The oil & gas industry cannot survive without process automation, it is a vital tool to control production says Yokogawa
How important is process automation for the oil & gas sector?
Oil & gas processes cannot operate effectively without automation. Automation is not only important for the control of production, it is vital in order to make a process commercially viable and manageable.
In addition to these basic requirements, there are many demands for product quality control, safety, environmental protection, risk control, custody transfer, security, and compliance, for example.
A successful business model for oil & gas production cannot be realised without automation underpinning the process, and in an increasingly competitive business environment it is necessary to optimise productivity to maintain the business profile.
Optimisation can only be achieved by using increasingly innovative and effective technology to maximise productivity whilst minimising operating costs.
Automation technology is a critical asset to the oil & gas sector which is required for the entire lifecycle of the processing facility, which means the automation provider is an essential partner in the business model.
Will late adopters of process automation find their bottom line affected?
All oil & gas processes will already be applying a level of automation. Late adopters must be heavily dependent on manual processes which are relatively costly and prone to risks. A primary contributor to major incidents in process industries is the human factor. A high dependence on people for process productivity, balanced with poor safety will increase the risk to the business.
In the wake of a number of major incidents in the process industries there is a major initiative to increase process safety management, functional safety management and system security. By addressing these issues, the insurance requirements for a plant can be reduced and to address these issues requires automation. Late adopters will have their bottom line affected directly by reduced competitiveness.
In addition, the increased risks in the process may lead to a major incident which could wipe out the company. The level of civil liabilities claims incurred by BP in the Gulf of Mexico is estimated at $10 billion, which is in addition to fines and reparation costs, which should spur operators to avoidance measures.
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What are the drawbacks of process automation?
The perceived drawbacks are the capital expenditure needed to automate the process, which has to be offset against the costs of labour intensive non-automated process control and the increased risks of using manual processes.
The initial automation outlay has a return on investment dictated by the increased productivity, product quality, product consistency and therefore product value over the campaign life of the production plant or asset.
The campaign life will generally be up to 40 years, during which time the process plant and the automation itself needs to be maintained. It has to be recognised that automation technology however, rarely has a lifecycle of 40 years.
These perceived drawbacks are mitigated by the fact that automation provides the means to reduce the costs of maintaining the process plant by optimising the period required for inspections and rework. The net balance is that the benefits of improved operating and maintenance efficiencies (and reduced risks) far outweigh the investment costs. This means that automation is a fundamental necessity.
What does Yokogawa do in process automation?
Yokogawa’s core business is automation and 2014 is the 99th year of this activity. Yokogawa manufactures and delivers transmitters, actuators, control systems, safety systems, data acquisition systems, process management tools and many other added value applications and services for the effective and secure management of industrial processes.
In the Middle East Yokogawa have regional headquarters in Bahrain with major project execution facilities in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
In addition Yokogawa has sales and support facilities covering all Middle East countries. Yokogawa is the first automation provider in the Middle East to obtain Functional Safety Certification, a necessary pre-requisite for compliance with global safety standards and best practices.
