What is oil and gas automation?

Oil and gas automation, also known as oilfield automation, in the oil and gas industry refers to a growing number of processes, many involving digital technologies, that can help energy producers better compete in global markets. While some industry areas are riper for automation than others, top oil and gas automation candidates include drilling, production operations and process control, logistics and supply chain, safety and retail operations.

How SCADA Systems Benefit Oil & Gas Organizations

Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems enable industries to monitor and control equipment to improve operating efficiency.  Traditionally, SCADA systems are deployed on-premise at a plant control room or field office. Recently, cloud-hosted solutions are becoming popular. Cloud-hosted SCADA is accessible from any internet connected device, has low maintenance cost, and provides great flexibility.  

SCADA systems can be further divided into general-purpose and industry specific. Oil and gas operators utilizing SCADA have unique challenges not common to other industries.  Notable among these are communications across long distances, geographically remote locations and dealing with a myriad of device types produced by different manufacturers.  General-purpose SCADA solutions can be difficult to adapt, while oilfield-specific SCADA systems can offer easy integration.

The Meaning of SCADA for Oil & Gas

Oil and gas industry operations are complex and mistakes are expensive, so it is crucial that organizations operating in this sphere make smart and efficient decisions. SCADA systems are utilized by operators to perform three critical functions:

• Monitor physical conditions at oilfield sites and provide real-time data on devices like wellhead pressures, tank levels, and flow rate.
• Control processes like changing operating setpoints, adjusting valve controls, or even performing electronic shutdowns remotely.
• Report performance metrics, historical trends, and critical alarms.

Oilfield operations are typically spread over wide areas, sometimes across entire counties or states.  The required communications can involve a mix of wired connections, radio networks, cellular, and satellite.  The equipment being monitored can be highly varied, made by multiple manufacturers with differing communication protocols.  Older, legacy devices are frequently encountered, requiring a “deep bench” of experience for integration into the SCADA hosting system.  Adapting general-purpose solutions adds another lay of complexity for operators.  However, oilfield-specific SCADA solutions provide easier implementation.

Why SCADA Systems Are Implemented in The Oil & Gas Sector

SCADA is invaluable to both upstream and midstream.  Field personnel save countless hours of dangerous driving when the data they need is available with the click of a mouse.  Engineers have accurate, more frequent data, providing essential tools for increasing production and lowering costs. Decision making for managers is also improved, with a common “source of truth” for all employees.

SCADA for Upstream

SCADA provides the upstream, or exploration & production sector, with the ability to improve production by alerting personnel to critical issues.  A cell phone alert when a pumpjack goes offline can result in a well being put back online hours or even days sooner.  Remote control of a pump-off controller or plunger controller give engineers the ability to fine tune the equipment to increase production.  Tank monitoring enables timely scheduling of truck hauls and aid in the prevention of costly spills. 

SCADA for Midstream

The midstream sector is the connection between the upstream sites and the refineries downstream. Pipeline pressures are monitored to detect and address anomalies in the pipeline. SCADA allows real time balancing of the inlets and outlets on a midstream system. With SCADA, problems are identified and resolved quickly.  Pipeline systems without SCADA can have balancing issues that persist for weeks before they are noticed by month end accounting.  

At Gulf Gate we offer a wide range of SCADA solutions that streamline and integrate your dispersed assets across the oil and gas well pad, pipeline and terminal markets.

From measurement to host systems, we offer you a single provider solution where you can avoid the islands of automation that require painful integration and eliminate risks associated with pieced-together solutions.

Our products and systems enable you to:

• Monitor, control and measure remotely
• Asset optimization with greater visibility of your field

Enhance safety by streamlining process knowledge