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Description: The impact of digitization has profoundly affected the energy industry, including the oil and gas industry (Digital Oilfield), supply chains and utilities (smart grids). More data is available from the field and process instrumentation and control systems than ever before for detailed analysis to improve decision making at all levels, from the field to remote decision support centers to the boardroom. The Digital Oilfield is a reality but it is also evolving with the application of data science techniques. While oil prices have recovered from recent lows, the threat of a return to lower commodity prices are driving the need to improve productivity and efficiency of operations (operational excellence), to the existing drivers of a safe and environmentally benign operations footprint. These drivers along with the need for effective recovery of reserves, at an attractive return on investment for shareholders are the current focus of industry leaders.
- Energy > Oil & Gas (1.00)
- Education > Educational Technology > Educational Software > Computer Based Training (1.00)
- Education > Educational Setting > Online (1.00)
The constant talk about the data-driven future of the oil and gas business poses a threatening question for some petroleum engineers: What do I need to know to ensure I have a job next year? Many universities are adding digital data and analytics programs to prepare petroleum engineering students, many of whom are also taking the initiative on their own to master the tools used for this new way of working in the industry. Jim Crompton, an adjunct faculty member at the Colorado School of Mines who created and taught some of the first such classes, said students who grew up in the Internet era pick it up quickly. He said he worries, though, about working engineers. "The greater challenge is for those with 10–20 years of experience," he said, specifically engineers who do not know programming and do not have the vocabulary of digital analysis.
- North America > United States > Colorado (0.26)
- North America > United States > Texas (0.17)
- Energy > Oil & Gas > Upstream (1.00)
- Education > Educational Setting > Higher Education (0.96)
- Information Technology > Artificial Intelligence (1.00)
- Information Technology > Data Science > Data Mining (0.90)
The constant talk about the data-driven future of the oil and gas business poses a threatening question for some petroleum engineers: What do I need to know to ensure I have a job next year? Many universities are adding digital data and analytics programs to prepare petroleum engineering students, many of whom are also taking the initiative on their own to master the tools used for this new way of working in the industry. Jim Crompton, an adjunct faculty member at the Colorado School of Mines who created and taught some of the first such classes, said students who grew up in the Internet era pick it up quickly. He said he worries, though, about working engineers. “The greater challenge is for those with 10–20 years of experience,” he said, specifically engineers who do not know programming and do not have the vocabulary of digital analysis. Engineers who survived the mass layoffs of the last downturn are likely to be suffering from digital anxiety, he said. Some have seen warning signs. “They didn’t get the job they wanted or a promotion or something like that,” Crompton said. A major hurdle for many of those engineers is that their demanding jobs leave little time for training. Managers are more likely than others to be unaware of the need to know digital-data concepts, Crompton said. Decision makers also need to understand digital-analysis methods well enough to get a feel for whether the analysis is legitimate. Failure to detect flawed analysis when approving projects can “waste a bunch of money,” Crompton said. As digital-data programs proliferate, SPE is developing an online training program and is working on curriculum guidelines for data science and digital engineering in petroleum engineering schools. Birol Dindoruk, SPE’s technical director for management and information, who has made data-related issues a priority, said he expects to submit the guidelines to the SPE Board of Directors this year. Need To Know Making the case for knowing about digital data is relatively easy, but figuring out what a petroleum engineer needs to know can be complicated. The amalgam of petroleum engineering, data science, and information technology has so many elements that finding a short label for it is difficult. Requirements also vary on the basis of job descriptions. One thing is clear: Collaboration skills are required. Companies with data scientists, often from outside the oil business, tend to pair them with an engineer. The range of knowledge those two possess exceeds what each is expected to have, Crompton said. Engineers managing assets will need to have a working knowledge of the tools and vocabulary used to collaborate with data engineers, and a strong base of traditional engineering concepts is needed because advanced data analysis can generate multiple answers, some of which are unhelpful. “When it is wrong, it can miss by a mile,” Crompton said. Artificial intelligence is “a bit of a leap forward into the unknown,” he added. A person with a firm grasp of the physics of oil and gas exploration and production is required to help identify the good and bad ideas.
- North America > United States > Colorado (0.26)
- North America > United States > Texas (0.18)
- Instructional Material > Course Syllabus & Notes (0.48)
- Personal (0.34)
- Information Technology > Artificial Intelligence (1.00)
- Information Technology > Data Science > Data Mining (0.89)
Jim Crompton is a professor of practice, petroleum engineering, at the Colorado School of Mines. He retired from Chevron in 2013 after 37 years with the major international oil and gas company. After moving from Houston to Colorado Springs, Colorado, he established Reflections Data Consulting LLC to continue his work in data management and analytics for the exploration and production industry. Crompton was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2010–2011, speaking on the topic of "Putting the Focus on Data." He is a frequent speaker at SPE conferences on digital/intelligent energy and the Data Foundation. His interests lie in the full spectrum of the information value chain from data capture, data management, data visualization, data access modeling and analytics, simulations, and serious gaming.
Jim Crompton, SPE, recently retired (again) as a teaching faculty at the Colorado School of Mines. He retired (the first time) from Chevron in 2013 after 37 years with the major international oil and gas company. After moving from Houston to Colorado Springs, Colorado, he established Reflections Data Consulting LLC to continue his work in data management and analytics for the exploration and production industry. Crompton was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2010–2011, speaking on the topic of “Putting the Focus on Data.” He is a frequent speaker at SPE conferences on digital/intelligent energy and the Data Foundation. His interests lie in the full spectrum of the information value chain from data capture, data management, data visualization, data access modeling and analytics, simulations, and serious gaming. He holds a BS in geophysical engineering and an MS in geophysics from the Colorado School of Mines and an MBA degree from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas.
- North America > United States > Texas > Bexar County > San Antonio (0.30)
- North America > United States > Colorado > El Paso County > Colorado Springs (0.30)