{"id":18275,"date":"2018-09-17T14:51:27","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T18:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=18275"},"modified":"2019-01-16T16:41:21","modified_gmt":"2019-01-16T21:41:21","slug":"3-digital-oilfield-trends-to-watch-at-gastech-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2018\/09\/17\/3-digital-oilfield-trends-to-watch-at-gastech-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"3 \u201cDigital Oilfield\u201d trends to watch at Gastech 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Four years ago, I stood in the centralized data command center of an American oil and gas company, watching a former colleague remotely adjust infrastructure at wellsites thousands of miles away because an algorithm detected a potential failure. This was the first time I personally witnessed the power of the \u201cdigital oilfield<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Essentially, the \u201cdigital oilfield\u201d refers to a transformative effort to bring solutions such as automation, predictive maintenance, and IoT technologies to the world\u2019s oil and gas industry. Oilfield digitization has started to change the way decisions are made, operations are conducted, and facilities are managed across the entire oil and gas value chain. While early adopters are already employing automated and connected innovations to gain a competitive advantage, only a few are applying digitization technologies to address one of the industry\u2019s biggest challenges:\u00a0methane<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, this is starting to change\u2014because despite a contentious political environment in the United States with the current Administration\u2019s attempts to\u00a0dramatically weaken methane emissions standards<\/a>\u2014the opportunities surrounding digital methane management are unprecedented and global, and both the bottom line and the environment can benefit. That\u2019s something that everyone along the oil and gas value chain can get behind.<\/p>\n

As\u00a0Gastech gets underway in Barcelona<\/a>\u00a0this week, here are three oilfield digitization trends I\u2019m watching.<\/p>\n

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  1. Methane management is ripe for digital transformation<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The global oil and gas industry loses $34 billion a year in leaked, vented and flared methane. This not only contributes to climate change, but also poses a reputational risk for the oil and gas industry, which is betting on the role of natural gas in a decarbonizing world. \u00a0While\u00a0momentum to reduce methane emissions is building<\/a> through industry commitments<\/a>,\u00a0innovation challenges<\/a>, and\u00a0sensible regulations<\/a>, an underlying problem remains: the way we manage methane today is labor intensive and inefficient.<\/p>\n

    The same year I observed the command center of an American oil and gas company, I spent months shadowing lease operator routes across the United States\u2014and was shocked at the amount of data still captured via paper and pencil.<\/p>\n

    In the field, operators search for methane leaks using handheld optical gas imaging cameras and portable analyzers. These technologies, while highly effective at identifying and quantifying leaks, take time to deploy and expose operators to myriad hazards and safety risks.<\/p>\n

    This \u201cboots on the ground\u201d approach remains the way of doing business, despite\u00a0exciting growth<\/a> in the methane detection and sensors space.<\/p>\n

    In a recent survey<\/a>, 40 percent of senior industry professionals said they believe digital tools and technologies have already improved oilfield safety in just the past three years. Transitioning to digital methane management would not only improve worker safety, but also allow us to shift from just finding leaks once they\u2019ve started to preventing them from occurring in the first place.<\/p>\n

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    1. Digitization makes great business sense<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u00a0<\/strong>According to\u00a0a report by June Warren-Nickle\u2019s Energy Group<\/a>, GE and Accenture, \u201cmany Digital Oilfield technologies are field proven and already paying dividends for early adopters, offering not only improved efficiencies and cost savings but additional benefits in areas such as health and safety and environmental compliance.\u201d For example:<\/p>\n