S08 ORME 4 2021 Baker Hughes interview_Layout 1 29/06/2021 12:22 Page 32
Technology
Addressing data challenges in the
midstream sector How would you describe the current state of oil and gas midstream technology challenges today? On my last trip to Abu Dhabi, I came across one of the best descriptions that describes the technology challenges facing the overall oil and gas sector, including those that specialise in the midstream value chain: “The digital transformation of oil and gas companies has been largely piecemeal and focused on improving efficiencies for very specific applications.” While there are certainly valuecreation opportunities in this type of approach, it is hard (or impossible) to scale it. For example, one of the most important exercises in the oil and gas sector is the characterisation of production reservoirs. For this activity, some of the most advanced analytics and visual characterisation technologies are employed to define and contextualise them. For the midstream value chain, this approach is often replicated in a variety of very specific applications – schedulers, blend management and custody transfers to name a few – that are purpose built for managing the storage and transportation of petrochemicals. On the other end of the spectrum, a large degree of field assets in the midstream storage, transport and financial settlement process are managed through manual processes. And herein lie the two principle challenges facing oil and gas midstream operators. One, while the purpose-built applications work, these solutions often function as stand-alone applications generating data that is specific and isolated to one application. And two, for the field assets that are not enabled to log
The digital transformation of oil and gas companies has been largely piecemeal.”
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Issue 4 2021
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Saul Zambrano, global industry director, energy and utilities digital transformation leader at Software AG, discusses how midstream operators can make the best use of their data to optimise their processes.
Midstream operators face a number of data-related challenges.
and record data, there is no data generation. Without access to quality data, it is very difficult to optimise production decisions through advanced analytical capabilities, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). For the first challenge associated with purpose-built solutions, what are the important considerations on accessing the data that they generate and capture? While purpose-built solutions will always have a key role in supporting midstream operations, there is one key technology capability that all leading oil and gas operators need to develop to support their digital transformation plans. They need a world-class application integration capability that allows them to not only access any data pool but, just as importantly, provide them with the ability to move the data where it can best be used in a timely fashion by production engineers, data
scientists and plant managers. A significant use case is from one of the state-owned oil companies of the region which is also one of the few that are ahead of the digitalisation curve. The outcome of the deployment benefited the company through data synchronisation by connecting dots between applications across all partners and operating companies via a unified layer of common framework and standards. As a key business objective of the firm is to integrate for internal and external purposes, this implementation increased the effectiveness and efficiency of services delivered by the company and its subsidiaries, giving it a distinctive competitive advantage. They further have the option to scale it up horizontally and vertically. With this truly cloud enabled platform, the organisation is able to adapt cloud technologies and move gradually to cloud without jeopardising the security or quality of services.
