Overview

When developing and producing the assets of a new 'State of the Art' oil field where new horizontal drilling methods and fracking have been utilized to construct a multi-well central gathering facility, the cost benefits of a 'State of the Art' collection and transport control system are often overlooked.

Some of the common challenges include logging and reporting the oil, gas and water production characteristics of each individual well, handling the custody transfer issues present when multiple leases are involved, and providing a scalable solution that is flexible enough to eliminate the wastes inherent when the production is at its peak, then falls as the wells age.

Current common practices

It’s common for the individual collection and processing devices to operate in a 'stand-alone' configuration where each LACT, VRU and salt water transport device has its own control system which includes individual motor starters, valves, instrumentation and power distribution components. These are usually mounted outside on electrical panels and are subject to the perils of nature.

The electrical construction and installation costs can be exorbitant with trenching and conduit labor and equipment expenses, and the costs associated with hydrovacing when changes are necessary. The operator training and maintenance costs for the entire collection facilities' individual systems can become prohibitive to the overall profitability of the facility because of the numerous different technologies used.

Exposing your assets to environmental forces such as lightning, summer heat, winter freezing and pests depreciates the value of your assets prematurely.

Thinking out of the box

One of the great advantages of multi-well production facilities is that the cost of a central control facility can be amortized across all the well lease budgets making a sophisticated system very affordable and cost effective, and will provide environmental protection for all the electrical equipment (VFDs, starters and PDC equipment). With the use of a fiber optic ring communications topology and remote input / output (RIO) technology the process equipment (LACTs, VRUs, SWD transfer etc.) and the start up and commissioning costs are greatly reduced (up to 75%). This strategy also provides a central point for a cost effective SCADA interface connection as a single connection is all that’s necessary for remote monitoring of the facilities alarms, daily, weekly and monthly production totals and equipment status.

Labor costs will be significantly reduced because the central control strategy provides a single point to gather performance data as well as remote shutdown and start up functions if access to the facility is limited due to weather, hazardous environment, or man power conflicts.

Difficult for old ways to compete with new technologies

Effectively competing in today’s technical world requires solid and proven 'State of the Art' technical solutions for maximizing the benefits of your assets and reducing operational and maintenance costs.

Automation Electronics has prospered since 1956 by providing 'State of the Art' technical solutions through numerous boom and bust energy cycles.

Let us focus our 60 plus years of successful automation experience on your energy production challenges.