Operation and Control Today | Stratos Technologies: Why Digital Transformation in Oil and Gas Production is Key

01/26/2023 Stratus Technologies Systems Ltd

Digital transformation in oil and gas remains critical to managing mission-critical operations, gaining valuable business insights, improving worker safety, reducing costs, and more.

This is especially true for offshore oil and gas production, providing a unique set of circumstances including – but not limited to – often inhospitable geographically remote locations, 24/7/365 operations, and around the clock rotating equipment required. To move oil and gas and power generation just to keep the lights on.

So where does Edge Computing fit into this digital transformation equation?

Advances in Offshore Oil and Gas Technology: Edge Computing
Gone are the days of difficult communications and old two-way radios. Technological advances over the years have brought about an exciting digital revolution in the oil and gas industry, not only affecting the offshore production environment, but also improving the lives of those who leave their families for weeks at a time just to do their jobs.

to me McKinsey & CoTechnology has the potential to enhance performance across the entire oil and gas value chain by enabling optimization and automation.

Many offshore oil and gas organizations have chosen to leverage edge computing, providing highly reliable computational infrastructure capabilities at the operations edge. This is especially important because many offshore oil and gas companies reside in harsh environments without easy access to IT teams should a problem arise.

Some of the key components that make Edge Computing a trusted ally in oilfield digitization and for those in the industry include accurate real-time data analysis; remote control operation capabilities; new levels of reliability and availability; and applications with the ability to predict equipment failures before they occur.

Real-time data analysis with Edge Computing
It’s no secret. Offshore oil and gas facilities generate an incredible amount of data every day. According to a Cisco report, an oil rig can generate 2 terabytes of data in a single day, but due to the remote nature of the offshore oil and gas industry, this data is rarely analyzed and leveraged for decision making without support from computing solutions. . lately Schneider Electric BlogReduced latency is highlighted as one of the reasons why many third-party organizations are turning to high-end platforms.

“Latency is the time between the moment a data packet is sent to the moment it reaches its destination (one way) and back (a round trip). Excessive latency creates traffic jams that prevent data from filling the network to capacity. The effect of latency can have Network bandwidth is temporary (lasts for a few seconds) like a traffic light or static like a single-lane bridge. When Edge Computing is deployed, there are very few latency issues because the data is parsed locally rather than being sent from the cloud and sent back again.”

With zero-touch edge computing, data can be managed in real time, allowing for improved communication, storage, and analysis, which in turn can improve critical business decisions.

Remote control of processes with Edge Computing
With an autonomous computing solution, those working in offshore oil and gas production enhance visibility of operations from a distance – especially with very limited support staff and capacity. Operators need the power of Edge Computing to continuously manage and operate remote software and equipment. Not only that, but workers can also remotely handle the health monitoring, alerting, debugging, and problem solving that IT teams often require.

Improved reliability and availability with Edge Computing
In an upstream environment, many high-value, mission-critical applications are running using underlying IPCs, which do not provide the level of reliability required for geographically remote assets. By leveraging touchless edge computing, organizations find strict fault tolerance, protecting these assets from downtime without the need for IT maintenance and support.

Predictive maintenance with Edge Computing
As technology continues to evolve, new analytical tools that take advantage of the accurate, real-time data provided by edge computing platforms are proven to improve performance and safety. These tools play a key role in improving critical decision making to maintain assets in peak operating conditions. They also raise any concerns or abnormalities that may need further investigation. This independent monitoring system identifies and issues software patches and updates, restores and backs up individual devices, and predicts failures and recoveries.

Edge computing for offshore oil and gas production
It’s necessary to Invest in the right technological advancements to help achieve success in the offshore oil and gas industry. When selecting Edge Computing, operations should consider the following:

• The edge computing platform is easy to install, deploy, and manage across applications and infrastructure.
• The Edge Computing platform protects your physical assets, data, and security, reducing operational and financial risks.
• The edge computing platform operates autonomously – at the edge – with continuous availability, even in the harshest offshore production environments.