The industry-leading Field Automation Summit is Denver's premier meeting-point to unite 200 senior automation, controls, SCADA and engineering leaders to target a cost-effective automation strategy in light of low oil prices
DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / August 3, 2015 / Shale production has rocketed from 100 kboe/d to 7,500 kboe/d in less than 10 years. During the same time, shale plays across North America have seen hugely impactful developments, with drilling costs declining and productivity per well increasing. The adoption of digital technologies has been critical to this, supporting the fact that the digital oilfield services market is set to be worth $38.49 billion by 2024.
In the last 8-10 months, though, the number of onshore drilling rigs has dramatically fallen as a result of the low oil price - and while they are now starting to show signs of recovery, the focus for shale operators has naturally shifted to maximizing the potential from their existing production operations. But with operating environments in which wells decline at up to 60% per year (compared with the 7-10% decline of conventional wells), operators are forced to innovatively elevate their production strategy.
For capex constrained shale operators, searching for that cost-effective solution is a major hurdle. The vast scale and acreage, varied topography and isolation of well sites only add to this dilemma and call for operators to apply an 'operate-by-exception' approach that can maximize workforce efficiency, reduce production drop-off, eradicate downtime and improve the overall cost economics associated with production. In short, low oil price, fast production drop-off, constrained capex and a proliferation of isolated wells are behind the operator drive for cost-effective automation.
Approaches to automation are disparate from play to play and operator to operator. Some oil companies have made multi-million dollar investments in SCADA systems, while others continue to collect data by hand from each well. Despite the differences, one thing is clear: in the new oil price environment, now is a critical time to leverage cutting-edge automation technologies. Defining a cost-effective approach to automation as part of a holistic strategy and tackling complex standardization challenges inherent within almost all automation projects present major barriers to executing this strategy.
Shale operators are demanding an entirely new approach to automation and consequently shaking up this long established market. With less formalized automation departments, major capacity challenges and a current squeeze on Capex, operators are searching for an Opex-driven automation approach that is both cost-effective and allows flexibility in future technology adoption. In light of this, the service provider community is at a crucial 'reactionary phase,' transitioning from a product-orientated to service-orientated strategy.
Leading experts from Devon, Denury, Energy Transfer, Vine Oil & Gas, plus renowned industry figures including Andarko's former automation manager and BP's former technology advisor, will share their perspectives on the most cutting-edge automation trends, from balancing cost vs. controls to tackling complex standardization and data integration challenges.
For more information about us, please visit http://www.upstreamintel.com/automation/
Contact Info:
Name: Phil Chadney
Organization: Upstream Intelligence
Phone: (800) 814-3459, ext 4341
SOURCE: Upstream Intelligence