Real-time monitoring
Once oil and gas is flowing, the challenge shifts to keeping systems running efficiently.
To help with day-to-day operations bp has a tool called Optimization Genie which analyses real-time data from oil and gas fields.
This analysis is then given to engineers, along with suggestions for how to adjust flow rates or valve settings.
Another area getting the high-tech treatment is the process of restarting production after shutdowns.
“bp’s Well Startup Tool models scenarios and suggests options to enhance safety and promote speedier turnaround for bringing wells back online, helping us to reduce the time production is idle and get it back to peak sooner,” the company says.
Elsewhere, offshore, fibre optic sensors running the length of a well are being used in the Gulf of America to track where oil, gas and water flow in real time.
Jean-Charles Dumenil, who leads production technology delivery at bp, frames this as a judgement issue rather than purely a technical one.
“Better insights lead to better judgement and the potential to produce more barrels,” he says.