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  • The Internet of Things (IoT) is essentially an integration of sensors, communications, and data analytics which work to accomplish four main business objectives relevant to the oil & gas industry:
    1) Improving safety,
    2) Improving reliability,
    3) Optimizing operations, and
    4) Creating new sources of revenueThis TIS will discuss the opportunities that exist for deploying IoT solutions in the oil & gas industry, with a particular focus on upstream and midstream companies who can derive the greatest near-term benefits. This session will be designed to ideate with industry on potential technology-driven solutions that can create value and reduce operational costs. This session will also address the unique challenges of IoT solutions for oil & gas, with a particular focus on integration of data sources and connectivity.

    Background

    Kepler is a satellite-powered telecommunications company with a focus on delivering IoT solutions for remote industries. Kepler brings down the cost of connectivity for IoT in remote regions by orders of magnitude through the operation of a low-cost “breadbox-sized” satellites. For the oil & gas industry, with a large number of geographically separate assets requiring monitoring, deploying a truly integrated IoT solution necessitates a global economic connectivity service.

    New Norms in the Oil and Gas Industry

    The new norms on low and stagnant fuel prices are placing greater pressure on the oil & gas industry to improve operational efficiencies and create new revenue streams. This transition will require more than just financial adjustments and cost controlling measures to ensure competitiveness and gain market share. Companies waiting for higher commodities prices as a remedy for thin profit margins will lose market share to those that today make the necessary investments towards efficiency-improving technologies. Conversely, those that implement these new technologies will be rewarded with greater market dominance now, and in the future when fuel prices inevitably rise.

    How the Internet of Things can Create Market Leadership

    While the prevailing sentiment in industry is that new technology deployments should remain on hold until there is a rise in fuel prices, the reality is that the order-of-magnitude reductions in the cost of sensors and connectivity have meant that an IoT solution has never been more economically feasible.
    The greatest growth opportunity for IoT in the oil & gas industry is likely to come to upstream and midstream companies. Downstream companies, conversely, are more mature segment of the energy value chain, and have historically placed greater emphasis on monitoring risks and optimizing operations, creating a long history of automation and process control.

    Upstream companies, for instance, can gain new operational insights by integrating datasets and creating powerful cross-disciplinary analytics. However, delivering value from data has yet to reach its full potential largely because of infrastructure challenges, both in terms of bandwidth infrastructure and having the infrastructure to manage and analyze the data. Localized data processing, availability of bandwidth with predictable latencies, and integration of data streams can greatly improve upstream operations. For instance, a single oil well failure can cost upwards of $300,000 per day in lost productivity. Remote oil well monitoring and making use of near real-time data for predictive maintenance scheduling can reduce down times, reduce the cost of maintenance, and increase the number of production hours.

    Midstream companies can benefit from improved network integrity and create new revenue-generation sources by building data-enabled infrastructure. In the US last year, companies expensed over 300M in cleanup costs as a direct result of pipeline leaks. This, coupled with environmental damage, safety risk to maintenance personnel, and the reputational damage of transmission companies when a leak occurs has exacerbated the need to find technology-driven solutions to improve the integrity of pipelines. The inability to monitor real-time performance of pumping stations, for instance, means that stations can be removed from service unpredictably. A single pumping station shutdown will decrease the flow capacity of an entire pipeline. This results in both delaying time-to-market for producers, but also means transmission companies need to invest in excess storage capacity at terminal stations to house product during pipeline downtimes.

    Moreover, plagued by inability to differentiate from competitors, transmission companies can look to data-derived products to create new revenue streams. Historic data and predictive analysis can be leveraged to forecast maintenance cycles on pipeline components. This can be resold to production companies, who can now use this data to schedule their own maintenance cycles to coincide with predicted reductions in transmission capacity. This exchange of data between upstream and midstream companies can greatly improve production and transmission efficiencies, and can lead to reduced costs across the entire value chain.

    Who Should Attend

    Those working in upstream or midstream, and in particular those in the following roles
    • Project Management directory, managers, or advisors
    • Operations directors, managers, or advisors
    • Technology/Information officers or specialists
    • Asset integrity directory, managers, or advisors

  • 11:30 AM Registration and Lunch

    12:00 PM Presentation and Discussion

    1:00 PM Adjournment

  • Pre-Event Fee:

    PTAC Member – Free

    Non-Member – $50.00

    At Event:

    PTAC Member – $25.00

    Non-Member – $75.00

    *Unsure as to whether your organization is a PTAC member? Have a look at current member listing.