Abstract
If a brand-new oilfield product or service becomes widely used in less than a decade, that's fast. The fact is that the petroleum industry is one of the most conservative when it comes to adopting new technology. This paper proposes and describes the use of a capability adoption index to benchmark and measure the development and adoption level of oilfield systems with real-time capability.
The capability adoption index is a tool for measuring and managing the advance of real-time technology in the industry. The application tracks incremental change and provides a roadmap for technology development and adoption. There are three main reasons for deploying systems with real-time capability. First is the growing shortage of skilled professionals. Second is the need to operate in harsh or environmentally sensitive regions, where monitoring and controlling operations from a distance can improve safety and limit the environmental footprint. The third driver is that systems that feed back data in real time may increase production by allowing operators to respond quickly to changing conditions in the well.
The 10-level index provides a bigger picture of the maturity of real-time technologies within the global market. The different levels of technology adoption are illustrated both for geographic areas and for different services. The roadmap towards autonomous automation provides more efficiency and profits for the operating company. For service companies, the ability to drill, test, operate, and control wells with real-time capability helps maintain the quality of service delivery. It creates more efficiency for people and systems.
In the industry's journey toward autonomous automation, the significance of the index is a measurement allowing companies to look back at their progress, manage change, and plan the road ahead.
