Application of Big Data in Petroleum Streams

Jay Gohil, Manan Shah

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781032029016
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000580020
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Mathematics General
• Index: Computer Science

The book aims to provide comprehensive knowledge and information pertaining to application or implementation of big data in the petroleum industry and its operations (such as exploration, production, refining and finance).

The book covers intricate aspects of big data such as 6Vs, benefits, applications, implementation, research work and real-world implementation pertaining to each petroleum-associated operation in a concise manner that aids the reader to apprehend the overview of big data's role in the industry.

The book resonates with readers who wish to understand the intricate details of working with big data (along with data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence) in general and how it affects and impacts an entire industry. As the book builds various concepts of big data from scratch to industry level, readers who wish to gain big data-associated knowledge of industry level in simple language from the very fundamentals would find this a wonderful read.

Chapter 1 Introduction

DOI: 10.1201/9781003185710-1

1.1 Oil and Gas Industry

Also known as the petroleum industry, Oil and Gas industry is one of the biggest sectors or portions of all industries in the world in terms of monetary value (as high as $2 trillion per annum in 2021 [1]). Due to its inherent nature of providing the most crucial economic framework – Oil to the world, Oil and Gas industry stands apart as one of the most significant, widespread and impactful industries around the globe, especially for countries including the United States, Russia, Canada, Saudi Arabia and China. The reach of the industry is unfathomable, as it employs hundreds of thousands (directly) and millions (indirectly) of people internationally, generates trillions of dollars of revenue and serves as the backbone of any nation’s economy (due to its significant contribution to gross domain product).

The industry today quenches 57% of global energy consumption while roughly accounting for the same percentage of global CO₂ emissions. It also accounts for 1/10th of total global stock market capital, 15% of global exports and 25% of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) gross domestic product. The industry also requires intense capital, expensive equipment and highly skilled labour [2] and supports a huge workforce of skilled and specialized professionals (10 million in the United States alone). These stats can be comprehended in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1 Petroleum industry statistics.

1.1.1 Influence

The influence of the industry echoes far beyond its territory, into diverse fields including scientific research, technology, politics, warfare and environmental science. While influencing these fields due to its significance, the industry itself has been impacted by several industries, of which the residual residues can still be seen today. For instance, the historical importance of Oil and Gas industry, along with its political reach, can be seen in the way the companies operate today. In the US, the repercussions of the dismantling of Standard Oil into different entities in 1911 [3] can still be seen in the current work structure. The reach and international directions of European O&G companies also portray the exploitation of resources by the European powers on territories that were earlier colonies or political subsidiaries of Europe. The relatively newer companies that emerged due to the fall of the USSR and privatization of China also cater to huge markets. Moreover, the subsequent National Oil Companies (NOCs) that emerged as a result of the transfer of power from the US, USSR and Europe back to the major oil-exporting nations in the mid to late 20th century also play a key role in today’s supply chain [4].

Besides political impacts, one can also look at the technological advances brought through the field into the world. It began in the 1980s when mainstream oil and gas companies started utilizing digital advances through technology to make tremendous leaps into the future through various methods, including accurate measurement of reserves for understanding the level of production potential, streamline various processes in production to cut costs and make them efficient, save a great amount of time and improve the station operations around the world.

However, the extent to which technology has been integrated into the process for commendable outcomes is a mere fraction of its full potential. A single oil rig can generate millions of megabytes of data in a single day, which on proper implemented usage can prove to be extremely beneficial for decision-making process by the companies. This echoes the fact that digitization and integration of technology in Oil and Gas industry are still in its infancy with potential for several applications (as portrayed in Figure 1.2 [5]) and is something that this book explores throughout upcoming chapters.

Figure 1.2 Digitization applications in oil and gas industry.

Along with the integration of technology, the concept of automation has also been on the rise since the last decade due to various benefits that it bestows on the industry. Some of them have been summarized in Table 1.1, where automation proves to benefit drilling operations (by process speedup and reduction in safety risks), diagnosis and detection processes (by constant overlook on operations through video and data with the help of remote sensors), metering system (by automated change in configurations through sensors and programmed functions) and weather monitoring system (by automated prediction of hazards pertaining to weather for reduced safety risk and prevention mechanism).

Table 1.1 Automation applications and benefits in the petroleum industry

Operation	Application and benefit
Drilling	Complete process speed-up & safety risk reduction
Remote plant monitoring	Remote access to plants and its configurations with IoT devices, resulting in reduced personnel hazards
Weather monitoring	Geological hazard activities and natural disasters prediction using autonomous sensors for actionable preventive measures and reduced construction risks
Diagnosis and detection	Real-time transmission using remote control equipment for video and data
Metering system	Real-time data return using autonomous sensors without personnel requirement along with automatic configuration adjustments

As mentioned here, Oil and Gas industry has tremendously driven various innovations in the technical field, and the associated companies have taken major steps to inculcate them into the supply chain. These innovations and steps are aimed at counteracting the lack of skilled force, slowed decreasing demand and hurdles due to governmental restrictions; while increasing production efficiency, decreasing in production time and reducing safety risks.

Furthermore, Oil and Gas industry has significant impact and reach on a key aspect that, which is the world of politics and state affairs. Due to the fact that 86% of the global oil reserves fall under the jurisdiction of the states or state companies, i.e., a significant portion of global supply falls under social control which the states have fundamental right to control, the involvement of state affairs is a no brainer for sure. However, the extent of involvement of politics and the industry is beyond our comprehension and can be slightly understood through the hereby mentioned facts about geopolitical and state affairs around the world.

The shift of oil trade from traditional regions to Asia has resulted in reduction of political influence over the Asian nations by traditional monopolies (except the continued dependency of security from United States for trade security). The western countries though will remain self-sufficient for a few decades until the reserves completely deplete. Due to the dependency of nations on petroleum for energy generation and consumption, the said geopolitical aspects about nations’ Oil and Gas supremacy play a significant role in state affairs around the globe. The gas trade is no exception in the involvement of trade affairs, as the global supply chain (such as Russian gas to Europe and potential upcoming diverse Asian supplies from the Indian Ocean and Australasia) does have political influence on various decisions and deals that take place between two (or more) nations.

Therefore, as perceived till now, the scope of Oil and Gas Industry’s reach is far reaching, stretching from technological advances to global state affairs. Such a level of influence on the global landscape is truly something that very few industries have been able to accomplish.

1.1.2 Challenges

It turns out that Oil and Gas industry is the only industry in the world that has consistently “lost” efficiency in its working throughout the last 100 years, contrary to the standard trend of increase in efficiency in every other industry over time [6]. This exposes a major problem with the way Oil and Gas companies operate, which is to cut costs, reduce time and maximize net production output in order to increase net profits to themselves. This mindset has cost a great deal to a smooth transition and rapid integration of cleaner & better technologies into the industry. Newer technologies are being introduced into the industry and will eventually replace the traditional working methods, but that does not appear to happen anytime soon.

There is also a shortage of skilled labour in the industry that significantly offsets the swift transitions to newer technology, change in production chain models and integration of modern equipment in the supply chain [7]. Along with this, the investors have also been in turmoil as the returns in the oil and gas industry have significantly underperformed other industries [5], leaving the viability of their investments in question. The transition of major global superpowers from tradition to contemporary strategic focus also poses a threat on oil and gas industry due to it not being the centre of attention as portrayed in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2 Major countries’ strategic focus

Country	Government strategy	Strategy focus
United States	“Advanced manufacturing partnership” [9] “Framework for revitalizing American manufacturing” [10] “A national strategic plan for advanced manufacturing” [11] “Strategy for American leadership in advanced manufacturing” [12]	To use the internet for activating traditional industries while maintaining manufacturing industry’s long-term competitiveness (Re-industrialization)
China	“Made in China 2025” [13] “Plan of action on German-Chinese cooperation on joint innovation” [14]	To create a new generation of the IT, biomedicine, bio-manufacturing, high-end equipment-manufacturing and new energy industry
United Kingdom	“The future of manufacturing: a new era of opportunity and challenge for the UK” [15]	To integrate ICT, new materials and other technologies into products & production networks, d...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• About the Authors
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Petroleum Operations
• 3 Big Data’s 6Vs
• 4 Benefits of Big Data
• 5 Applications of Big Data
• 6 Implementation of Big Data
• 7 Big Data Platforms
• 8 AI Algorithms
• 9 Research on Big Data
• 10 Real-World Implementation of Big Data
• 11 Traits of Companies with Superior Big Data Implementation
• 12 Challenges of Big Data
• 13 Future Scope of Big Data
• 14 Conclusion
• Index