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Petroleum Experts

The Digital Oil Field

The Digital Oil Field

When we talk of the digital oil field what

do we mean?

The Digital Oil Field captures the behaviour of the oil fieldon the PC, with its applications being an on‐line managementsystem of the oil and gas company’s assets throughout theirentire lifecycle.

The Petroleum Experts’ digital oil field technology providesan enterprise-level, vendor-neutral approach to visualisinginformation, enabling rational decisions to be madethrough using models, workflows and data within an multi-disciplinary organisation of diverse capabilities andengineering skill sets.

Core elements of the Petroleum Experts’

Digital Oil Field:

Visualisation - This provides a coherent view of an oil field,integrating data sets, including the engineering models,production, economics, with visualisation capability in anorganised way. Benefiting from the power of a single assetand data model, the visual screens are upgraded andextended automatically with a push of a button as the oilfield develops.

Engineering and Business Management Logic - The tasksand procedures, i.e. workflows, that the teams carry out to monitor, operate, optimise and develop the field can be automated through a layer of logic - business andengineering workflows. This establishes common best

practices across the global organisation using standardworkflows, that are out-of-the-box best-practice proceduresfor field surveillance, optimisation, diagnostics, allocationand forecasting. Custom workflows can be easy added tothe logic layer by the user. The automation of standardtasks, frees the engineering and management teams toconcentrate on the added-value activities.

Organisation and Auditing - Alignment of the teams,processes and the technology are core to any successfuldigital oil field implementation. A single repository of themodels, data and information for a field allows theorganisation to develop a consistent and coherent view oftheir asset. This common official field representation, thevirtual field, records an auditable history of the field over its life. The use of a centralised model and data cataloguecan help break down a "siloed" view of single technicaldisciplines. Moreover, storing the field events and recordingthe decisions is the foundation for engineering knowledgecapture, required for an "expert" system.

Data Management - Today, the instrumented fields have a huge volume of measurements coming from wells andequipment sensors – often millions of data points from onefield, per minute. Making the relevant measurement anddata (validated measurements) available at the frequencyrequired, necessitates sophisticated data storage,management, cleansing and filtering of the data, suitablefor the required tasks. A scalable, upgradable andextensible data technology has to be at the heart ofeffective long-term data management, hence productisingof the data management through a single-asset data modelis a fundamental.

The Virtual Field - This is a physical representation of thefield through a set of models, i.e. mathematicalrepresentations of each component of the field - fromreservoir, production and injection network and wells, tothe process, economics and planning tools. These multi-vendor sets of steady and transient models are dynamicallylinked as an Integrated Production Model to represent andcapture the current field response, as well optimise fieldproduction and run forecasts.

Visualisation of field data, analysis, trends at all levels in real time

The Structure of the Digital Oil Field

Historically, Petroleum Experts pioneered the integrated

production modelling and management. Today, the direction is to put theseintegrated models under a digital oil field system in order to diagnose, validate and - mostimportantly - optimise the field production automatically using real-time data.

This concept was developed as a product as opposed to a project, allowing very short timeof deployment, upgrade as well as scale up. Automatic data model, automaticmanagement and auditing of models as well as intelligent data gathering allow theengineers to focus on the added-value activities. The system also supports the distributionof best practices across the enterprise through the use of workflows.

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Visualisation - Digital Oil Field

Scalable Visualisation technology by Petroleum Experts

supports multiple windows — everything from virtual

reality to spreadsheets, teleconferences and the handheld

phone — all driven by the familiar interface. Using the

technology is just like operating a PC but achieving an

overall operational visibility on a massive scale. Scalable

desktop display systems can be easily integrated with the

users’ existing network infrastructure, allowing

information sharing between remote sites. This enables

workgroups and international teams to be more

productive by allowing them to work collaboratively.

The visualisation layer is a standalone product, bringingtogether the data, information and results from multiple datasources.

Petex have set three fundamental criteria in developingDigital Oil Field technology (DOF). The underlying field, typesof model and information (data) is evolving overtime, hence itis fundamental the DOF products deliver the following:

Maintainability of the real-time system - e.g. how do weadd equipment - a well - to the digital system as the field isdeveloped. This should be straightforward and not requirePetex's or another vendor's time to update and maintain fieldsystem and tags - the asset model. Add equipment aspropagate from the asset model to the visualisation layer at “a push of a button”.

Scalability - one field has 10 wells and one reservoir, anotherwill have a 100 to 1000 wells and multiple reservoirs. Can thesystem be deployed easily to tens of fields per year or are welimited by resources - skilled people, i.e. can a real-timesystem be implemented in days or weeks, rather than manymonths or years? The Petex Digital Oil Field suite are“products” and can be deployed and configured in days,even for large fields and systems.

Upgradability of the system - can the client upgrade at “a push of a button” the Digital Oil Field System with a newsoftware version or add tools and capabilities? A system thatcannot be easily upgraded will become obsolete very soon.

Key Performance indicators (KPIs)

The Collaboration Centre

Visualisation create value, linking operations, studies groups, management

as part of global multi-disciplinary organisation using consistent information

Visualisation of field data, analysis, trends at all levels in real time

The Role of the Visualisation System

The visualisation layer is the “face” of the Digital Oil Field, which requires theunderlying engineering logic, data management and models to allow the organisation to effectively monitor, manage and operate the field. It provides a coherent view of an oilfield, integrating data sets, including the engineering, production, economic, with

visualisation capability in an organised way. With visualisation technology, data and resultsare exposed to engineers, operators, managers and any other “users” of the system invisual formats, which can be easily configured. 5

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Engineering and Business Management Logic

The Petroleum Experts’ digital oil field technology

provides an enterprise-level, vendor-neutral approach to

visualising information, enabling rational decisions to be

made through use of models, workflows and data

within a multi-disciplinary organisation of diverse

capabilities and engineering skill sets.

In reaching its targets, the modern oil and gas industry facechallenges to manage assets in conventional fields andunlock the potential previously considered non-economic.The industry faces challenges in: supporting fielddevelopments with functional specialists remote from theasset and operations; demographics of its ageingworkforce; more data/information to process; largeuncertainties with the billion-dollar new developments; anda shortage of skilled professionals. Information andknowledge is often not shared, which can create competingand at times contradictory demands.

The Digital Oil Field technology of Petroleum Experts isdesigned to provide the field and model managementactivities under one platform as standard out-of-the-boxworkflows. By automating the model management updatesusing the real-time data and operational information, theengineers are able to spend their time primarily on added-value activities and analysis while allowing the DOFplatform to process the data and workflows. The workflowswill report the results, exceptions and any technicalrecommendations for the engineer to further analyse.

The standard activities (workflows) for all oil and gas fields are:

• Understand how the field is performing (field

surveillance): production system surveillance; reservoir surveillance;

• Improve field performance (optimisation): short-term and/or long-term optimisation;

• Predict how the field will behave under different conditions (“what if” scenarios and forecasting): field development analysis; business planning; life of field forecast; sensitivity plus uncertainties analysis.

The Petroleum Experts DOF technology provides a platformfor executing model-based workflows, including: modelmanagement, rate estimation, model-based surveillanceand diagnostics, allocation, optimisation, forecasting, customclient- or asset-specific workflows as defined by the user.

Petroleum Experts’ Integrated Field Management approachis productised. The whole system becomes completelysupportable by the client’s company after implementationavoiding the delays and costs associated with internal orexternal consultants. The technology is completely scalable,since it creates automatically data model objects, which, inturn means that when a new well or equipment is createdthese are automatically reflected across the whole system.Moreover, any upgrade is achieved at “a push of a button”,which migrates the databases and installs the executableswithout losing any of the previous configurations.

The standard logic for model

updates, optimisation, well rate

allocation and forecasting

Real-time calculations logic using real-time data, measurements and models to calculate resultsMonitoring the operating point of equipment in real time (ESP)

Real Time Field Management Through Standard Workflows

Engineering and Business Management Logic – The tasks and procedures, i.e.workflows, that the teams carry out to monitor, operate, optimise and develop the field can be automated through a layer of logic - business and engineering workflows.This establishes common best practices across the global organisation using standard

workflows, that are out-of-the-box best-practice procedures for field surveillance,optimisation, diagnostics, allocation and forecasting. Custom workflows can be easilyadded to the logic layer by the user. The automation of standard tasks, frees theengineering and management teams to concentrate on the added-value activities.

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To manage and operate a field, Petroleum Experts

developed suite of modelling tools, which are the best-

in-class and recognised by the oil and gas industry as its’

global standard. These tools carry out the calculations

required to diagnose, analyse, model, allocate and

optimise the production, using robust engineering,

fluids and physical models. The Petroleum Experts IPM

suite can be integrated with third party applications,

including the main industry reservoir and process

simulators, as well as other transient and steady state

technology.

Summary of the IPM suite of tools:RESOLVE is an advanced engineering studies toolintegrating models with events, scheduling, scenarios thatcan be launched on standalone PCs or on computer clusters. The underlying IPM or third party models: the reservoir(s),producers and injectors, surface gathering network, processand economics; are integrated through RESOLVE. The PVTcan be black oil to fully compositional, where proprietarylumping-delumping techniques are used. RESOLVE alsoprovides the fastest and most advanced global optimisationtechniques found in the industry.

GAP is a multiphase oil and gas non-linear optimiser toolthat models the surface gathering network of fieldproduction and injection systems. Linked with the wellmodels of PROSPER and reservoir models of MBAL (orsimulators via RESOLVE), a full field productionoptimisation and forecast are run. GAP can modelproduction systems containing oil, gas and condensate, inaddition to gas or water injection systems.

PROSPER is for modelling well performance, well designand optimisation for most types well configurations foundin the worldwide oil and gas industry today.

MBAL is the analytical reservoir model, which helps theengineer better define reservoir drive mechanisms andhydrocarbon volumes. MBAL contains the classical reservoirengineering tool and has redefined the use of materialbalance in modern reservoir engineering.

REVEAL is a specialised study reservoir simulation model for understanding more complex physical phenomena ofwell and reservoir response accounting for the thermal, geo-mechanics and chemistry effects.

PVTP is a tool for the production or reservoir engineer to use to predict the effect of process conditions on thecomposition of hydrocarbon mixtures with accuracy andspeed. The compositional behaviour of complex mixturesincluding gas mixtures, gas condensates, retrogradecondensates, volatile oils and black oils as well as flowassurance can be interpreted and predicted with confidence.

OpenServer is the open standard protocol to run any IPM

application from the outside or as part of a third party tool.

The Virtual Field

Modelling: from reservoir all the way to the process The IPM suite

The IPM and Third Party Engineering Modelling Tools

Petroleum Experts’ Integrated Production Modelling suite (IPM) is deployed on itsown or as part of set of multi-vendor modelling applications that capture the fullcharacteristics and response of the field, the Virtual Field. Having a model of the field is a prerequisite for implementing the “Digital Oil Field”. The IPM suite is the industrystandard with most international oil and gas companies.

The Virtual Field - This is a physical representation of the field through a set of models,i.e. mathematical representations of each component of the field - from reservoir,production and injection network and wells, to the process, economics and planning tools.

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The Organisation

The overall objective of a company or an asset team isgenerally clear, i.e. the commercial and technical drivers are understood. However, an individual or a particular set oftechnical discipline may often have a limited view andunderstanding of the field reality to make the correctdecisons. The correct information is often not readilyavailable.

The diagram below illustrates in a simplistic way ofaddressing the challenges to successfully implement thedigital oil field.

Through implementing the Digital Oil Field structure set outin these pages, the managed environment of common datamanagement, model management, standard workflowsand a visualisation system will provide the technicalframework - this is the enabler - to allow the organisationto better analyse, manage and operate their field.

Model Management and auditing - Model Catalogue:

The single view, the Virtual Field, composed on theengineering models, reports, spread-sheets and associateddata when stored in a central repository and, mostimportantly being updated and maintained as the field isdeveloped and produces, will facilitate a clearerunderstanding and awareness of the field. PetroleumExperts describes this repository as the ModelCatalogue:

• Provides controlled access to the individual models, reports, data and even schematics (different privileges, according to the engineers’ roles);

• Ensures only one engineer can perform changes to the ‘official’ model at a given time;

• Ensures seamless sharing of models; • Keeps track of the evolution of all models versus time

and provides access to historical version - if required - in an automated way;

• Provides seamless access to any on-line system, which will be consuming these models to carry out calculations;

• Keeps track of who and why performed changes (for auditing and knowledge base development);

• Allows the association of models with their corresponding input data to keep both models and context data related. For example, the PVT reports, Well and Equipment Drawings, deviations surveys and other documents can be kept catalogued within the same Model Management System.

Knowledge Capture

Engineering know-how and experience are of paramountimportance for the oil and gas companies. The growingscarcity of experienced workers is creating an experiencegap that Integrated Field Management technology mayhelp to bridge. Capturing the “expert knowledge” in anorganised and structured manner and supportingcollaboration reliably and securely in real time becomes one of the viable channels to increase productivity and fuela company’s ability to grow. The “expert knowledge”capture within the Petroleum Experts’ DOF philosophy issupported by introduction of individuals’ experience intoworkflows and analysis.

The technology described has proven to be a powerful“enabler” - a catalyst - to create the organisational thinkingand transparency to allow the implementation of thesuccessful digital oil field vision.

The combined engagement of the organisationsmanagement, at all levels, as well as the asset teammembers will ensure actions are transparent, knowledge isshared and decisions are made with all the availableinformation. This will create value.

Common Model and Data Source

A Data Structure for the ModelCatalogue An Organisation: Alignment is a Challenge

The engagement of the organisation is critical

Organisation and Auditing – Alignment of the teams, processes and the technology arecore to any successful digital oil field implementation. A single repository of the models,data and information for a field allows the organisation to develop a consistent andcoherent view of their asset. This common official field representation, the virtual field,

records an auditable history of the field over its life. The use of a centralised model anddata catalogue can help break down the “siloed” views of single technical disciplines.Moreover, storing the field events and recording the decisions made is the foundation forengineering knowledge capture, required for an “expert” system.

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The Petroleum Experts’ Digital Oil Field (DOF)

technology enables the transformation of the myriad

of different types of data using standard industry

applications alongside the Petex tools as will be needed

by the DOF system described in this document.

Data Management, as part of the digital oil field, hasseveral key components:

• The historians, databases and data storages all designed to store the real time, as well as operational and associated static data, files and information for the asset;

• The production data management system (PDMS);• The data-processing layer provides filtered and partially

processed data to the users.

The Historian and Production Data Management System

There are a number of historian and PDMS systems in theindustry, which capture raw data, process and storeinformation, provide corporate allocation, etc. as well assupplying varying levels data processing, cleansing andfiltering. In the context of the DOF, a sophisticated level ofdata cleansing and data filtering is deployed by Petex toanalyse raw data, capture the meaningful field events andprovide meaningful correctly representative filteredinformation.

Data Filtering and Cleansing

The filtering methodology developed by Petex uses aunique proprietary, as well as the more common publishedfiltering methodologies. Petex’s proprietary methodprovides more sophisticated filtering, using the raw data,physical model responses and “expert” system to detectchanges and hence rationalise data, based on event-drivenactivities and trends, as illustrated below, right.

To detect field events, e.g. equipment performancechanges, or to trigger valid alarms,may require raw data to be analysedat a later time, evaluating historicaltrends and the physical models todetermine if something has happenedor changed. This is smart filtering.This robust data filtering solutioninterprets the multitude of datastreams to ensure the relevant datais supplied to enable decision-making:

High Frequency Data (e.g.measurements coming from thefield, including current fieldconditions, field equipmentperformance, etc.) enables: alarmmonitoring, event detection andwell test analysis.

Low Frequency Data is used forthe Physical Models and to supportprocessing of field data to convert it

into meaningful engineering information to be able topredict how the field will respond when conditions change.

Single Asset Data Models for the Digital Oil Field

A challenge for any DOF system in is to handle the datarequirement of multiple applications and users. Typically,this requires data to be input in several location. Petex hascreated one data or asset model, which is propagatedthroughout the system, i.e. if a well or a piece of equipmentis added, the information is automatically made availablefor each part of the DOF system to use. Moreover, the same concept is used to link the external PDMS andHistorians systems using data wizards to configure the tagsand required links. The wizards follow a step-by-steppattern to meet the objective of establishing and testingconnection to the external data sources through to tagmapping and configuration of data retrieval. Any new tagmappings, modifications to existing tag mappings, fieldmeasurements or equipment can be easily added managedthrough the wizards.

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Data Management

The data management structure Advanced filtering and data cleansing, uses sophisticated Petex proprietary techniques

Data Storage, Data Cleansing and Data Filtering

Data Management – Instrumented fields have a huge volume of measurements comingfrom wells and equipment sensors – often millions of data points from one field, perminute. Making the relevant measurement and data (validated measurements) available at the frequency required, necessitates sophisticated data storage, management, cleansing

and filtering of the data, suitable for the required tasks. A scalable, upgradable andextensible data technology has to be at the heart of effective long-term datamanagement, hence productising of the data management through a single-asset datamodel is a fundamental.

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Notes

Web: www.petroleumexperts.com2011 (R1)

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