Oil and gas producers have been realizing the benefits of technology with SCADA, IIoT and sensors in the field for a long time now, and while these pieces have certainly been worth their weight in black gold to the bottom line (and safety) there is a new evolution coming soon to the oil field near you.

The goal line for oil and gas producers around the world is to take the digital transformation journey to ultimately gain all the many benefits of an autonomous oil and gas operation.

But should you take that journey?

This is not a journey for everyone. There is much to consider before you decide.

Do you remember that old joke "Pete and Repeat went on a boat ride. Pete fell off, so who was left?" The answer was of course is "Repeat" and therefore the kid telling the joke would once again repeat the first line, and on and on... I'm often haunted by that horrible joke almost as if the joke is truly on me when I tackle mind-numbing tasks like laundry; wash, dry, fold, put away and then do it again, and again, and again...

I think about Pete and Repeat on that boat. I can't help but wonder where was the Captain of that boat? Why didn't the Captain step in and direct them both to hunker down, and grab a hold to stop falling off?

The benefits of making oil and gas production autonomous are many. Production increases based on the ability to detect and remedy problems in seconds rather than hours is topmost, followed by safety, efficiencies when physical repairs are needed and more precision in PM schedules are among the others.

We’re not there yet—some would point out that the Oil Patch, due to its boom-and-bust nature, lags behind other industries in this area—but we’ve made big strides since the 2015-16 bust. Necessity being the mother of invention.

There is a bit of magic in every childhood story we read. Whether it be the Chronicles of Narnia with its enchanted kingdom or Aladdin’s genie in the lamp, we learn very early that supernatural powers often come in pretty handy.

Maybe you could use some telepathic powers to know what is happening in a remote production location. You’ve probably wished to have psychic abilities to know when a wellsite will stop producing before it happens, or if your team is safe working on site.

Most certainly you’d enjoy the gift of telekinesis to restart an artificial lift.

Maybe you’ve declared your intention to digitally transform your production. That’s great. It’s a growing trend and it will really boost efficiency. But the jury is still out on whether to do it in-house or to let us do it for you.

I have a question that may clarify that decision for you:

What are you good at?

You’re good at evaluating leases, considering how to economically produce a field and to get that oil and gas to market. If you were to jump into the field of developing a cloud based platform, what would that look like in terms of hiring, training and implementing?

It’s surprising how many operators are using one software system or company to monitor tanks, another to automate pumps and yet another for back office reporting software. There may have been a time in history when this was necessary—there was a lot of narrow specialization at one time—but it is definitely hard to keep up with.

When something goes wrong, who do you call? If the problem is beyond the scope of your own people’s training, is the issue with the software, the communication system, or the security of it all? And then who is going to fit the problem itself? This does not help you, or your team focus on your production.

After all, you digitally transformed your operations to increase efficiency, not create confusion and headaches.

“Zedi is light years ahead of the competition!” This statement has become a common theme at our client meetings. Producers urgently require the deployment of a proven digital strategy; however, implementation has historically lagged for weeks, months or even years when working with other vendors.

These producers typically receive conflicting information on exactly what is involved in the deployment, what is needed from them, the timing of it all, and what their technology partner is truly capable of bringing to the table to help with it all.

We set out to change that.

Do-it-yourself field automation sounds great until you realize all the mind-bending decisions involved.

I think of this when I go to a favorite restaurant—a fast-casual place where you line up in front of a massive menu board loaded with salads, sandwiches, soups, potatoes and…..on and on.

It’s obvious whenever the person in front of me is a first-timer. Eyes wide, hands shaking, lips moving without a sound. Maybe they’re praying. Because I felt that way on my first couple of visits, I can help them. I know how to navigate the menu.

We can easily help you know how to navigate the automation menu, including tank monitoring, because we’ve ordered before. We know the secret ingredients of sensors, the special sauce of communication links and the table setting of data storage and reporting. In short, you sit down, take care of your work—and we’ll order for you.

If you ask around for a single term that describes getting the right production data, most engineers in oil and gas would hesitate to say “simple” or “straightforward.” Here at Zedi, data is our thing; we live it and breathe it – heck, some of us even dream about it - you can’t control when innovation may strike! Our customers continue to benefit from solutions that are streamlined and straightforward thanks to our software development and engineering people.

After all, the value of production data could not be simpler: optimizing production leads to increased profitability. That said, here are my top 5 tips to help increase your oil and gas production:

Snow, freezing rain, flash freezes, sleet, black ice or it all put together on any given day and you have the perfect ingredients for stress, danger and a potential catastrophe; or as most of us refer to it as - Winter.

On top of these Winter stresses, we’re also dealing with trying to balance work, life, deadlines, social, and family obligations. It’s easy to get frustrated and stressed over the extra time and effort it takes to get going each morning, when you have to shovel snow, clear off the car, wait for the defroster to even start working and inevitably, get stuck in endless traffic.