Ahead of April’s IDOC 2010 conference Oil & Gas Middle East caught up with conference chairman Abdel Munir Al Kindy, ADCO general manager
Next month the International Digital Oil Field Conference will get underway in Abu Dhabi. The event has drawn massive support from National Oil Companies, super majors and, of course the technology providers hoping to shed greater light on the concept, and what the implementation of integrated operations can bring for E&P companies worldwide.
Digital oilfield has become a hook on which to hang a blending together of all aspects of down-hole and above ground operations, on an enterprise wide scale. The oil field of the future will have key operations at remote desert locations, offshore, the full midstream phase all real-time connected with regional offices and corporate headquarters to drive efficiency and bring new levels of collaboration to the oilfields.
The concept of real-time data and automation is seen as a key enabler in unlocking future value. This will lead to optimised performance, optimised use of resources and facilitate remote operations and support and additionally enhance safety, all of which is of current concern in Abu Dhabi and elsewhere in the region.
This is especially valuable at a time when the industry is experiencing a growing shortage of expertise as the older and experienced workforce retires. Using the network as a platform will allow experienced staff to provide assistance to less experienced workers at the wellsite from any point in the world.
For production operations the vision of the future is seen as a complex marriage of intelligent completions, surface instrumentation, telecommunications, automation and intelligent control as well as a key shift in the skills and behaviours of the operators of the future.
Chairing the conference is the general manager of Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Operations, (ADCO) Abdel Munim Al Kindy. Oil & Gas Middle East spoke with Al Kindy in February to discuss the implications that digital oil field operations could have for a leading National Oil Company in this region.
“ADCO has a division of the company which is charged with looking after i-Field or e-Field type applications and collaborative work environments. We are piloting this on one of our fields at the moment, and it is a real area of interest to me to analyse the benefits,” he revealed.
“Of course, we have a number of criteria which need to be met. As long as we can justify the implementation on a practical footing, then it is certainly something we want to implement and expect to see more of in future field development.”
Al Kindy revealed that ADCO has already rolled out extensive pilot projects across field operations, communications and equipment monitoring. “We are happy with the pilot programme and think it has the potential to save us money throughout all of our drilling, operations and oil movement throughout our assets.”
The company produces mainly from five major oil fields: – Asab, Bab, Bu Hasa, Sahil and Shah. These fields are linked by more than four hundred and fifty kilometres of pipeline, with storage and shipping facilities at Jebel Dhanna, where tankers load crude oil for markets in many parts of the world. A sixth field, Jarn Yaphour, situated some fifty kilometres east of the capital, came on stream late in 1993 and its production is transported to Umm Al-Nar Refinery for further treatment.
“If we could have the integrated digital oil field concept operational it would help us minimise our costs,” said Al Kindy.
“One of our fields at the moment we are looking at remote operations. It will have a major cost incentive on whether these marginal fields will be developed or not if remote operations are a reliable option. In new schemes it can offset capital and operating cost,” he concluded.
We have gone as far as to have downhole sensors transmitting to Abu Dhabi and monitor flow or drilling rate from our operational HQ so we are embracing what technology is out there. We are analysing the benefits and at the moment I see it as a great opportunity.”
HOT TOPICS @ IDOC 2010
This Conference Programme, focusing on the Middle East and benefitting from international experiences, will address key issues such as:
- How will digital oilfields change the E&P business – business processes, key competencies, tools?
- Implementation of digital oilfield – where to start, how to phase and pace it?
- Digital oilfield to dollars – where is the payback, what is the business case?
- How do we align the organisation to the digital oilfield to maximise the benefits from the digital oilfield?
Leadership committee
The IDOC Advisory Committee is composed of senior representatives from the following industry heavyweights:
• ADNOC
• ADCO
• ADMA-OPCO
• BP
• KOC
• Kongsberg
• PDO
• Qatar Petroleum
• SAIC
• Saudi Aramco
• Shell
• Weatherford
Conference Snapshot
Conference: IDOC 2010
Location: Abu Dhabi Hilton
Dates: 20-21 April
Web: www.idoc-uae.com
Official Publication: Oil & Gas Middle East
