Voyage of discovery

By Ben Thompson

Smart fields. Intelligent fields. E-fields. Whatever you call them, the hype surrounding the promise of the digital oilfield continues to flow like a newly tapped gusher. And in the Middle East, where oil and gas firms are only just starting to realise the opportunities to be had in maximising returns from existing reserves, the roll-out of digital oilfield solutions is increasingly being seen as a key way to optimise production and reduce operating costs.

“The power and communications infrastructure will be overhauled and the instrumentation in the pilot wells themselves will be enhanced.”

Of course, the concept of the digital oil field is nothing new. Major international oil companies - such as Shell with its Smart Fields programme, BP with its Fields of the Future and Saudi Aramco with its own intelligent fields initiative - have been pursuing the Holy Grail of the fully digitised field for much of the past 10 years, while the concept of using software, hardware, instrumentation, communications and engineering process improvements to assist with exploration and production activities has been around for decades. Yet despite the fact that the industry is projected to spend in excess of US$1 billion over the next five years on digital oilfield investments - not to mention hardware, software and affiliated services - many feel the benefits have yet to be fully appreciated or attained by the industry as a whole.

One company hoping to change that state of affairs is Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), which recently launched a company-wide transformation project centring around the application of digital oilfield technology and concepts aimed at giving it the capability to work collaboratively and make real-time decisions with a high degree of accuracy. The vision for the so-called Kuwait Integrated Digital Field programme is to make a step-change in how KOC operates in order to achieve radical business improvement, enhanced production and to create an environment where KOC staff can excel - one that gives them greater opportunities to develop and use their knowledge and skills.

"This project is not just about technology, but also about people," insists Dr. Adel Al-Abbassi, Head of Research and Technology at KOC and the mastermind behind the project. "We can have the best technology in the world in KOC, but if people do not feel engaged and empowered to use it, it will make no difference. KwIDF will enable our workforce to focus on delivering solutions in shorter reaction times to optimise production flows."

The pilot phase at the Sabriyah field in North Kuwait - one of KOC's most significant oil-producing assets - involves a range of world-class oilfield services companies, including Halliburton, Schlumberger, Weatherfield and BakerHughes, involved in developing and testing innovative solutions. With strong production potential, KOC aims to significantly increase output in the Sabriyah field by 2020 and has engaged Halliburton to manage the three-year pilot to establish the most innovative and effective integrated digital field solution for Sabriyah. The vision is to use digital oil field technology to provide a collaborative decision-making environment that utilises accurate and real-time decision support information for production optimisation, water injection management and reservoir management; the aim is to put an end to information overload, incomplete and often delayed data, and outmoded means of gathering and managing information from the fields.

Real-time information will be made available using the most advanced digital technology for downhole and surface data acquisition, automated analysis and visualisation. The result, explains Al-Abbassi, will be a futuristic system that allows for integration of the various assets' information, quick and accurate decision-making possibilities, and a more effective workforce that spends less time processing data and more time on solutions. "We want to maximise people's talent and we want to make them feel fulfilled," he says. "I believe that KwIDF will enable us to do that."

Infrastructure overhaul

To support the new system, the field infrastructure has been significantly upgraded. In addition to testing new technologies for surface and downhole data acquisition and a new SCADA system for the pilot wells, two 'smart well' completions are also being trialled for downhole monitoring and control. Designed by WellDynamics, the technology allows the operator to remotely choke back zones with high water cut without having to shut in the well, as well as to increase the oil rate and reduce water production. As such, the smart wells have the potential to provide additional oil production and reduce the load on facilities by reducing water production.

To support the new systems in both the pilot and the smart wells, the power and communications infrastructure will also be overhauled and the instrumentation in the pilot wells themselves will be enhanced, allowing for remote operation from the surface. Injection wells will also be modified in order to ensure real-time data gathering from the pressure transmitter upstream of the filter, the differential pressure transmitter across the filter, and the flow of water to the injector. "Implementing digital field technologies in a brownfield is always a challenge," says Al-Abbassi. "We had to do a lot of brainstorming and out-of-the-box thinking to get around these challenges with innovative and unique solutions."

As such, workflow processes will also be overhauled. Currently, KOC's reservoir engineers develop reservoir models based on data received from the various wells. The models are then used by the production and petroleum engineers to plan the most optimal means of production and, if needed, injection. Surface processing facilities are then designed by process engineers using the information from production. This all takes time. In the future, however, with automated work processes, a decision support system will shorten the observation-to-action cycle time and the workflow can be quickly altered as new information becomes available.

The project will then come together in four state-of-the-art 'collaboration centres', fed from the field, where teams will work together to solve problems and maximise returns. Al-Abbassi believes the installation of sophisticated technology to help process information from the downhole straight to the desktop will have a positive impact on the flow of information within the company - and also on the way people work. "It will free our talented teams in KOC to do what they are good at - make decisions that make a difference," he says. The centres will replace the current hierarchical system with a more communicative team environment where people with different skills and experience work together to produce optimal solutions. In addition, team members can learn from each other on a daily basis, thereby increasing the skill set of each individual employee as information and knowledge is quickly shared.

Technology in the new centres includes state-of-the-art workstations featuring a 'Pilot-in-Command' seating system with built in voice and HD video capabilities, 360-degree rotation for rapid clustering, fully mobile 'plug and play' connectivity, dual high-definition monitors and a high-definition touchscreen information wall featuring high-definition technology, curvature within the wall for enhanced visibility, a high-definition integrated audio/visual communication system, and touch pad smart boards embedded into the wall.

Transformational project

Khalid Al-Sumaiti, KOC's Deputy Managing Director for Exploration, Production and Development, believes the project will make KOC one of the leaders in implementing a fully integrated, real-time decision-making loop, and sees it as integral to building a new, transformed KOC. "It's a business imperative that we radically change how we work," he explains. "We need to break down barriers in the company between teams, departments and people at all levels. Collaboration is the future - making quick, accurate decisions will enable us to build a company that is responsive, forward thinking and a true leader. Although KwIDF is a pilot project, in reality it's a certainty that we have committed to and will not turn back from."

Indeed, Al-Sumaiti feels that the four cutting-edge collaboration centres KOC is building are just the beginning of what is possible with the new technology advances currently being made. "They will set the scene for what will become the new way of working in KOC," he says. "Such high-tech environments will require people to fundamentally change their behaviours and will also mean that we will have to re-evaluate and re-engineer our organisational structure. Moving from silos to collaboration is not easy, which is why we have put as much emphasis on supporting the change process as we have on installing the new technology."

As with any new technology there will inevitably be some resistance to change. Consequently, KOC is putting a strong focus on communicating the advantages to stakeholders in order to ensure their full acceptance and engagement, as well as ensure any implementation is sustainable. A large part of acceptance is in understanding the technology itself; by having the proper organisational systems in place to keep everyone informed, involved and educated, Al-Sumaiti hopes to effectively communicate the benefits of the project and drive greater user engagement with the new technology.

"There are many physical and mental barriers that stand in the way of future developments," he explains. "It's about how we all see our power base, our credibility, where we 'fit' in KOC and how we are rewarded for what we do. Fear and assumptions about the negative impact of any change is a powerful limiting factor. As we move forward, we will paint the future vividly and in a compelling way to ensure that everyone understands it, is excited by it and can see value for themselves as well as for KOC. We have also designed a process that will enable people to voice their opinions and concerns to make sure that everyone feels included and respected."

Al-Abbassi also understands that with change comes uncertainty and fear, which is why he has insisted that a major investment be made in helping people understand what's coming, contribute their ideas to make it better, and develop new skills to make it work. "We see change management and communications as central pillars to making KwIDF successful," he adds. "Consequently, people are and will be involved in a wide range of formal and informal meetings, training, and other events designed to support them in this process. We want them to enjoy the exciting journey and to own the solution."

Positive response

The project is certainly proving to be an inspiring model for KOC employees. Fuad Al-Shaikh, Team Leader for Production and Operations, is keen to see how such revolutionary smart field technology can help his team uncover hidden reserves and make life easier for his staff in terms of maximising production of existing wells. "We have an aggressive strategy to get every barrel of oil out of the ground," he says. "To my mind, smart field technology should be able to help us to get at least five percent more production, and if it can do that, that's serious added value."

With the KwIDF Sabriyah project covering 31 wells (about 10 percent of the field), he feels that the scope of the pilot should prove to be an interesting test-bed for further production gains. "I anticipate that it will help us uncover some of the mysteries of our field," he says. "We have a complicated field with three methods of lifting and some strange anomalies. For instance, we still don't know why production overnight can increase or decrease rapidly. We are not able to relate this to water injection, instrumentation or whatever. So I hope this technology can help us to figure out some of these issues so that we can find solutions that will add even more value."

Similarly Abdullah Al-Azmi, Team Leader for Water Handling, believes that the KwIDF pilot and follow-on implementation could make a huge difference to him in managing the critical issue of water handling. "If KwIDF brings us user-friendly data about well behaviour that is intelligently analysed and clearly presented, I will be delighted," he grins. "We don't have time to wade through complex data - we are busy operators and need critical data points extracted and presented in a way that we can get to quickly. There is a huge amount of information currently available in various systems, but it's not easily accessible and is not integrated. To be able to use it we need to sift through what's relevant and make all the connections ourselves - this is hugely time-consuming and takes us away from solving the issues that are causing a lot of pain."

The KwIDF project hopes to alleviate such pain points for KOC project teams by focusing on greater information sharing and collaboration between the various stakeholders. Improving the safety of operators and other field staff will be just one area to benefit. "We value the health and wellbeing of our staff above everything and see this new technology and approach as greatly enhancing HSE, amongst other things," explains Al-Sumaiti. "Well-checkers, for example, will not have to visit the wells as often as they currently do, braving the fierce heat of the summer or losing time because it is dangerous to drive into the desert in the dark. Instead, they will be able to operate from state-of-the-art collaboration centres and do their jobs more effectively and safely as a result. KwIDF will enable us to do more, expanding our business and deploying people in more effective ways".

Al-Sumaiti hopes that breaking down the digital and organisational silos - achieving federation between many types of databases, applications and workgroups - will empower the workforce to see the big picture for each asset and to make fully informed decisions. "There is a huge amount of knowledge and experience in KOC and we need to find champions of this mindset change from within our ranks," he concludes. "These young people will become the leaders of tomorrow - innovating and ensuring that KOC gets rid of outmoded practices, leverages all this investment and establishes a powerful collaborative culture. Isolation must become a thing of the past. The future belongs to the next generation and we all have a responsibility to build it."

Integrated operations value proposition

Realistic hard benefit potential of KwIDF

Ultimate reservoir recovery increase: 3-5%

Well production rate increase: 3-10%

Lift efficiency improvements: 5-10%

Decrease in lost production: 2-5%

Field personnel staffing decreased: 10-30%

Maintenance/workover cost reduction: 15-20%

Reduced energy usage: 15-20%

Time to first oil reduction: up to 50%

Major facilities cost reduction: up to 50%

Courtesy: Strategic Decision Sciences

Field of dreams

IDC's Catherine Madden reveals three vital factors in developing the next generation oil field.

While the digital oil field has essentially been around for 50 years, it is only now that the fundamental objectives of the concept - enhancing reservoir recoverability and optimising production - have evolved to a point that people are looking at the digital oil field as a way to run all operations from exploration to the refinery, incorporating standardisation and process integration. "Digital oil field efforts have essentially resulted in a positive impact on reservoir recoverability, production rates and total cost of ownership and those numbers probably vary from company to company depending on their strategy and the level of investment they have made," explains Catherine Madden, Research Analyst for IDC's Energy Insights. "Reductions of cost and improvements in productivity are possible, and many large oil companies such as Shell and Chevron have reported the same in relation to implementing a digital oil field strategy."

But while many of the largest oil companies have a program in place to support the digital oil field, many are still looking at how to accelerate it. Madden believes that the top priority remains the same - namely, hydrocarbon extraction. However, she says that a critical link in the digital oil field remains the human element. "Initially there was much attention placed on technology as the means for companies to solve their problems, optimise the exploration and production processes and improve the ROI; there wasn't much attention paid to the role of people and processes in achieving those objectives. But now I think the top objective is to sustainably support the development of a holistic digital oil field strategy - and that includes not only technology as a tool to aid that process, but also the teams of people that do the work, as well as the different business processes that are associated with exploration and production."

In essence, companies that wish to accelerate their digital oil field will be required to understand the equation that permits the right balance between technology, people and processes. Madden insists these three objectives need to be lined up together as opposed to implementing technology alone, and goes on to explain that while the importance of this equation is slowly being recognised, she sees room for improvement in many areas, including the degree of human involvement in the process of exploration and production. "Some of the changes we're seeing include looking at workflows and what can be automated. We're talking about the integration of technology across distinct areas - so integrating more processes between exploration and production, for example. I think we're currently talking about things like project management portfolios when essentially we should be looking at the entire value chain and allowing for as much integration and as much collaboration across that value chain as possible. And when I talk about the value chain, I'm really talking about everything from the moment exploration begins, through the process of drilling until the point you finally recover it and deliver it to its refinery source."

Madden goes on to explain that each of the three main factors - people, processes and technology - will play a major role in the next generation digital oil field. Indeed, as each facet of these factors improves, so too will the digital oil field itself. On the technology side for example, Madden expects to see an increased use of sensors, as well as a continued improvement in high performance computing. "I also think remote visualization and service orientated architecture are going to continue to grow within virtualisation; communications that allow collaboration and even communications around security will be important too," she says. "Technology that aids collaboration is going to continue, and while it's already playing an important role, it's going to become critical that you can share information - not just using email, but maybe working in a virtual room together or using virtual technology to look at the same document together and make changes to it, or using a virtual whiteboard to point out certain things you want changed."