Why Downstream Operations are the Heart of Petroleum
According to McKinsey, oil refineries can process nearly 100 million barrels of crude oil globally daily. Thus, given the presence and scalability of oil-derived products, downstream operations—industries responsible for transforming crude oil into fuels—may be the heart of the petroleum value chain. In comparison, the heart’s role doesn’t limit itself to pumping blood just as a petrochemical plant does to refining oil. Both are crucial to filtering impurities and fueling energy for the whole organism. Downstream: The heart of the Petroleum Value Chain Deepening the analogy, the heart receives deoxygenated blood from the body, sends it to the [...]
The Future Lies in the Past: Embracing Brown Fields for Tomorrow’s Energy
A 2011 study by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates reported that approximately two-thirds of global daily average oil production comes from brown fields and that the percentage is increasing over time. Indeed, it’s evident that mature fields have become a fundamental piece of the petroleum exploration sector, but what exactly are mature fields? According to Parshall (2012), brown fields, also known as legacy fields, are defined by years of production and aging infrastructure. Indeed, for a field to be considered brown, it had to produce more than 50% of its established proved plus probable resource estimates or have produced for [...]
Enhancing Mining’s Risk Management with AI
Properly managing risks in the mining industry isn’t a simple task. Inherently, mining activities are characterized by high structural damage, safety risks, and obstructed productivity. Within this volatile environment, companies still face several limitations that impede effective risk management and safety efforts. For this reason, new methods to optimally control hazards need to be explored by the Mining Industry. This article elucidates the industry's bottlenecks in managing risks and how AI-driven technologies are enhancing current strategies. Concerns regarding risk management in Mining Industries According to the European Commission, risk management of a mine or any other mineral extractive [...]
What is the difference between AIM and APM?
Asset Integrity Management (AIM) and Asset Performance Management (APM) are concepts that often get confused. Indeed, both focus on enhancing maintenance plans while reducing costs. However, it is necessary to understand which problems they specifically address to visualize the scope of their benefits. In this context, let’s learn about the main differences between these two vital concepts for heavy asset industries. The role of AIM As the name suggests, Asset Integrity Management focuses on the physical integrity of the asset, its purpose is to improve operational safety and maintenance planning. This strategy provides necessary outputs to industries about [...]
Unlocking AI’s accuracy and reliability
AI's growth scenario From its early days as a theoretical concept to today's omnipresent reality, AI's journey has been characterized by exponential growth. According to a 2022 IBM research, more than a third of companies (35%) report the use of AI in their business, a four-point increase from 2021. This illustrates a key change in the way we face reality, but different from other technological revolutions: today’s tool learns from its own experience at increasingly higher speed and scale. These tools are programmed to have a human-like thought process. Moreover, they are now a reality in the [...]
The impact of good integrity management within Electrical grids
It is in the operation and maintenance phase of a process where managers encounter some of the most pertinent challenges related to asset integrity management. As with any industrial process, the electrical industry also requires well-designed plans to reduce risks to operators, reduce downtime, and improve operational efficiency. In this article, we will address some of the challenges in maintenance and inspection routines commonly faced by the electrical industry, and demonstrate how efficient maintenance plans can be crucial in optimizing energy efficiency in this industry. How maintenance is done In more traditional practices, maintenance crews are sent [...]
4 Systems in one? See how Ocyan did it using Digital Twin
The history of Vidya and Ocyan Waves began in 2020, and it has been a great journey! Last year we were selected for the Digital Twin: BOP (Subsea Blowout Preventer) Challenge, and today the proof of concept (POC) developed at the challenge evolved into the following amazing project with them! The BOP (Subsea Blowout Preventer) is an extremely important piece of equipment to guarantee the safety of the drilling operation of an oil well. It is composed of a set of valves responsible for closing the well in an emergency, preventing oil leakage. All of the crucial data for operations [...]
