INDUSTRY WATCH
DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY
CAN ADVANCE THE
PRODUCTION PROCESS
CONTINUALLY AND
INCREMENTALLY.
The ADNOC Group’s Panorama
Command Centre is appropriately
named. The state-of-the-art
50-metre video wall wouldn’t be out of
place in a futuristic Hollywood movie.
But apart from the fabulous optics,
the new Aveva solution gives the Abu
Dhabi oil major a significant strategic
advantage. A single glance displays
integrated, real-time information across
the organisation’s operations and
distribution network, enabling operations
and cost efficiencies.
That’s good news in volatile market
conditions, where oil and gas enterprises
face increased pressure across the
board. Apart from the challenges
presented by uncertain market prices,
environmental pressures, increased
security threats and heightened
regulatory compliance requirements
have combined to create a complex,
unfamiliar landscape for the industry.
In this scenario, Digital Transformation
can drive new and better customer
experiences while maximising value
creation across asset and operations
lifecycles, delivering improved profitability,
higher returns on capital and enhanced
productivity, leading to significant
competitive advantages overall.
Leveraging digital technologies, such as
cloud, the Industrial Internet of Things
(IIoT), mobility, Artificial Intelligence
(AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Big Data and
analytics could cut capital expenditure
by up to 20% across the industry,
according to estimates from the
management consultants McKinsey. At
the same time, embracing these new
technologies will see total cash flows
improve by US$11 per barrel across the
offshore oil and gas value chain, adding
US$300 billion a year by 2025.
In practice, this transformation can be
affected through a series of cutting-edge
toolsets designed for hydrocarbon traders
and suppliers. There are three main
ways that the digital technologies can
transform oil and gas:
1. Process optimisation with a Digital
Twin: As a virtual representation of a
physical asset – for example, a pump,
motor, turbine or even an entire industrial
process or plant – a Digital Twin enables
full lifecycle management of physical
assets, from the design stage and
extending across the assets’ lifecycle.
These real-time digital replicas of
operating assets enable the collection,
visualisation and analysis of operational
data at a single glance, thus helping
maximise return on capital and increase
enterprise profitability. Computing power
can be scaled up or down, user privileges
can be added, edited or deleted as
needed and plants and facilities can be
quickly adapted to changing legislative
and market requirements.
As a result, processes across the business
are optimised, allowing operators to
evaluate what-if scenarios in batch
processing, manufacturing and
distribution. Sharing this information
with stakeholders increases their ability
to visualise results and key performance
indicator data across the process. In
addition, enhanced predictive control
www.intelligentcio.com
INTELLIGENTCIO
73