Speaking at the OSIsoft user group in Amsterdam this month, Total’s Pierre-Henry Tincelin and Xavier Lacoux described upstream monitoring as ‘complex,’ with data coming from diverse sources such as wells, subsea networks, 4D seismic and production. Communications are very different compared with the downstream—operators have to deal with low bandwidth and high latency satellite connections.
Total’s Field Monitoring (FM) R&D program was launched two years ago to maximize production and reserves by more efficient field management and to optimize monitoring with an ‘agile’ IT architecture. Reservoir, well and plant monitoring use a variety of applications such as production analysis and gas lift optimization. The program started in Qatar in 2004 with the development of a gas lift tool. FM involves making connections to multiple systems—well simulators, transient and steady state pipeline networks. A framework of identical tools is used at all E&P sites—with a constellation of localized applications built around the core. Total uses marketplace software ‘as far as possible.’
Energistics has been involved since last year with the development of XML-based objects used across applications. The challenge is to promote collaboration around quality real time data. Previous attempts have involved the ‘spaghetti approach,’ with many to many connectivity. Total is now moving towards a more integrated solution with two focal points, PI and BizTalk. XML data exchange is making systems more flexible and reactive, ‘nearly plug and play.’
A data layer includes the PI real time database, lab, production and reservoir data and SAP. Above this sits the application layer, with data analysis tools and business applications such as SAP PM. An integration layer comprises the asset model and BizTalk for orchestration, routing, transformation and connectivity. Web services are used to encapsulate databases.
OSIsoft’s latest PI AF2 technology is used for asset models and meta data. PI AF allows Total to handle dynamic asset models—changing manifold status, routing and separators. PI RtWebParts provide a tree view of the infrastructure and deliver trends and synoptics. Total has developed its own custom web parts to integrate its SharePoint/BizTalk infrastructure. PI-ACE notifications are broadcast to users through the enterprise service bus. For example during a well test, PI sends an indication that flow stability has been reached. An enterprise service bus routes notifications to email or smart phones.
Total is bullish about its PI/BizTalk-based SOA architecture—‘it works!’ Total’s time line for FM means that two years after deployment, ‘everyone is using it.’ More from the OSIsoft user group on page 6 of this issue.
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