Baker Hughes truck-mounted mobile edge analytics platform from
Nvidia brings supercharged Street-View technology to the oil field.
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Petrobras – build not buy!
Go Digital initiative includes SAP S/4 HANA deployment and 30
petaflop supercomputer, an AI ‘trip detector’ and
ubiquitous digital twin deployment.
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VB6, HTML Frames … still going strong!
Oil IT Journal editor Neil McNaughton havers between Windows 10 and
Linux and
reflects on decommissioned PCs and on old programming paradigms.
Reluctant to add to the junk in the basement, he revamps a 12 year old
machine and upgrades www.oilit.com with an ‘if it ain’t
broke, don’t fix it’ approach to software development.
It has been 15 years now since I paid tribute
to Jerry Pournelle, now the late Jerry
Pournelle,
he died back in 2017. I was an avid reader of Jerry’s
‘Chaos Manor’ column in Byte
Magazine which, like Pournelle is
now deceased. My 2005 piece was a ramble around a dilletante build of a
super (micro) computer, assembled from esoteric parts bought on Ebay. I
never said what became of it. So, for those of you with long memories
here is the end of that story.
When I finally assembled the dual Xeon monster with super-fast SCSI
drives and found an OS that worked, I switched the thing on and
immediately realized why servers live in server rooms. This thing made
a noise like a helicopter. No way I was ever going to use it in the
office. It was relegated to the basement where it still sits.
Alongside, by the way, maybe a dozen other old computers that have for
the most part been rendered obsolete by software upgrades.
My next couple of computer purchases, a Mac mini server and a black
box Windows PC were made a couple of years after this experience in the
late 2000s. The Mac mini reached its end of life (in software terms) a
few years later and was mothballed – along with its super
high-res display with its Mac-only connectivity. The black box, which I
named, ‘BlackBox’ has been my workhorse ever since. Which
meant that come January 14, 2020 and the end-of-life for Windows 7, I
had to upgrade. To Windows 10.
I really didn’t want to add another piece of junk to my
collection so, despite Microsoft’s warnings that I would probably
need a new machine, I decided to stay with BlackBox, especially as I
has just added a 1TB solid state drive (a great €100 investment).
Windows 10 installation (from a bought USB stick) went fine. One
curiosity though. At one stage the installation asked me ‘how I wanted
my adverts served’. There was no option for ‘not at all’
which I would have been happy with. After some fiddling around I
managed to keep Window 7 on a partition so that my ancient VB6 programs
can run natively. I reboot to W7 without internet access so this ought
to be safe, even if it is a bit of a pain.
During the process it crossed my mind that maybe this would be a
good time to jump off the Windows bandwagon completely and downloaded
Linux which is on yet another partition on BlackBox. I found that Linux
installs are now as easy if not easier than Windows. Which made me
think that there was more life in the old Mac mini. There was. I now
have Ubuntu running on the Mac mini and the beautiful Apple 24”
screen is back in action.
So why didn’t I make the switch? There are a few reasons. One
because leaving things to the last minute does reduce one’s room
for maneuver. But mainly, I didn’t make the switch because
Microsoft has me by the short and
curlies as
they say in the UK. Windows 365, One Drive, Share Point are fantastic
at assuring lock-in and I am still trying to find the way out.
I mentioned VB6 which may surprise you. In which context I have a
few things to get off my chest. From the above you will have gathered
that I don’t like to throw away old hardware. In fact, I am even
more attached to old software. I figure that once you have solved a
problem, written the code, then you should not have to write it again
because the old development environment (hardware or software) is at
its ‘end-of-life’. Unix shell scripts I wrote back in the
1980s run fine under today’s Linux. VB6 was officially obsoleted
in 2008.
Which brings me to the Oil IT Journal website. This too uses
technology that is not only old but the actually deprecated by the W3C.
The deprecated technology deployed is HTML Frames and Framesets. I use
these stubbornly because they involve a minimum amount of programming
effort and they work (at least so far) in all browsers without fancy
browser-specific coding.
The current Corona virus crisis has given me some extra time to
spend on the website. I could have devoted this to a port to some fancy
CMS or other. Instead I decided to double down on my Frames. On
www.oilit.com you can now manipulate the frame boundaries to optimize
your view of the main frame containing the Journal text, the navigation
menu and the newly revamped Conferences page at the bottom of the
screen. If you are new to the site, grab the frame boundaries, move
them around and scroll through the text. You may notice how fast the
site works (well I hope you do). This is because of another
against-the-norm technology choice. No database. All the site is built
from small files which the Apache server assembles in the twinkling of
an eye. Oh, and another unconventional technology choice of which I am
especially proud is … NO COOKIES! I think that web cookies
represent one of the craziest facets of the internet. Facebook, Google,
LinkedIn and just about every website you ever visit write stuff to
your hard drive! Not Oil IT!
Speaking of the Conferences section this, and indeed our great
relationship with the major conference organizers, is one of our main
assets. We have put a lot of effort into this page, keeping it as
up-to-date as we can, and tracking conferences as they move to online
‘virtual’ events or get re-scheduled. Let me know
(info@oilit.com) how you find the tweaks to the site. Should I ditch
the frames? I still have that project of a shift away from Windows and
am looking at a more stable (and up-to-date) programming environment
than VB6!
Book Review - Quantitative Geosciences: Data Analytics, Geostatistics, Reservoir Characterization and Modeling
Zee Ma’s monster (640 page) work sets out to fill the gap
between quantitative and descriptive geoscience analysis for reservoir
characterization with a systematic ‘integrative’ approach.
While recent data-driven approaches are included, QG adopts essentially
a mathematical and first principles approach. The fairly heavy
mathematical content is balanced by Ma’s erudition and insights
that run through the work. Ma argues that in-depth domain knowledge and
first-class statistical know-how will trump the naïve
‘data-science’ approach.
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A geotechnical approach to decommissioning the North Sea
Ikon Science white paper stresses importance of formation pressure
analysis in well plug and abandon. An ‘overly strict’
following of the OGUK guidelines ‘can lead to poor technical
choices’.
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News from Academe
Oil IT Journal reviews some recent developments from the research
establishments. Virtual flow metering review (NUST, Trondheim). Digital
rock physics in unconventionals (UTx Austin/ConocoPhillips). NORCE
research on ensemble Kalman filters in oil and gas. Sirius (Oslo
University) on ‘rewriting logic’ in multi-scenario
geological reasoning.
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Amazon in geophysics
‘Serverless’ seismic data management (with help from
Osokey) and automated salt picking (with help from Amazon Lambda).
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New API for Energistics’ ResqML and other data exchange standards.
F2i Consulting white paper presents FESAPI, a software development
kit for Energistics’ technical architecture. Consortium formed to
progress initiative.
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Software, hardware short takes …
Geoteric 2019.2. INT IVAAP 2.5. Geovariances Isatis.neo 2020.02.
Geophysical Insights’ Paradise 3.3. Cube viewer for Lynx’
iSeisview. Neuralog Pro. Peloton WellView Allez! Petrosys PRO 2019.3.
Petroweb’s Energy Data Curator. Ceetron/Equinor ResInsight
2019.12.1. Tecplot RS 2019 R1. Rock Flow Dynamics’ tNavigator
20.1. Schlumberger Ocean/Petrel 2020 preview. Thermo Fisher
Scientific - Open Inventor Toolkit 10.5. Blue Marble Geographics’
Global Mapper V 21.1. Seeq Data Lab R22. New FieldComm FDI release.
IBM’s new Maximo Asset Monitor and Novate ops center. DNV GL CUI
monitor. Halliburton’s SPIDRlive. Spectra Logic StorCycle. Getac
ruggedized UX10-Ex tablet. OptaSense high backscatter fiber.
Weatherford ‘Centro’ digital well delivery. Wellsite
Navigator redesign. Emerson/Rosemount and DataManager V8.2 ProcessViz.
ExxonMobil/Redlist Mobil Serv. Sharc Periscope 7.0. Open iT
LicenseAnalyzer2020.
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MEEP, open source HPC hardware and software
Repsol-backed MareNostrum exascale computer to defend EU tech
‘sovereignty’.
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Esri 2019 Petroleum User Group, London
Equinor goes green with GIS. GIS ‘at heart of digital
transformation’. GIS and real time production data. Notebook Server for
data scientists. ExxonMobil’s major GIS-for-BIM deployment. Pipeline
‘GIS in GIS’. Survey 123 and Borealis for seismic stakeholder
engagement (Tullow). Esri big data toolkit. WoodMac blends AI/ML with
GIS. Shell on GIS-enabled exploration. ExxonMobil on GIS data quality.
Orbital Insight on GIS-enabled intel. IOGP offshore infrastructure
survey data model. UKCS as a ‘data-driven basin’. Neftex on ArcGIS
interop extension, on PostGIS and QuickPlates. 40Geo’s Raptor Geo-IoT.
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Folks, facts, orgs…
Applied Petroleum Technology, ARMA International, Aspen Technology,
Atwell, LLC, BCCK, Bluefield Geoservices, University of Texas at
Austin, ClassNK, Computer Modelling Group, EnergyNet, DNV GL, Dresser
Natural Gas Solutions, EU federation of geologists, eLynx Technologies,
EPSRC, Flotek, geoLOGIC systems, Golder, PGS, IAGC, INPEX, Lineal
Industries, Michael Baker International, OGUK, BGS, OneGeology, The
Open Group, Parker Drilling, Petrolink, PLH Group, Plutoshift, PRCI,
Quality Companies, Recon Technology, Red Hat, IBM, RigNet, Texas
Railroad Commission, Ryder Scott, Schneider Electric, SeisWare,
Sercel-GRC, Siemens Energy, Stratagraph, Structural Integrity
Associates, Surtek, Technical Toolboxes, Tendeka, Wintershall DEA, CDA,
IOGP JIP33, eLynx.
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Done deals
Baker Tilly buys Oil and Gas Business Solutions. DNV GL Ventures
backs VeChain. Enverus acquires RS Energy Group. IDEX Corp. has
acquired Flow Management Devices. ION Geo gets NYSE notice. Koch closes
Infor deal. Aveva acquires MESEnter. Basic Energy Services buys NexTier
Oilfield Solutions’ well support segment. Petrosys has acquired
Interica. Quorum Software buys EnergyIQ. Rockwell to acquire Kalypso.
Schlumberger quits LSE. Sword combines Venture and DataCo acquisitions.
Wolters Kluwer completes CGE Risk Management purchase. Yokogawa bags
Grazper.
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AmeriCo Energy – Akaike analytics for Permian waterflood.
Unico’s sucker rod pump controllers. Harrison Wright on in-depth
ESP failure analysis.
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Safety first …
Chemical Safety Board budget request, new Texas City animation,
ExxonMobil ruling. DNV GL’s Safety 4.0. Tubular corrosion risk
study. EU Agency – digitalization, occupational safety and
health. Gulf Research Program and safer offshore energy systems. LR
SafetyScanner - data science for HSE. MiX Telematics fleet safety for
NOV. UL’s Houston safety service center. IOGP HSE data portal.
CDC on preventing suicides.
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Facility Lifecycle 3D Model Standard
Netherlands USPI standards body floats 3D model for construction
and digital twin operations in possible rapprochement with emerging BIM
standards.
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2019 Energy Conference Network Oil & Gas Supply Chain and Procurement Summit, Houston
Enverus on machine learning in the supply chain. Blue Wave on local
content development. Sirion Labs, ‘chase mice or hunt elephants?’
Appian’s low code for ERP integration. ISM on supply chain trends.
Fluor mitigates the ‘bump’ factor. Chevron and the Oil & Gas
Blockchain Consortium. Requis - from ‘supply chain’ to ‘value network’
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Machine learning challenges abound
Norway’s FORCE announces well log challenge. Agile’s
Kata geological decoding test. Fugro team wins geotechnical AI
competition. Contilio wins IIOT construction challenge.
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Cyber security round-up
Trend Micro on oil and gas cyber risks. CSTB workshop on artificial
intelligence and cyber security. Cegal on IT/OT convergence and its
‘connect@plant’ solution. McAfee on risks of cloud APIs.
Ultra Petroleum deploys Datrium ransomware protection. Mol selects
MobileIron’s security. Baker Hughes/Nexus Controls adds Tripwire
threat monitoring to SecurityST. EU cybersecurity taxonomy. Ken Munro
hacks a MODU. NIST reports on supply chain cyber risk management.
Yokogawa gets ISASecure certification.
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Sales, partnerships …
Aker BP deploys Cognite AI. Baker Hughes backs Avitas, C3.ai. Total
renews CGG deal. Wintershall Dea deploys Coupa. Ecolog teams with
Smartline. SK Oilfield and eDrilling. Emerson teams with Quantum
Reservoir Impact. Equinor, Shell digital collaboration. Fieldbit AR for
Linde. geoLOGIC leverages BetaZi. DecisionSpace 365 for Pertamina.
Hexagon OSIsoft PI connector. Implico teams with Brainum. Kongsberg
K-Sim for NSSR. Microsoft Azure for Petrofac . Jason RockMod in Azure
cloud. Nextoil partners with Nutech. Omega PIMS supports Maersk/Tota
Culzean development. Vermillion Energy deploys Omnira Software.
Petrofac partners with MODS. Petrolink joins Open Subsurface Data
Universe. Petrosys, Rogii partner. PGS prefers Google Cloud.
Energistics certifies proNova. PetroCap selects Quorum Software.
Italgas deploys RealWear. Northern Offshore contracts RigNet. Robert
Bosch joins Sirius . Metroval, Modec and Rotork. SAP and Accenture.
Schlumberger and Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum. Stress, Optimum form
RiGUARD JV. VELO3D and Duncan Machine Products. Chevron and Wood.
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Standards stuff …
Deep-Time Digital Earth standard. Exxon/Open Group release O-PAS
Version 2.0. 5G-ACIA ally on wireless IIoT/5G synergies. ISO updates
Dublin Core metadata standard. OGC on CRS API candidate standard.
Canada’s spatial data infrastructure. OMG’s AI Platform
Task Force. OPC Foundation’s O-PAS certification. OPC UA
Functional Safety R 1.00. EPSG upgrades CRS registry. New PIDX
PriceSheet XSD schema.
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2020 IQPC Intelligent Automation in Oil & Gas, Houston
Weatherford and Kalypso on AI/ML in mill-out operations. Dow
Chemical’s enterprise manufacturing intelligence dashboard. Noble
Energy and i2k Connect, AI for log curve ingestion. Progress report
from ExxonMobil’s Open Process Automation initiative. Koch
Industries on leak detection and repair. Equinor’s AI/ML
‘chassis’ for automation.
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‘Digiref’ to rationalize Total’s engineering documentation
Specifications and rules extracted from documents and datasheets to
separate technical, quality, contractual, and design requirements.
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IEA - Oil and gas industry in energy transitions
International Energy Authority’s (pre-coronavirus) analysis
of the oil and gas industry shows stranded assets and stranded capital
if the COP 2° warming scenario is to be realized. Solutions to
global warming ‘cannot be found within today’s oil and gas
paradigm’. Carbon capture is a means of mitigating the risks of
stranded assets and capital. But CCUS investment is low and decreasing.
On the positive side (for the industry) the risk of a mid-term supply
shock means that ‘continued investment in existing oil fields, as
well as some new ones, remains a necessary part of the energy
transition’.
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