Significant boost to oilfield yield and production

Real Time Information can significantly boost oilfield yields and production, and increase worker productivity, according to the Invensys vision of the "Oilfield of Tomorrow - Today"

Invensys, a global leader in production technology, recently presented its vision of the 'Oilfield of Tomorrow - Today' at a conference of upstream oil industry professionals, demonstrating how companies can integrate people, processes and technology, to increase profit.

Dr Calvin B Cobb, vice president and general manager, Invensys Global Hydrocarbons, and Stan DeVries, the director of solutions research at Invensys, outlined the Invensys approach to helping upstream oil operations improve resource productivity.

By changing business processes, making better use of information technology, accessing the expertise of senior professionals all over the world - and improving the flow of information - oilfields can realise significant and measurable improvements, Cobb and DeVries told the group.

In particular, they discussed the Invensys Real Time Enterprise Framework, which serves as the central system converting data and information from the assets into knowledge that can be used to make real-time business decisions.

This information can help measure crude, natural gas or LNG quality in minutes; predict when a pump will burn out days before it happens; or reduce the personnel needed to staff and maintain an offshore facility.

The Invensys Real Time Enterprise Framework features ArchestrA technology, a comprehensive plant automation and information architecture designed to extend the life of legacy systems by leveraging the latest software technologies like Microsoft.Net.

ArchestrA is an open plant automation and control system architecture which links control, automation and ERP systems from any vendors.

"The more customers we work with and talk to about our new approach, the more excited I get about our potential to improve resource productivity for our hydrocarbon customers," Cobb said.

Among the operations that Invensys is improving resource productivity for is a multi-billion dollar, offshore floating oil production, storage and offloading facility.

Invensys is helping the customer to link and integrate disparate control and automation systems; develop an agile supply and transportation system; and eliminate downtime to prevent crude oil from freezing in the production piping.

As a result, Cobb says, the customer expects to reduce operating costs by USD 20 million a year, increase oil production by 4 million barrels per year (resulting in a USD120 million revenue increase), and improve tanker scheduling and reduce transportation costs by USD 5 million.

Cobb heads up the newly formed Invensys Global Hydrocarbons solutions unit, which works with chemical, oil and gas companies to help them increase their return on investment.

Invensys is uniquely positioned to serve the Hydrocarbons Industry because of its significant experience in the industry and its leading technologies and brands such as Foxboro, Wonderware, Triconex, SimSci-Esscor and Avantis - all of them used widely in the Hydrocarbon Industry.

Invensys has established similar solutions practices for the Power and General Process industries.

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