Performance management software provider OSIsoft Inc. today disclosed a partnership with GlobaLogix, an integrated data management solutions provider, which will enable oil and gas companies to gain real-time operational information to support safe and more efficient energy exploration.
GlobaLogix, a company that serves the oil and gas industry, is building applications on top of the real-time database capabilities, programming interfaces and SCADA system connections of OSIsoft's real-time performance management (RtPM) platform, said Gregg Le Blanc, director of product management at OSIsoft Inc., in an interview.
Tailoring the OSIsoft software to energy industry requirements, GlobaLogix can take SCADA information and run data refining calculations that are based on key performance indicators, he said. If a piece of equipment malfunctions, the OSIsoft software automatically alerts key managers to prevent production rate and resource quality degradations, as well as injuries.
Offshore oil and gas drilling sites are usually equipped with SCADA or DCS for regular control actions, and RtPM is able to interface with these. A communication channel is normally opened to the mainland data center using either fiber links or satellite connections. If the site has no instrumentation, GlobaLogix will assess what needs to be measured, such as compressor run rates, and will set up the required OSIsoft software, said Le Blanc.
Users of this semi-hosted platform have applications available to them on their desktops, but much of the data and number crunching goes on within server farms that are controlled by GlobaLogix, he said, which transfers and stores data from these platforms using data collecting sensors.
Gathering information in real-time is key. The challenging environments that host offshore drilling platforms can sometimes cause local data systems to be cut off from the mainland for periods of time. When they are finally reconnected, lag time is created as data is slowly sent back to the platform. OSIsoft software has utilized data transport intelligence so that, said Le Blanc, as the communication link with the mainland slows and data transmission suffers, the platform will always have enough information to continue its operations. There is no break in the data availability: Once a reconnection to the mainland is made, the mainland is re-synced.
Another challenge affecting the oil and gas industry, said Le Blanc, is "the big crew change." Learning how to run these sites has always been based on a rich oral tradition, but a large portion of the experienced workforce has retired or will soon do so. Oil companies are now trying to document and institutionalize best practices and worker knowledge so they are not "left in the lurch when experienced workers leave and take all of their knowledge with them," he said.
OSIsoft software can be used to capture all of the history of materials and events, such as production upsets and the information regarding a new well that went online, and store it in a system that can be relayed to people as they train to work on these sites, said Le Blanc.