The Role of Data Analytics for Asset Owners in the Oil and Gas Industry

Today’s economic pressures in the oil and gas industry require streamlined operations with fewer people, faster and more reliable equipment, and a smaller footprint on the environment. Wells are getting deeper and more complex, making it harder for companies to run profitable operations. This reality, plus the pressure of lower oil prices, gives drilling operators a sense of urgency for optimizing processes.

Automated, integrated data analytics can help achieve this optimization. Data analytics is essential to delivering unconventional drilling results in a cost-efficient and safe manner. Drilling companies must develop modern tools for gathering and organizing real-time data from operations—enabling monitoring algorithms, predictive analysis, risk reports, safety alerts, and more. Raw data must be continuously gathered from surface, downhole, and tool sensors. The raw data must be organized, stored in the cloud, and visualized to provide meaningful decision support.

Operators generate huge amounts of data through legacy systems. This data becomes stranded if those systems cannot be integrated with other digital solutions. Right now, many companies are stuck in the collection and formatting of data, and they are looking for advice and insight on how to turn that data into actionable insights that drive performance improvement.

When companies have successfully transitioned from collecting and formatting data to building robust analytics models, drilling operators are able to:

• Choose ideal drilling sites
• Optimize production forecasting
• Lower the risks associated with unconventional drilling operations by reliably anticipating safety issues in advance
• Improve drilling performance with real-time visualization
• Reduce operating costs

This data analytics strategy development is the next great frontier for many operators. A brand-new, single-day technical conference, brought to you by the International Society of Automation (ISA) and SPE-Midland Section, will help professionals understand the benefits of moving beyond ad hoc data collection to create a fully modernized data analytics program. The ISA Data Analytics in Upstream Oil and Gas Virtual Conference will take place on 22 February 2021 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST.

Use cases covered during the event include:

• Predictive maintenance: reduce downtime and waste, increase transparency on the lifespan of your equipment
• Automated quality testing: streamline the inspection and certification of equipment, save time, reduce errors
• Production process optimization: improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
• Fluid flow and water handling optimization: formulate drilling fluids in real time and optimize the way you clean, store, and pump water in your process
• Life of field in production: identify ways to optimize the resource area
• Resource allocation: spread and stage equipment optimally, reduce footprints and environmental impacts

The event is packed with keynote sessions from top industry experts. Attendees must sign up to register first. The cost is 80 USD for ISA members and 100 USD for non-members. Everyone who attends will be able to network with speakers, event sponsors, and other conference attendees. All on-demand conference content will be accessible to all registrants for 30 days after the event.

To learn more about the conference and its speakers, and to register, please visit the ISA Data Analytics in Upstream Oil and Gas Virtual Conference website.

ISA offers virtual events, including webinars, virtual conferences, and ISA Connect Live, across a variety of topics.