Field Monitoring: Applications Of TOTAL Corporate Integration Strategy
Authors: Treguier Aurelien , Louis Alain J.P. , Danquigny Jacques Albert 
Published: February 2016

Important progress of digital technologies over the past few years radically changes the way Total acquires, processes and spreads the data coming from its upstream assets. The rising generation of oilfields already reaps the benefits from the use of these technologies through a patchwork of customized applications ranging from measurement up to visualization. This combination of both existing and leading-edge technologies ensures to constantly reach the field optimal efficiency.

This result is achieved by a close follow-up of the field behaviour from reservoir to point of sale.

This paper:presents examples of early successful achievements, fit for the purpose of local assets, dealing with the monitoring of reservoirs (4D, tracers,..), wells, pipeline flow assurance, rotating equipmentsemphasizes recent applications of the Total corporate integration strategy, dedicated to improve overall field performance. This activity is implemented in a single program named Field Monitoring and focused on the following topics: reservoirs, wells, networks, plants, and IT architecture

Total has gathered all the above-mentioned tools and technologies within its E&P Field Monitoring program, so as to accelerate the implementation of technological breakthroughs by:capitalizing on existing asset specific tools, dedicated to real time monitoring and optimisationensuring quick deployment of new developments across assets and disciplinespromoting collaborative work and data sharingaddressing complex operation issues (deep offshore …)introducing systems to spawn conservation efforts and reduce GHG emission intensity through a close surveillance of their origin

Within a unique, simple and long-lasting IT architecture, the Field Monitoring tools are web based and remotely accessible. Data validation, advanced calculation and simulation are associated to generate useful pieces of information such as KPI's, alarms and diagnosis wizards. This paper provides the details of one implementation of this strengthened concept demonstrating and turning into reality the corporate strategy. This feed back is focussing mainly on software aspects rather than on hardware issues and business processes, presenting comprehensive information about the Field Monitoring integration strategy: how do Total structure its program, how do Total implement it, …

Introduction

It is undeniably true that the oil and gas industry is a conservative business that has been very cautious to capture opportunities offered by Digital Oil Field techniques for deployment and use at scale, whereas the technologies to acquire, store and transmit data in real time have been available and well understood for some time [1].

Nevertheless, some brilliant initiatives already proved in the past the potential of the digital technologies. In most cases, the surveillance and the optimisation of production/drilling operations at a relatively high frequency are two major contributors to get the most from oil fields (e.g. increasing or sustaining production/recovery rates and reducing production costs).

This is driving oil companies to improve speed of technology adoption to effectively monitor, optimize and manage over time the performance of producing reservoir, wells and surface facilities. This unexpected fancy for DOF technologies is made facing a number of obstacles to performing these tasks efficiently. These difficulties include:

Time devoted to monitoring 'drudgery'

Technical workforce appointed to monitoring activities typically has limited time available because people have many other job duties. As a result, proactive improvement tasks are often neglected as they are more time consuming than reactive activities.