Abstract
The oil and gas industry has long faced obstacles surrounding 4-D characteristics that make staffing offshore and other remote locations a challenge: dangerous, dirty, distant and dull. And the industry is producing more real-time data—about asset health, operations, production—than ever before. Companies are discovering a powerful one-two punch to effectively manage these challenges: Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to manage and monitor operations, and remote integrated operations centers to consolidate expertise, increasingly including support from third parties.
With this combination, data and analysis now accessible anywhere in the world, not just on site, and not just accessible to company personnel. This tech combo makes it possible for companies to anticipate and address issues remotely, before they become problems. The industry has at its fingertips priceless information that can help it achieve top quartile performance.
Methods, Procedures, Process: Companies are leveraging the Industrial IoT to connect the right people, with the right data, to prescribe the right improvement actions, anywhere in the world. This approach is being successfully implemented from small projects to one of the world's largest offshore processing vessels operating from an integrated operations center 2,000 kilometers away. To achieve this takes more than data; without the correct software or personnel with domain expertise to identify trends and prevent issues, these assets are producing an endless stream of numbers that provide little business value. This is too often the case: A recent IndustryWeek survey found that while 60 percent of manufacturers are testing Industrial IoT, fewer than 1 in 20 are investing with a clear business case.
Through remote monitoring software and analytics, coupled with either in-house or external experts, the unending stream of numbers become actionable instructions that can be accessed and acted upon from anywhere in the world. Once data is generated, experts can analyze and make adjustments to prevent unplanned downtime, improve asset health and enhance safety. And because remote monitoring solutions are customized, companies can turn to scalable options to pilot the technology.
Results, Observations, Conclusion: Remote monitoring technologies can have a significant impact on operations, and it doesn't take long to see the impact. Companies see a return on investment on either internal remote monitoring deployments, or use of external experts quickly.
In addition, remote monitoring can significantly reduce unscheduled downtime—a scourge for companies already running at capacity. In today's world, best in class facilities operate at upwards of 97 percent availability, and any shutdown can translate into millions of dollars lost in downtime.
Novel / Additive Information: In this presentation, attendees will hear about proven Industrial IoT strategies and how the oil and gas industry has leveraged them to their advantage.
