Extracting insights from geophysical data, drilling logs, production rates and operational parameters like drilling speeds can help company managers make more accurate decisions and operate their businesses more efficiently. According to a report from Bain & Company, data analytics could increase fuel production by between 6% and 8%.
Large oil and gas companies have moved fastest to improve their data collection and analysis capabilities. Chevron developed its Digital Oil Field System, which includes real-time well and facility surveillance and production tracking. Its competitor Royal Dutch Shell employs about 70 people in a data analytics department, along with hundreds of contractors worldwide.
Yet many of the 24,000 other oil and gas producers don’t have the manpower or resources to set up their own data analytics teams. Some are turning to the growing number of data services firms, like RS Energy Group, that offer an alternative to in-house expertise.
RS Energy Group provides a wide array of data analytics tools, including machine learning algorithms and geological models for oil and gas companies and investors to evaluate their operations, follow M&A activity and survey the energy market.
RS Energy Group was recently purchased by another data services provider, Enverus, in February. Both companies have reported a dramatic increase in client activity as investors and operators look to use data analytics tools and services in the wake of the oil sell-off and coronavirus demand crunch.
Many energy companies are also tapping into artificial intelligence and machine learning to manage back office systems, flag fraud and billing errors, and help companies convert to paperless workplaces.
Another way to benefit from data is through predictive analytics. Data collected from sensors fitted to machines can be analyzed to prevent damage and breakdowns, reducing repair costs and downtime. Cognite, an industrial data company based in Norway, offers a product called Cognite Data Fusion that gathers data to monitor parts used for drilling, pumping and refining. It can identify needed repairs before those components break down.
Cognite is implementing 3D modeling, robotics and photogrammetry— extracting spatial information from photographs—to make work processes more efficient and safer. In February, the company partnered with Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP to explore the use of robotics systems. It will deploy Spot, the four-legged robotic dog that Boston Dynamics designed for managing remote operations and autonomous sensing across multiple industries.
Francois Laborie, Cognite’s president of North American operations, expects energy companies in the future to use robots to collect production data remotely.
Harnessing existing data that was difficult to access is merely the first step for the oil and gas industry. Laborie predicts the next phase of data innovation will involve collection systems that operate without human intervention, known as “autonomous data,” to offer even greater insights for oil and gas operators.
“The next generation of systems will be about analyzing and optimizing the full asset or ecosystem,” Laborie says. “The insights provided on the operations open a huge range of opportunities, from safety to optimization and, of course, asset performance management.”
