{"id":474,"date":"2016-04-20T08:17:51","date_gmt":"2016-04-20T14:17:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.textor.ca\/?p=474"},"modified":"2016-04-20T08:18:42","modified_gmt":"2016-04-20T14:18:42","slug":"how-north-american-energy-can-compete-enablement-of-a-digital-oilfield-with-a-connected-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.textor.ca\/how-north-american-energy-can-compete-enablement-of-a-digital-oilfield-with-a-connected-field\/","title":{"rendered":"How North American Energy Can Compete \u2013 Enablement of a Digital Oilfield with a \u201cConnected Field\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
Did you know that accountants were hesitant to adopt spreadsheet programs like excel? Or that it took us decades to fully adopt trains, automobiles and computers? Do you think these things changed our lives? Of course! How could we conceive where we are today without them? But it took a while for them to gain \u201csteam\u201d (pun intended).<\/p>\n
The situation with the Digital Oilfield in North America follows these familiar lines. It is a transformation that I cannot adequately explain since I only know how to build the enabling technology. How it\u2019s going to be used is up to each person acting individually and resulting in a collective connected effect. Sure, I can give some examples or find people who have done this or that. But that\u2019s the tip of the iceberg. The \u201ckiller example\u201d is going to be different for every team in an energy company.<\/p>\n
The enabling technology for the Digital Oilfield is called a \u201cConnected Field\u201d. It takes the Oilfield improvement areas listed below and binds them together. It\u2019s the enablement of seamless intercommunication and coordination that truly leverages a Digital Oilfield. Without it, it\u2019s an Oilfield that uses new Oilfield technology \u2013 not the exciting \u201cDigital Oilfield\u201d that truly propels the energy business to the next level.<\/p>\n
There are so many ways to get a Connected Field wrong for a Digital Oilfield. Even with the right telecom vendors, it\u2019s so easy to say \u201cwe don\u2019t need QoS (Quality of Service)\u201d \u2013 simply because the decision maker doesn\u2019t know what it is. The fallacy is that there is a belief we already have a Digital Oilfield. There are already real world examples of a true Digital Oilfield using a Connected Field. And they are all in the Middle East; lowering their costs and increasing their supply. I cover a real world example later, so it will be easy to see the difference.<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s go back to the beginning. What is a \u201cDigital Oilfield\u201d?\u00a0 The concept was first presented in the seminal study: \u201cThe Digital Oilfield of the Future: Enabling Next Generation Reservoir Performance\u201d, IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates<\/a>, Inc., 2003.<\/p>\n