Huawei marked this year’s ADIPEC event by holding a workshop to highlight the importance of smart technology in the energy sector.
Run alongside industry analysts Gartner, Huawei sought to address how new generations of technology can help operators increase production rates, reduce risk, build collaboration and enhance efficiency.
Asfar Zaidi, principal consultant at Huawei, said that the initiative was proving fruitful, adding that it is also valuable to speak directly with users to find out what they need.
“Of course, one of the main goals for us is to make the industry more aware of the benefits and power of technology,” Zaidi told Oil & Gas Middle East at the exhibition.
“Usually operators in this part of the world rely on traditional communications channels and systems – something that crucially needs to be addressed and updated if they want to have a smart network.
“We also learn, too – it is just as important for us to understand the real issues, the challenges that these organisations are facing so that we can tailor a specific digital solution addressing the problem.”
Operators heard how the correct ICT systems can aid them in managing and extracting value from data, whilst also boosting their bottom lines.
Huawei works with some of the industry’s blue chip organisations, including oil and gas heavyweight, Saudi Aramco.
“The work we’ve done with Saudi Aramco includes a new communications network with over 100,000 IP telephones to reduce cost. This also centralises communications across one platform offering better and more insightful control, ensuring better communication in the field.”
The Middle East’s oil and gas industry includes a number of politically unstable or dangerous locations, including Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
New technology is helping operators to minimise how much manpower they need to deploy in the field, and Zaidi said that the ultimate goal could see potentially dangerous fields being worked on completely remotely.
“A lot of the technology we offer addresses HSE and reducing risk against human capital. It is probably the most important element that operators want to address with ICT,” he commented.
“The main risk factor is helping to remove the need for human interaction in the field. With greater implementation of smart networking, sensors, better software solutions and mobility solutions to ensure better communication between command centres and people on the ground.
“The ultimate goal is to develop unmanned fields through more collaborative and smart technology.”
