The oil and gas industry is in the midst of change. Between market price fluctuations, fluctuating demand, and complex compliance and regulatory regimes, the need for operational efficiency has never been higher. With the promise of improved operational visibility, safety and performance, the transition to the digital oilfield has become a priority. According to a recent report, global revenue from wireless sensor networks for oil and gas exploration, production and pipeline operations will reach $2.2 billion, with asset management expected to be the fastest growing IoT application. This is not surprising as the industry is looking for cost-effective ways to manage aging infrastructure and optimize production and performance while reducing economic, environmental, health and safety risks.
Asset Management Challenges
Asset management has played a vital role in the oil and gas industry for many years. While traditional asset management systems such as spreadsheets provide some window into the status of assets, they lack structure, real-time visibility and data interoperability.
Manual systems and processes can significantly hinder operations. For example, the probability of human error for manual data entry ranges from 18% to 40%. If asset data is incorrect, the asset’s status, security, and optimization are at risk. Identifying and correcting errors also costs the company time and money that could be spent on more critical areas of the business. Additionally, these legacy systems do not provide real-time data or interact with other functions and processes of the business. This results in limited information and siled systems. This is a significant issue for asset-based industries such as oil and gas, where tracking the real-time location, performance and safety of all assets is critical to optimizing processes, eliminating downtime, reducing costs and minimizing Environmental impact is critical.
The rise of IoT asset management
The Internet of Things brings a new generation of low-power wireless sensors that can transform traditional physical objects into digital assets. Attached to individual assets such as equipment, tools, vehicles and even people, these sensors can capture and report detailed information about the current asset condition and where and how they are being used. With powerful remote IoT connectivity, insights into even the most remote and isolated assets can be gathered in the control center and easily accessible to operators and technicians. With comprehensive, real-time visibility into assets across sites, they can quickly pinpoint underutilized equipment, diagnose impending issues and bottlenecks, and easily redeploy tools and parts.
Here are four key benefits of IoT asset management in the digital oilfield:
1. Maximize uptime with predictive maintenance
A glitch can bring your entire operation to a halt. According to relevant research, just 3.65 days of unplanned downtime in a year can cost an oil and gas company $5.037 million. The average offshore oil and gas company experiences about 27 days of unplanned downtime each year, costing it up to $38 million. In some cases, that number could be as high as $88 million. One of the biggest reasons to adopt an asset management solution is to significantly reduce downtime by catching equipment failures before they occur. Wireless IoT sensors enable companies to capture critical asset data such as pressure, temperature, vibration, level and flow data to predict impending problems and failures. Integrating this data with other machine data from enterprise resource planning or asset management systems and equipment historical data helps companies identify patterns and issues to employ effective predictive maintenance strategies and ensure maximum equipment uptime. .
2. Optimize asset utilization
Oil and gas equipment often remains on a job site for days or weeks at a time. This puts the device at risk of being misused, misplaced, or even stolen. Manually searching for machines, tools or other equipment wastes time and money. Workers drive from location to location, burning up fuel, adding to their hours and putting priority work on hold. Using IoT sensors powered by powerful remote connectivity, companies can track and locate all devices in real time. Data can also be aggregated across multiple remote locations to better coordinate asset utilization across locations, control inventory and improve the efficiency level of service provided to customers.
3. Ensure regulatory compliance
An IoT asset management approach also shows a commitment to asset optimization and smooth operations related to compliance. This is extremely important in the oil and gas industry, where asset failure can lead to devastating environmental impacts. With remote equipment and process monitoring, companies can ensure all assets are operating at peak operating conditions, significantly reducing the likelihood of catastrophic equipment failure. However, if something goes wrong, historical maintenance data can be used to prove that the company took all the necessary precautions to prevent asset failure.
4. Fleet management
Monitoring vehicle performance, location and maintenance is critical to the efficiency of all transport logistics and ensuring regulatory compliance. With IoT asset management solutions, fleet managers can access critical remote data to help ensure timely vehicle maintenance, reduce fuel consumption and fuel costs, enhance driver management, and improve asset utilization and route planning.
The role of low-power wide area network (LPWAN) technology in IoT oil fields
The transition from brownfield to digital oil fields can be costly and challenging due to extreme working conditions and inadequate communications infrastructure. Offshore distance, rough terrain, lack of power, and electromagnetic interference are the most demanding environments for any wireless network.
Low-power wide area network (LPWAN) technology offers long range, high energy efficiency and high immunity to interference, providing the resilient sensor connectivity needed for remote monitoring and asset management. The system covers a wide area of 5–15 km radius (depending on structure density), enabling efficient data collection from assets located in remote and hazardous areas where worker accessibility is limited. LPWAN supports long-term operation of independent low-cost batteries on the sensor side and also greatly reduces the maintenance work of battery charging and replacement. In addition, the outstanding network robustness of third-generation LPWAN technology ensures optimal signal reliability in electromagnetic interference environments and in rugged terrain, altitude and heavy metal obstacles.
Resuma
IoT asset management, enabled by innovative IoT sensors and next-generation low-power wide-area networks, plays a key role in the digital oilfield. Its ability to provide data interoperability across systems, processes and people helps oil and gas companies reduce costs, reduce operational risk and provide a holistic approach to enhance visibility, collaboration and performance while generating revenue from operating expenses Higher value.