FINAL WORD
Digital Twins in the Oil and Gas Industry By Kranthi Kumar Buddha, acuvate A digital twin is a virtual copy of the physical on-field asset, such as pumps,
Data simulations and analytics, integrated within digital twins, examine current
compressors, turbines, and pipelines.
workflows, help in pre-deployment planning and workflow analysis, and provide
For the concept of digital twins to work, it is vital to have updated, real-time
workable alternatives to production processes when problems arise.
operational data around assets. While cloud computing, advanced analytics, and AI have brought about significant transformation in the industry, a digital
4. Optimization of production through digital twins
twin is of no use without access to a centralized data repository that contains
Digital twins help optimize oil and gas production by providing data insights
all asset-related information.
across five different stages, namely:
Building a digital twin is an algorithmic process. For starters, a 3D model
Organization and execution of the computerized maintenance management
is created and then tagged with all necessary information, such as layout,
system (CMMS)
geometry, schematics, engineering, and design information that has been
Improvement in asset reliability
collected from disparate sources. This common data set is shared across
Manage information configuration
various departments, including engineering, procurement, and operations.
Optimize operational insights
As the digital asset is updated automatically with all current operational
Lifelong asset maintenance and management (evergreen digital twins)
and maintenance data, an operator can easily search the data tag and bring up the latest work information on asset health and performance. Failures or production outages at this stage are addressed early, thus ensuring preventative rather than reactive maintenance, prolonging asset life, and decreasing maintenance costs in the process.
Intelligent asset management involves getting data from multiple data sources, including SCADA, remote sensing, subsurface surveillance data, etc., thus involving the integration between internal and external systems and back-office operations.
1. Oil field monitoring and predictive maintenance
Physical asset management through digital twins, therefore, not only requires
As discussed above, by identifying issues beforehand, digital twins help in
real-time maintenance but measuring asset performance under various “what-
predictive asset maintenance, thus reducing unplanned downtimes and
if” scenarios. Moreover, it minimizes the cost associated with traveling to and
optimizing the cost of maintenance.
from the field to
Predictive analytics leverages digital twins to monitor on-field equipment
Rockwell partnered with Microsoft’s IoT services to proactively manage its oil
performance and create unique asset signatures that include information such
and gas assets. Rockwell uses the IoT platform to monitor the variable speed
as ambient and operational conditions and past loading.
motors of its pumps from its command center in Ohio. The company can then
Real-time data is then compared to these models to identify any deviations in
proactively identify issues in real-time, saving up to $300,000 of production
patterns and early-warning notifications, preventing major breakdowns and
per day a malfunctioning pump could otherwise cost.
ensuring reliability in operations.
2. Modeling real-life drilling scenarios to determine equipment feasibility
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5. Data integration for intelligent asset management
6. Maintaining tacit enterprise knowledge using digital twins. The average age of employees in the O&G industry is 56 years, and they will be
Digital twins help model real-life drilling scenarios to determine the feasibility
eligible for retirement in the next decade, thus threatening the industry with a
of equipment. By watching out for potential issues and problems, operators
critical skills shortage.
can enhance equipment efficiency and reduce well construction costs.
By maintaining a centralized repository of asset information, the concept
Digital twins also enhance geothermal drilling activities and reduce overall well
of digital twins helps achieve operational efficiency and reduce the cost of
construction time while augmenting scheduled rig moves, well services, etc.
operations by eliminating the need for hiring costly personnel.
3. Conducting dynamic simulations to arrive at optimal production workflows
7. Increased workplace safety
Digital simulations help enhance “run-the-simulation” processes, helping workflow
tags help monitor workforce activities, track operator location, create awareness of
designers identify where and how things should go before they are physically deployed.
workforce fatigue, and get access to critical information on the plant floor.
Smart wearable IoT devices such as smart watches, biometric vests, and Bluetooth
