Time to embrace Document title - How shared data standards and digital twin technologies will combine to transform oil and gas in a time of ...
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Time to embrace
[Company name]
a framework
[Document title]
for change
[Document subtitle]
How shared data standards and digital twin
technologies will combine to transform oil and gas
in a time of unprecedented challenges.
White Paper Time to embrace a framework for change Shared data standards and digital twin technologies will combine to transform oil and gas in a time of unprecedented challenges. Collaboration and communication are central to the success of any complex project. And the more variables in play – companies, disciplines, technologies – the more crucial the need to share information and data effectively. In harsh environments like those found across subsea oil and gas, it is particularly important to establish a framework that, to the greatest extent possible, encourages the teamwork necessary to reduce risks while increasing the potential for efficient, cost-effective project execution. Changing parameters for the entire industry in the post-Covid world – exploration slowdown, carbon reductions, decreasing margins – only increase the need for tools that can make a meaningful difference to returns on investment. FutureOn, the global software specialist focused on the energy sector, is championing a vendor-neutral approach to data standards that will facilitate maximum industry collaboration through cross-platform digitalization of field planning, realisation and operations. Proven results from our involvement in developments around the world provide an illustration of what digital twin applications can achieve on individual projects, as well as the wider sector transformation possible through industry-wide cooperation on open data standards. And FieldAP and FieldTwin, while already ground-breaking, are only the beginning of the story. Innovations in the information-rich substrata of the technologies, and how those are used in real-world applications, promise to rewrite the book on what digital twins can bring to oil and gas. Industry gains from shared standards The potential of digitalization knows no bounds: from field design, contracting and operations to flow assurance, production forecasts, pipeline profiles, detailed cost calculations and carbon reductions. And new ways of sharing data will develop hand in hand with additional security – FutureOn is for instance talking with operators and contractors about a central information portal for bidding and tendering that allows for shared access while providing inbuilt protection for IP and proprietary materials. futureon.com ©2021 FutureOn
White Paper
That mix of collaboration and control opens the door to a truly transformative win-win. And benefits will only
increase – potentially many, many times over – with the sort of comprehensive, industry-wide framework for
metadata that FutureOn is working to establish.
An accepted standard for the fundamental building blocks of the digital future will facilitate communication
between inhouse and third-party platforms, across different companies and divisions, between operator and
contractor, and from initial concept through operation and eventually decommissioning.
A high quality, continuous set of metadata – recognised and applicable across industry – is crucial to the full
enabling of digital twin technologies and the sorts of achievements already taking hold across the oil and gas. It
will tackle the frustrations and loss of data often encountered during handover between project phases,
enhance communication between different parts of the business and result in better collaboration, increased
efficiency, and decreased risk.
The next iteration of FieldTwin will
take full advantage of the power
offered by a centrally managed data
approach. The result will be
alignment of the information held on
different applications, by different
operators and under different
standards. A single item of metadata
within the digital twin will be precisely
defined, ready for import/export or
sharing in the appropriate format
ready for its final destination.
Partners, contractors, and suppliers – enabled by FutureOn technology and using industry-agreed protocols –
will be able to work to the same standard, however defined at the original source. Under such a system it will be
possible to design an entire field based on the selection of a preferred metadata template, reflecting for
instance the requirements of an industry organisation, a system specific to a particular basin, or some other
standard.
The wider benefits of this collaborative digital approach are already evident in ongoing development and across
project lifecycles: real-life solutions that encourage innovation, create cost savings, and cut time to first
production.
Field optimization through digital design
At the design stage, digitalization provides a common workspace that breaks down barriers between potential
silos and enables efficient collaboration across even remote work settings. It also reduces the time spent
searching for data across, for instance, server folder structures and data hierarchies.
Engineers can in a matter of moments access information in the digital twin about a specific asset in a
geospatially correct environment, including the latest validated data: process flows, piping and instrumentation,
materials and test certificates, product specifications, inspection findings, maintenance records and integrity risk
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assessment reports, among others. The technical codes and standards used for compliance can also be
included.
Access to this single-point, data-rich visualisation – particularly when combined with parallel organizational
changes – boosts efficiencies and increases the time available to discuss a wider range of project alternatives
while improving decision making quality.
Crucially, metadata functionality brings even wider benefits; physical asset properties can be input, captured,
and digitized to enable smart virtual assets for use across a range of workflows and software applications in
several disciplines.
And the more that metadata shares a common standard, the more
… the more that effective it becomes.
metadata shares a The integrated semi-autonomous digital approach to field development
can identify potential problems at an early stage, and so create
common standard, substantial budget savings. It also facilitates previously unfeasible
the more effective. assessments such as radical field layouts and/or the incorporation of
rolling geology updates when planning well trajectories.
Norwegian energy giant Equinor – for which FutureOn has developed a number of pilot digital initiatives over
the last five years – proved the value of the digital twin approach to design on the NOK 18.6bn Breidablikk
project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
FutureOn digital tools including FieldTwin were used during subsea development for the project, which is
expected to produce 200 million barrels, and at a very early stage identified the potential for an alternate layout
that would generate significant savings.
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©2021 FutureOnWhite Paper
The changes identified from digital visualizations and metadata values were incorporated prior to detailed
design, avoiding what might have been much more expensive alterations at a subsequent stage of the project.
According to Equinor, Breidablikk
showcases how "the industry's
combined competences create
high value and returns from a
world-class infrastructure on the
Norwegian Continental Shelf"
while contributing "significantly to
maintaining profitable
production” in one of Equinor’s
core areas.
Digital twin technology
undoubtedly helped to facilitate
the result. First oil is due in 2024.
A next-generation approach to teamwork
At the tendering stage, digital twin technology can streamline the bidding process while increasing security over
sensitive and proprietary data.
A central cloud-based platform and 3D visualization containing all relevant information allows access to be
controlled by the operator over time. This not only governs when and what potential contractors can see but
restricts future use by unsuccessful or non-bidders and guards against misuse, unauthorized access and even
theft.
Updates to project materials can be incorporated into bid preparation on a rolling basis, collaboration between
partners and consortia can be both facilitated and optimized, and overall time from invitation to tender through
to award can be minimised.
Equinor is actively putting this aspect of digital twin technologies to work at its Bay du Nord development in the
Flemish Pass basin off Newfoundland, Canada. The 300-million-barrel project will feature subsea installations
tied back to an FPSO and first oil is expected in 2025.
As part of a wide-ranging embrace of FutureOn technologies, key digital data from the project design as
created in FieldTwin Design will be shared directly with front-end engineering and design contractors Subsea7
and TechnipFMC.
These data packages will form the framework for the contractors' FEED proposals to Equinor, reducing both the
overall paperwork required and related duplication while ensuring efficient document management.
Crucially, it includes the creation of a single shared data source accessible across the project teams, tracking
changes in real time and even catering via an export/import solution to existing inhouse tools.
The result of the digitalization of these processes is a positive step-change in how Equinor communicates with
its supply chain. The overall time reductions and cost savings are significant.
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©2021 FutureOnWhite Paper Milestones on the road to transformation Teamwork has never been more important to the way energy firms do business. Synergies are key from concept through execution, operation, and decommissioning; collaboration is the watchword within companies, across supply chains and on an industry-wide basis. Digital twin technologies have in recent years revolutionized how data is used and shared, encouraging the effective communication necessary to achieve results even in the most difficult of economic and operational environments. A shared open standard for metadata can take digitalization to the next level: multiplying many times over the cost savings, the time efficiencies and the returns on investment already proven in real-world applications. Innovators including FutureOn, using applications including FieldAP and FieldTwin are ready to lead the way. And this is not solely about faith in the company's own technology – which is a given – it is about achieving the necessary and ongoing transformation of an industry facing unprecedented challenges. The full range of digital solutions that can enable projects to succeed in these challenging times have been identified; now it’s time for industry to embrace the full potential. About FutureOn FutureOn emerges from Xvision – a part of EXP group with more than 15 years being a state-of-the-art provider of visual engineering for clients worldwide in the Oil and Gas subsea domain. By using leading-edge technology, FutureOn helps global energy companies increase efficiencies, reduce costs, lower emissions, mitigate risk, and increase uptime with a cloud-based platform mirroring their field operations in a secure, collaborative digital environment. futureon.com ©2021 FutureOn
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