Technology

The M4 Inflow Control System will be showcased at ADIPEC 2024. (Image source: TAQA)

TAQA, an international company offering leading well solutions for the energy industry, has revealed the next-generation inflow control system

The M4 Inflow Control System dictates the flow of undesired fluid (such as water and gas) and avoids any binary (open/close) effect that can result in instability or even stop production. Enabling operators to optimise their reservoir performance while sustainability managing fluid production, the new system excels in controlling water in ultra-light and light applications and enhances gas production control, providing stability and flexibility in diverse reservoir conditions.

Supercharging reservoir performance

“With the largest portfolio of inflow control systems more than 20 years of inflow control devices expertise, the M4 Inflow Control System represents the pinnacle of our innovation so far,” remarked Mojtaba Moradi, subsurface engineering manager of TAQA. “This new generation offers water control by gradually reducing inflow as water production increases, avoiding premature well shut in.
“Its main benefit is precision control based on reservoir production. The device allows operators to maximise output without risking shutting wells in, so they can manage production continuously and efficiently, which translates into obvious financial benefits.”

According to TAQA, the M4 Inflow Control System technology incorporates an advanced pilot control system that is super sensitive to density, making it suitable for a wide range of oil types, including ultra-light, light, medium, and heavy oils. It also features advanced multi-phase control, allowing the device to perform independently of its orientation in the wellbore.

TAQA also offers a ‘plug and play’ integration with its full portfolio of inflow systems and has been built to optimise performance in all types of wells in all reservoir types. Additional operational features such as last-minute capacity change, and the ability to circulate to the bottom have also been incorporated into the design.

Although not limited to any oil viscosity, so far, the system has demonstrated excellent performance with oil viscosities as low as 0.5cP tested together with water to define the operating and control points at various water cuts. A full qualification matrix of debris, erosion and cycle testing has also been completed.

IFS Cloud 24R2 includes new IFS.ai-powered features.

IFS, the leading provider of enterprise cloud and Industrial AI, has launched IFS Cloud 24R2 at its IFS Unleashed event in Orlando, Florida, including new IFS.ai-powered features to drive industrial AI adoption at scale

With the launch of 24R2, more than 60 deep industrial AI capabilities are now available.

Feature highlights

New feature highlights include:

Home is a new, dynamic, AI-powered homepage for IFS Cloud providing live project status visibility, fuelling productivity and efficiency. Anomalies are automatically detected, and corrective actions suggested, saving time and increasing accuracy of project analysis. This unique and intuitive experience combines the new context aware IFS.ai Copilot uses cases with a growing ecosystem of interactive widgets that help users plan, manage, build and service assets faster, smarter and safer.

IFS.ai Copilot now goes deeper than ever, surfacing insights from across the organisation. The context aware Copilot with preconfigured industries capabilities gets even more powerful when integrated with customer data sources. Service leaders and dispatchers can now maximise field service delivery and future planning efficiency with AI-driven accelerated, accurate decision making, and obtain instant contextually relevant answers to questions.

Within the Asset Applications module, the new IFS.ai Copilot for FMECA (Failure Modes, Effects, Criticality Analysis) feature drives optimised asset availability while reducing maintenance costs and mitigating risks. It provides detailed analysis of how an asset might fail, the probability, and consequences of making or adjusting maintenance strategies. AI supports FMECA by unlocking insights from unstructured information such as manuals and maintenance reports to support and refine the analysis.

New Prompt Libraries in Copilot empower users to take the lead with AI by storing contextually relevant prompts, eliminating repetition and boosting productivity.

IFS.ai can take unstructured data from, for example, a new manufacturing customer PO and auto- create a new order so the production process can be accelerated. The impact of this new order onto the shop floor can then be modelled and analysed with the new Manufacturing Scheduling Optimization (MSO) Simulation capability, enabling production managers to improve capacity planning and meet customer demand. Meanwhile, asset managers can use the Simulation capabilities to more accurately predict and plan essential asset maintenance based on different scenarios.

Christian Pedersen, Chief Product Officer at IFS, commented, “All new features and enhancements within IFS Cloud 24R2 are guided by IFS’s strategic themes. They are tailored to help customers unleash their full potential – both in terms of operational effectiveness and profitability – by leveraging IFS.ai to unlock and use the secret weapon from across supply chain and operations: their data.”

At the IFS Unleashed event, taking place in Orlando, Florida from 15-17 October, attendees heard about IFS’s plans to further enhance its AI capabilities for the benefit of its customers, with the stated aim of becoming the undisputed leader in industrial software.

The oil and gas industry has emerged as a significant adopter of the technology. (Image source: GlobalData)

Data and analytics company GlobalData has released a thematic report, Robotics in Oil and Gas, which highlights the role of major oil and gas companies, such as ADNOC, BP, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Repsol, Rosneft, Shell, and TotalEnergies in the development and adoption of robotics to enhance safety and productivity on the field

With the applications of robotics continuously evolving, the oil and gas industry has emerged as a significant adopter of the technology to improve safety and efficiency of operations. According to the GlobalData report, robots equipped with advanced technologies are yielding increasingly positive results, bringing a continued transformation in the operations of oil and gas companies.

Ravindra Puranik, oil and gas analyst at GlobalData, said, “Robots are proving invaluable to execute complex tasks at production facilities, thereby protecting workers from hazardous environments and reducing the likelihood of costly shutdowns. As a result, companies such as Equinor, TotalEnergies, and Shell are deploying them to work alongside humans on offshore sites. For instance, robotic automation can manage remote operations, such as those conducted on Equinor's Oseberg H platform in the North Sea. Their ability to perform repetitive and mundane tasks with minimal errors is saving time and internal resources for companies. Furthermore, it allows them to deploy field technicians on more critical issues.”

Oil and gas operations are labor-intensive and involve numerous repetitive tasks, many of which occur in hazardous environments and face various obstacles. Robotics presents an excellent solution to many challenges within the industry, as they can handle more strenuous tasks and complex procedures more effectively than humans.

Puranik said, “Robots provide greater reliability and efficiency in completing assigned tasks while also enhancing operational safety. The integration of terrestrial, aerial, and underwater robots is already playing a crucial role in several high-stakes oil and gas projects throughout the value chain. French oil major TotalEnergies, in collaboration with Oceaneering, recently conducted a pilot inspection of subsea pipelines in the North Sea using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).”
Robots can access hard-to-reach areas, carry out tasks beyond human capabilities, and operate continuously without needing breaks. Hence, they are being utilized as effective solutions for conducting inspections in difficult or hazardous environments, thereby avoiding preventing human exposure to such sites. Recently, cleaning of storage tanks is emerging as another prominent use case for robotics with companies, such as Saudi Aramco, Woodside, SK Innovation, and Indian Oil Corp, exploring the potential of robotic crawlers in this application.“Advancements in technology have equipped robots to effectively replace field personnel on oil rigs. Additionally, there is an increase in collaboration between oil and gas companies and technology vendors, enabling the diversification of robotic use cases with the integration of AI, IoT, cloud, and edge computing. These developments are anticipated to drive future growth in robotics within the oil and gas sector, reducing risks to human workers who operate alongside heavy machinery in often remote and challenging environments,” said Puranik.

The collaboration will become a game changer for both partners. (Image source: Rockwell)

Rockwell Automation has signed an agreement with Taurob (Dietsmann Group) to provide a holistic robotic solution that would enable industrial organizations to move towards autonomous operations in their facilities

Taurob designs and manufactures ground robots for inspection, maintenance and data collection to optimise and enhance efficiency on a variety of industrial sites.

Kalypso, Rockwell’s digital services business, and Taurob will work together to provide clients with an end-to-end robotic automation solution that will herald the next phase in industrial automation and transformation. This partnership will amplify Rockwell's position as a leader in robot automation and digital twin solutions and Taurob’s position as a leader in ground robots for industrial inspection.

“In working towards the goal of autonomous operations, many industrial companies have considered the design of facilities, connectivity, digital solutions, and artificial intelligence, but manual inspection of facilities is still commonplace,” said Matt Graves, Kalypso digital principal, process industries. “As a next phase in industrial automation, companies are now looking at how to automate fleets of inspection robots using digital twin and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies. This partnership will be a huge step in helping our clients meet their efficiency, net zero, and safety goals."

Taurob's robots can perform missions under harsh environmental conditions to gather video, audio and sensor data, detect gas leaks and manipulate valves while adhering to the strictest industry safety standards and supporting customers’ net-zero initiatives.
Autonomous operations have long been an aspiration across industrial process sectors such as oil and gas, mining, and chemicals due to the hazardous working environments. In fact, Taurob’s robots are ATEX certified, a strict and compulsory certification that allows them to work especially in the oil and gas industry. They also offer high resistance to hot environments and up to four hours of mission runtime, among other advantages.

Kalypso and Taurob will provide a holistic solution from the physical robot and sensors, through to the robot supervision software, for mission data analysis using AI/ML and systems integration. This will allow organizations to move towards autonomous operations with the business value of a solution for inspection and maintenance that increases personnel safety, reduces OPEX and improves production throughput.

“Our partnership with Rockwell will become a game changer with respect to scaling our unique ATEX-certified robots around the world,” said Taurob’s co-founder and managing director, Matthias Biegl. “Our respective expertise complements one another to offer an integrated solution, in addition to which we will be able to streamline sales and marketing efforts to optimize and enhance efficiency for our clients on a variety of industrial sites.”