Information Science: An Oil Field Tool
Authors: Short C.J. , David A. , Marusa P.A. 
Published: December 2007

Information Science is defined as the collection, classification, storage, retrieval, and dissimenination of recorded knowledge treated as both a pure and applied science. Information Management is nothing more than the systematic objective oriented application of the tenets of Information Science.

Technical staff efficiency can be improved by implementing an Information Management System (IMS) in the planning, control, and evaluation activities associated with oil recovery operations. This is accomplished by decreasing the potential for error, assuring availability and timeliness of information required in analysis and decision making, and automating routine data operations.

The availability and timeliness of performance data is especially important to those engaged in enhanced recovery operations. The urgency of the enhanced recovery engineer's data needs dictates the use of an IMS of design somewhat different than that used for routine reporting and historical file generation.

General criteria for the design of an enhanced recovery IMS are presented along with comments illustrating how such a system fits into a larger corporate data plan. The rationale that an IMS is essential to proper enhanced recovery project engineering is espoused.

Introduction

Many authors have reported the development of information management, data collection, and automatic lease control systems for oil field applications. Most of these systems are concerned with the generation of routine performance reports much like a morning report, detecting and initiating mechanical responses to various signals from field equipment, and the development of historical files. All of these functions are useful to the proper management of oil production activities. In general, however, they do not take into account the immediacy and variability of an enhanced recovery engineer's information needs.

Gulf Oil Corporation has, at its Houston Technical Services Center, undertaken the development of a specialized enhanced recovery IMS. This has not required new technology or startling new concepts. Rather, it has required only recognition of the fact that corporate data systems in general do not have the flexibility to fulfill all of the data needs of an enhanced recovery engineer. Those needs dictate the development of a specialized subordinate system of somewhat different design. It is the purpose of this paper to endorse such development and to present a basic design for consideration.

Discussion

Enhanced Recovery is the name given a number of physical and/or chemical processes used to produce physical and/or chemical processes used to produce previously unrecoverable hydrocarbons. They are previously unrecoverable hydrocarbons. They are expensive to implement, and once in progress, expensive or impossible - to modify. Engineering errors, either of omission or comission, in the design and operation of an enhanced recovery project are extremely costly.

High quality data are essential to valid engineering decisions. Knowing and unreserved use of poor quality data, omission of pertinent data from the poor quality data, omission of pertinent data from the decision stream, and failure to use data before they are obsolete are engineering errors. A properly designed and implemented IMS will minimize the frequency of such errors.

As opposed to an historical performance file, an enhanced recovery IMS must:record a wider spectrum of data on a more immediate basis,be proprietarily accessible to the concerned engineering staff without organizational interfacing, andbe completely modular in processing capability for maximum flexibility.