Technology

Now that the Big Crew Change is upon us, and the easy oil is gone, oil and gas producers not only have to focus on rebuilding their base of knowledgeable employees. They also have to maintain existing projects—and develop new ones—while losing the senior people who possess the skills and knowledge to make effective operational decisions in challenging situations.

For most realistic real world situations, optimality is neither achievable nor desirable [1].

Technology is a key enabler of performance. Production organizations use a host of software systems to manage their operations: these include various implementations of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) systems, and Asset Performance Management (APM) systems. At the same time, organizations are seeking ways to take the next step—to extend these technologies to optimize operational performance and automate operational decision-making. Until recently, however, suitable technologies were not available.

Earlier this month I was at Carnegie Mellon University attending the Center for Advanced Process Decision-making (CAPD) Annual Review Meeting, at the kind invitation of Professor Ignacio Grossman. CAPD brings together industry practitioners (primarily from process industry organizations) and academia, and harnesses a lot of brain power to work on some tough industrial optimization and process systems challenges.

According to the January 2008 edition of the Energy Insights Insights on Oil & Gas Newsletter, “[The] Pressure is on to increase recovery rates from known reserves given the expense of exploration.” And, “The Digital Oil field will see continued growth with enhanced production optimization.” In response, the authors state, “Oil and gas companies will look to tools for project and portfolio management, especially analytics that are able to support optimization.”

A couple of years ago I wrote a White Paper in which I discussed the use of technology for achieving operational excellence. I believe this is an important topic, so I want to revisit it here.

“Having data doesn’t give you productivity.
Having better decisions gives you productivity.”
   Michael Trick, Professor, Tepper School of Business
   Carnegie-Mellon University

I thought about this quote during the first session that I attended at the SPE’s Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in Anaheim, California, earlier this week.

We’re hearing a lot about the aging workforce in the Oil and Gas business press. According to Jill Feblowitz at IDC Energy Insights, for example, as older workers retire and the industry experiences a reduction of highly experienced workers, investments in technology to make the remaining workers more effective are a must if the industry is going to meet the ever-increasing demand for energy.