Professor, tell us about the current industry perception of “smart” oilfield technologies.

A few years ago, we used to call the evolution of the technology “digital oil fields of the future” (DOFF). Now the future is here, and the use of “smart” and integrated oilfield technologies is a part of operations in many large international and national companies, and in small companies as well. I even see conservative operators who had been sitting on the sidelines adopting aspects of these technologies now. The biggest problem many face is the shortage of subject matter experts who can function in a collaborative environment. Rapid training at all levels is still an issue considering that the majority of entry-level engineers are not trained in the use of “smart” oilfield technologies. 

What technologies have evolved in this arena of intelligent oilfield operations?

Besides the completion of “smart” wells, development of affordable sensors and remotely operated control valves, major progress has been made in “smart” data management and data mining tools, performance-based modeling, and increased use of AI in decision-support systems. Collaboration rooms have also been established as the first step to promoting and enhancing team-based decision-making.

What are the gaps in the use of these technologies?

The major gaps in many areas include the limitations of existing data integration, the expense of multiphase metering for individual wells, limitations in technology for real-time down-hole sensors and the costs associated with them, measurement tools and man-machine interaction.

What is SPE doing in promoting the concepts?

Besides a number of global forums and workshops, SPE conducts two major conferences related to “smart” oil fields. The Intelligent Energy Conference in Utrecht, Netherlands, in March will focus on the scientific progress and includes case studies and industry panels. There is also a Digital Energy Conference, sponsored by the SPE Gulf Coast Section, in Houston, Texas, where more case studies and practical solutions will be discussed. SPE now offers two short courses related to the topic. Last August we conducted an SPE-sponsored colloquium for Petroleum Engineering department heads to discuss solutions for introducing these concepts in the undergraduate PTE curriculum.

How did USC get involved with its graduate program on the subject?

The educational program related to “smart” oilfield technologies was part of the effort to establish a research center focusing on these issues. CiSoft also established a hub for training a new breed of hub center of excellence where students with an Information Technology (IT) background could attend an orientation about oil and gas upstream operations, and PTE students could learn about IT opportunities to transform the industry. Since 2004, for professionals who could not attend as full-time students, we have offered four courses related to these areas via our Technology Enhanced Distance Education Network (http://Mapp.usc.edu). Thanks to the support of Chevron, we are the only school offering this educational opportunity to industry professionals worldwide.

What would be some recommendations you can make to the new engineers joining the industry?

This is the age of information and knowledge management. The new generation of engineers joining the oil industry is expected to do better than previous generations. The industry and the world expect better recovery factors from the existing and newly discovered fields. They expect assiduous safeguarding of workers and operating environment. Information technology has transformed other industries including health care, banking, aerospace, and national defense. Petroleum engineers cannot continue using 19^th century technologies when other options can help visualize the complex systems they manage from reservoir to well bore to surface facilities. They now have the opportunity to increase the efficiency of resource recovery, reduce operating costs, and minimize well failures and work-related incidents by making intelligent decisions that consider all consequences and interactivities among asset components. 

What can be done to make managers enthused about the use of these technologies?

In my experience, the value proposition is still not clearly articulated across the industry. There are many case studies that can be shared to make managers aware of how other companies take advantage of these concepts. The companies that have seen value are investing in these technologies to reduce time on data-to-decision cycles, identify onset of failures, and realize opportunities in faster and more reliable production enhancement. They now have the tools to generate better operational and strategic decisions by enabling smart search, meta-analysis and predictive analytics. These decision-making processes are usually under three levels of control loops, each one nested within the other. The smallest loop is for fast, reactive decision making. Using the same sensory data, the mid-level controls apply a higher level of smart feedback controls and proactive monitoring. Strategic decisions are made with long-range understanding of the sensory data and decisions that can show their impact over a longer period of time.

In your view, who are the biggest players in the intelligent field arena and why? From an expert point of view, noting the generation gap in the oil and gas industry, can you provide recommendations to the major IOCs and NOCs to sustain and further develop our industry to remain the most reliable source of energy to the world?

To your first question I would name the IOC’s early adopters: Statoil, BP, Chevron, Shell and later ExxonMobil. Saudi Aramco certainly leads the way among the NOCs, but national companies in Oman, Brazil, Kuwait, and Malaysia are also moving ahead. In the management of offshore assets, drilling and monitoring expensive multilaterals, these companies have seen enormous value in remote control and operations. Many technologies developed for offshore are now finding applications in onshore fields.

As for sustaining production, the focus is clear. Exploration to discover new hydrocarbon resources onshore and offshore is expensive and, in many cases, requires and results in development under difficult geologic and operating environments. While this effort should continue into new frontiers, let us not forget that exploring for by-passed hydrocarbons and energizing existing and even abandoned oilfields also offers great potential for sustaining production if we focus on increasing the recovery factor using advanced monitoring technologies. Yes, it will require investment for drilling and completing newer and “smarter” wells, it will require smart monitoring of subsurface fluid distribution and reservoir management, but at least we know the hydrocarbon is there. This really requires a universal industry declaration that, given the prevailing economics, the life of oil fields must be stretched. Oilfield abandonment should become a decision for future generations of engineers with better technologies to go after remaining hydrocarbon molecules.

USC graduated many students from Middle East and North Africa (MENA), many of whom specialized in petroleum engineering. You have had a hand in developing many of these Trojans. In all honesty, is there a competency in which new MENA students most commonly require development? Please elaborate so we can give them an opportunity to work on it prior to attending. Likewise, has there been an area where they stand out compared to their colleagues?

Over the last four decades that I have taught at USC, I have had the pleasure of working with many students from MENA countries including those from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, UAE, Kuwait Libya, Nigeria, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Qatar and Somalia. They all come from a disciplined family environment. They are courteous toward their professors and intent on learning. It has certainly been a matter of pride for us that many of these graduates, after returning home, have achieved professional eminence in their countries and in SPE. These days, a very important component of getting professional education in engineering fields is learning the art of teamwork and collaborative decision-making. In the past, with some exceptions, participation of MENA students in team projects was limited by their choice to group studies from their respective countries. In recent years, especially since we started the smart oilfield technology program at USC, we have included in every course the opportunity for group projects. To really get the best of these experiences, I would like to see students from these countries be conditioned and encouraged to participate in group projects with other professional students from the U.S., China, India and South American countries. These networking and collaboration opportunities also provide training in distributed decision-making for solving global petroleum engineering problems. A head start conditioning effort for such training by sponsoring agencies and companies before MENA students attend USC can certainly smooth and accelerate the learning process here.

What other new technologies is USC pursuing and what are the potential benefits?

The range of some research areas pursued at CiSoft is reflected in the publication list on the website http://cisoft.usc.edu/publications/. They include immersive visualization, new developments in type II fuzzy logic, semantic web technologies, signal processing, integrated asset modeling and sensors, and sensor nets. Some focus areas include a futuristic look at how oil fields will be run a decade from now. For current, ongoing research, because of the proprietary nature of our work, we do not discuss details in public before technologies and work processes are developed and protected via patenting or copyrighting.