Amoco's Field Data Entry System
Authors: Gill G. Robin , Gregory Garth 
Published: March 2010

Field automation systems designed to collect and process production information have proven to be a useful tool for managing oil production. In many cases the initial capital investment of these systems cannot be justified if the field is too small or beyond peak production rates. But these same properties offer substantial opportunities for improved profit if accurate, current production information is available to technical, s1.lpen'isory, and operations staff.

This paper discusses the development of a production information system using microcomputers that can be installed at nominal cost. The results of an application in the Pembina Cardium oilfield are described. Reduced operating costs through increased staff productivity have been achieved with this system.

Introduction

Information systems in the petroleum industry have tended to focus on technical and administrative functions. Until recently, production operations have received only moderate attention. Today's complex operating environment includes rapidly changing taxation rates and royalty Structures, and intricate ownership arrangements. Deregulation promises to further complicate matters with increased price and market share volatility. Under these circumstances, producing oil for maximum revenue and profit requires accurate, detailed, and timely information from the field. Many companies, including Amoco Canada, have installed automation systems which remotely gather data and transfer information via cable or telemetry to centrally located computers for processing. Small oil fields or fields past their peak production rates usually cannot support the large capital investment required for this type of system. These same operations often provide the greatest potential for improved profit. Information systems can be used to quickly identify well performance changes, to accurately produce to allowables, and to transfer data to engineering and supervisory support centres. Amoco Canada has developed a microcomputer-based field data collection system designed to exploit these opportunities.

Discussion

Challenged to find additional ways to improve efficiency and profitability during a time of declining crude oil prices, operations personnel suggested using microcomputers to aid in the handling of field production data. Manual methods of collecting and transferring large amounts of production information were inefficient and consumed significant amounts of field staff time. Much of the reporting was repeated daily or monthly so it was well suited to computerization.

Prototype Development

Prototype development of Amoco's Field Data Entry system began in late 1986, and progressed through January 1981. The main objectives were:to test the suitability of selected software for production accounting;to test the suitability of standard microcomputer hardware for use in a field operating environment;to confum and quantify anticipated benefits, particularlY operator and clerical time savings; andto assess user acceptance and training requirments.

A small fourteen-well battery with a waterflood facility was chosen for the prototype. After some research, the well-known product Base was selected as the core software. Development work was undertaken by a small team consisting of a production operations supervisor and computer programmer on loan from Amoco's Information Services department. To accelerate the process much of the work was done in Amoco's Pembina District office in Drayton Valley.