ENGAGE, for the oil and gas industry. The platform provides a complete field solution that utilises Digital Field Tokens to enable real-time tracking, predictive scheduling, and data analytics-based reporting. The ENGAGE platform integrates production data, IoT devices, and accounting software to provide transparency into oilfield operations. The solution also utilises predictive algorithms to automate jobs based on predetermined criteria. Moreover, both oil and gas operators and vendors save time, increase productivity, and reduce costs with the help of ENGAGE.

Reality Technologies
    Immersive technology includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and extended reality (XR). In the oil and gas industry, AR/VR animations boost efficiency and reduce errors by showing real-time information about equipment, tools, and parts. For example, exploration & production (E&P) companies use reality solutions for remote monitoring, downhole imaging, and virtual training. Further, combining real and virtual environments to enable human-machine interactions using wearables and smartphone alerts.
    VR solutions for manufacturing and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in process industries. They provides VR and AR for visual communication by simulating a real environment for users during greenfield, brownfield, and revamping projects. The solution supports plant construction and maintenance, as well as worker training and safety improvements. Operations and maintenance personnel use the VR studio to conduct plant walk-throughs, check plant construction progress or plant operations, and also enable predictive maintenance.

Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
    MES integrates manufacturing facilities, operational technologies, such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), and computing systems, to control the production process. As oil & gas equipment manufacturing processes are complex, engineers seek solutions to monitor and control the continuous operational processes. MES offers intelligent architecture for manufacturing systems with integrated control for the oil and gas industry that ensures faster, safer, and reliable oilfield production systems.
    Cognate-Gnosis offers MES solutions for any industrial operations company, including oil and gas, mining, and utilities. The MES consultation helps oil & gas equipment manufacturers utilise real-time production data to optimise operations, increase efficiencies, reduce wastages, and increase overall equipment efficiency (OEE). In addition, they also offer IIoT solutions for enabling predictive analytics, as well as employee training and network security.

Predictive Maintenance
    Predictive maintenance and operations include gathering data from sensors in field installations and integrating them with machine learning algorithms. This enables engineers to quickly assess equipment conditions and offer timely maintenance solutions. Predictive operations, coupled with software platforms, further enable granular part visualisations, allowing O&G operators to predict potential failures. Moreover, predictive maintenance finds applications across all upstream, midstream, and downstream operations. These solutions improve safety, extend the life of installations, and reduce costs associated with operations and maintenance.
    Leveraging digital twins and digital threads to empower manufacturers to learn faster from the wealth of manufacturing data already available in their enterprise. Moreover, TwinThread’s Predictive Operations Platform is purpose-built for industrial applications. For example, the predictive analytics platform provides insights into OEE, material and energy costs, as well as predictive throughput and asset life estimation.

Blockchain
    Blockchain is increasingly penetrating various industrial operations including, oil and gas. Smart contracts provide much-needed security and transparency of oil & gas documents and operations. Distributed ledgers verify contractors, employees, and maintain smart contracts. Further, Blockchain allows oil and gas companies to automate invoices, post-trade settlements, and joint venture accounting. Blockchain is also useful for hydrocarbon fleet tracking, trading, retail B2C, intragroup billing.
    Offering transparent and secure business solutions for complex oil and gas processes. Blockgemini utilises Blockchain, AI, and IoT to enable the full digital transformation for the oil & gas industry. This includes planning, warehousing, and transportation, as well as forecasting and demand pricing. In this way, the cloudbased platform enables oil & gas companies to digitally share and coordinate plans, based on forecasts, and make decisions to improve their business. The solution also increases overall operational efficiency by providing transparency into various oil & gas processes.