From Exploration to Production: The Role of Technology in Enhancing Efficiency in the Oil and Gas Sector
Cutting costs, increasing output, and reducing emissions: three goals that all leaders in the oil and gas industry continuously prioritize. Achieving these goals means optimizing processes that are already highly complex, finding sources of inefficiency and loss, and remaining agile in a volatile and disruptive economic climate. Here are a few ways technology is making waves in the oil and gas industry.
Transforming Oil & Gas Exploration
Technology-enabled exploration and production techniques allow for the fast expansion of production levels. Digital technology has revolutionized seismic imaging and interpretation, for example, and recent advancements allow ultra-sensitive equipment to collect vast amounts of data.
Geophones are ultra-sensitive sound-emitting devices, and seismologists use them to explore underground formations. This information can be used to make precise maps and 3D images of subsurface structures, making it faster and easier to identify suitable drilling locations.
Precise & Environmentally Friendly Drilling
Measurement while drilling (MWD) technology collects information in real-time that allows the drilling process to be optimized while it is in progress. Increasingly accurate sensors in the drill string measure things like pressure, temperature, and vibration, allowing minor corrections to be made throughout the process for the highest levels of accuracy.
Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” has made drastic advancements in drilling production by providing a way to extract oil and gas resources from previously inaccessible geological locations or areas that were otherwise considered too inefficient to pursue.
Advancements in sensor technology are also being used to monitor environmental conditions and carbon emissions in real-time. This data can be used to identify oil spills and flares or areas where pollutants may be a concern, allowing for fast response times to hazardous conditions. Infrared imaging is also being used to detect gas leaks in real-time.
Pipeline Maintenance & Management
One of the most essential pipeline inspection and maintenance technologies is unmanned devices. Drones take to the air with various surveying devices, such as high-resolution cameras and thermal sensors. Miles of pipeline can be thoroughly inspected without any danger or even inconvenience to human inspectors. It also allows for strategically positioning workers and resources where they are needed for increased efficiency.
Pipeline integrity gauges (PIGs) have been used for decades as cleaning systems for pipelines, and recent innovations have made them even more useful. The attachment of sensors that detect corrosion, cracks, and other defects ensures the pipeline’s integrity, and GPS technology makes it easy to pinpoint areas that need attention.
Advancements in data transmission, management, and processing allow for even more conclusions to be drawn from the vast amounts of data collected. For example, analytics and forecasting software can predict the lifespan of a pipeline segment based on measurements from a PIG device and aerial photos.
Renewable Energy Incorporation
The oil and gas industry may be primarily interested in producing fuel from nonrenewable sources, but operations can use renewable energy sources to improve their sustainability and reduce carbon emissions.
For example, solar, wind, and geothermal energy sources can power operations in remote oil and gas fields, reducing the need for diesel-powered generators on offshore platforms. These energy sources are lower in cost and reduce the industry’s overall emission of greenhouse gases.
The Future of Oil & Gas
Resisting the implementation of digital technologies to improve operations can hinder success in the oil and gas industry. Wide-scale change and the learning curve associated with new processes and practices are frequently at the heart of this resistance.
When new technologies can be integrated with existing systems and upgrades and changes rolled out in a way that makes sense for both management and workers, the benefits of change can be seen more clearly.
Quad Plus puts its industry experience to work every day to integrate new technologies and retrofit equipment in every industry. When you’re ready to maximize the efficiency and productivity of your operations with a price tag that makes sense, contact Jim Woulf at jwoulf@quadplus.com or call (920) 515-4155.
