EXPLORATION • DRILLING • FIELD SERVICES
BIG data, BIG plans
Swelling data volumes in oil and gas make enterprise resource planning essential, says Knut Møystad
E
very year oil and gas companies undertake a huge number of data- rich projects, with increasing reliance on automation and the application of advanced computer analysis to the
ever-growing amount of digital information. With this in mind, and coupled with operational, financial and regulatory processes more complex than those found in any other industry, it is a matter of supreme curiosity as to why many oilfield service companies continue to overlook solutions that can not only help to simplify these projects, but also offer major improvements in productivity.
Te complexity of offshore projects is being exacerbated by the swelling data volumes tied to them. Each piece of equipment, as well as its context, is vital to the successful delivery of a project. It is not enough to know what this equipment can be used for – if managers are to ensure the smooth running of a project potentially worth millions of dollars, they must know precisely what each piece of equipment has been used for and what it may be used for in future. Most essential is to deliver projects in an efficient and reportable way (the latter becomes more important as cost creeps up), taking into account all actions for both the equipment and the workforce. Projects in the EPC (engineering,
procurement and construction) industry live and die on this information; so having it kept in a Word file on a laptop on an offshore rig is not ideal, especially given that the information will need to be analysed and reported. Poring over such documents to do this can charitably be described as ‘not much fun’, or, more realistically, as an unnecessary drain on time and productivity, costing oilfield service companies a great deal of money. It is baffling that companies have not all turned from a document-based system to one driven by the benefits of a database. Yet many companies still rely upon document-based systems. Industries
Procurement is one part of the ERP process that benefits from tools designed to be a better option than keeping details in Word documents
such as retail and marketing, which have arguably less strenuous data demands than EPC, are seeing widespread adoption of database technology to tackle the data deluge. With EPCI, where complexity is a given, one must wonder what needs to happen before implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology becomes the standard.
SIMPLIFICATION IS SPELT ‘ERP’ ERP is a tool that covers business processes across a wide range of enterprise functions, from projects, to enterprise asset management (EAM), to document management. By implementing ERP oil and gas companies can tie all engineering and asset data together, ensuring that any revisions or updates are linked to the equipment needed for the project. Tis provides traceability and the context required to successfully run a project, without necessitating the many hours of poring over Word documents. If you have an asset comprised of 10 pieces, such changes are easily recorded, but in a project with hundreds of thousands of components, the amount of data is
insurmountable unless tied to a sufficient database. Whereas EAM is a vital tool for oil and gas companies when keeping record of all equipment (maintenance, reliability and more), ERP is a multi- purpose suite that can tie all this together and provide other functionality, too. ERP can also empower mobility capabilities, useful for workers who are seldom settled in one place. Mobility is especially useful in ensuring that reporting meets the standard required for multi-million dollar projects, offering increased accuracy of information as all communications are up-to-date. Many oilfield service companies are loath to update legacy systems. However, for those willing to make the change, there is an opportunity to overhaul an outdated system with systems that can help to perform complex projects more efficiently while providing a clearer overview. l
Knut Møystad is global director of Oil and Gas at IFS.
www.ifsworld.com
www.engineerlive.com 23
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