The Integrated Operations in the High North (IOHN) joint industry project kicked off in 2008 and is slotted to run for four years. IOHN has just issued a mid term status report on this Norwegian IT flagship project that sets out to ‘design, implement and demonstrate a reliable and robust ICT architecture for Arctic E&P.’ Here the requirement is for field development and operational concepts that include ‘heavily instrumented facilities.’ IOHN is to leverage open standards to ensure interoperability and data integration. IOHN is building on the ISO 15926, POSC Caesar Association’s oil and gas ontology and semantic web technologies.
A drilling and completion use case focuses again on interoperability through open standards at the drilling control level. The idea is to close the loop between real-time data and its timely use during drilling operations. IOHN systems will automate real-time data analysis, perform ‘autonomous’ decision making and control the drill bit. Other use cases target reservoir, production and operations and maintenance.
In 2010, the first proofs-of-concept for the different pilots are expected, along with work on different parts of the digital platform. The project is also working on position papers on how semantic web technologies and autonomous systems may impact the current operational models.
Comment
There is no doubt that the high north is and will be a proving ground for many innovative technological solutions such as Statoil’s audacious Snohvit development. What is less clear is why the high north’s information technology needs are different from any other part of the globe. The reliance on immature semantic web technology and an emerging plant data protocol rather than existing automation standards is puzzling. More from iohn.org.
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