In the field of communications, specifically real time data management and interface tools, the landscape has changed a lot in the last ten years. This article highlights the development and implementation of the Production Operations Support Center (POSC) in Kazakhstan and details the application of several new technological advances, improving the way we operate to produce hydrocarbons safely and effectively.

The POSC has been built in Atyrau based on the industry leading guidelines on Collaborative Work Environment, which is a forum created to integrate people, processes, technology and facility for improved cross-functional and virtual collaboration, learning and high quality decision-making. This setup allows the company to maximize the available knowledge and operational knowhow between locations, minimizes the duplication of work streams by providing each team with the same "data" information stream at the same time and encourages collaboration in order to analyze process, rotating, corrosion and flow assurance issues as an integrated team. In this way the company can make more effective use of resources which ultimately results in a safe and stable production asset. POSC has already justified its value during Kashagan Start-Up Operations on 24/7stand-by duty with engineering support from the office.

Kashagan is a large green field development in the Northern Caspian Sea covering an area of 75 km in length, 45 km in width at about 5km in depth. The geographical, logistical and environmental challenges make Kashagan one of the most complex projects in the world, requiring state of the art technologies in most of its aspects in order to maximize value for the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In order to provide this important center, POSC project team has delivered an integrated solution of functional communications hardware, across our different locations, supporting software including Real Time surveillance, lean process flow mapping, together with the development of local staff capabilities to ensure value creation and maximization.

Keywords:
production operation support center, Upstream Oil & Gas, brownfield location, CWE implementation, CWE, information, knowledge management, infrastructure, spe intelligent energy conference, collaborative working environment
Subjects:
Professionalism, Training, and Education, Information Management and Systems, Communities of practice, Knowledge management
Copyright 2014, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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