Introduction
While accuracy is necessary for the proper operation of equipment for oil and gas producers, it is essential for reporting production, calculation of income, allocation, regulatory compliance, and decision-making. Every process, from measuring hydrocarbons at the wellheads to validation of production data and calibrating meters, requires correct and available measurement information.
But many oil and gas producers manage their measurement data via spreadsheets, paperwork, disconnected systems, and manual procedures. With growth of the scale of operations and the accumulation of huge volumes of data, such approach may lead to inefficiency, increase risks of errors, and make it difficult to get access to the full picture of operations.
Effective measurement management solutions are designed to overcome these obstacles, integrating measurement data, validation, field activity, reporting, and other processes in one system.
What is Measurement Management in Oil and Gas?
Measurement management includes all processes and tools utilized in order to gather, validate, maintain, analyze and report measurement data during the course of oil and gas operations.
This information can consist of meter readings, gas charts, tank readings, calibration logs, laboratory testing results, production volumes, field measurements, and other data which is necessary for accurate determination of the amount of products that have been produced, transported, processed and/or allocated.
For oil and gas producers, the objective is not simply to collect more data. It is to ensure that the data is accurate, timely, accessible, and useful.
Modern measurement management platforms can connect field data with centralized repositories, automated validation, production reporting, and accounting processes. Critical Control, for example, combines measurement data management with solutions for field data capture, production accounting, SCADA, hydrocarbon quality management, and measurement assurance.
Why Do Oil and Gas Producers Need Reliable Measurement Management Solutions?
1. Improve Measurement Accuracy
Even small inaccuracies during the measurements can lead to considerable problems in the oil and gas industry. Improper readings, old calibration data, mistakes in recording information or discrepancies in records can influence the results of production calculations.
Measurement management ensures that the producers will be able to create processes of data collection and validation. Automated validation can assist in identifying inconsistencies and doubtful data before it will go through further reporting and accounting processes.
For example, measurement solutions provided by Critical Control allow the companies in the oil and gas sector to automate the process of collection and validation of measurement information and thus decrease the amount of manual work required for accurate measurements.
2. Reduce Manual Data Entry
The process of measuring produces a lot of information regarding the wells, facilities, meters, and fields in general. Manual transferring of such data from paper documents, Excel tables, and different software systems takes much time and increases the possibility of errors.
Field data capturing allows collecting measurement information in the field and then entering it into the central system. For example, field data capturing solution offered by Critical Control unites the processes of scheduling and collecting the data in its measurement Data Lake.
Decrease of the number of repetitive actions allows focusing on exception handling, performance analysis, and preservation of the measurement integrity.
3. Create a Centralized Source of Measurement Data
The producers of oil and gas operate many assets distributed all over the globe. Without the system of centralized data management, it is difficult for them to find out which record is current and where the certain measurement information is stored.
Creation of a centralized measurement environment gives the possibility to gain better insight into the operational data. The historical data will be easy to access, it will be possible to compare the production data and trace the measurement activities.
4. Strengthen Measurement Assurance and Calibration Management
Meters and other measurement equipment must be properly tested and calibrated to maintain measurement accuracy. Scheduling for testing and calibration, keeping records, and documenting calibration certificates as well as tracking the history of equipment will become progressively more complicated as asset numbers grow.
Measurement management tools that will ensure reliable organization of these activities will help producers keep visibility into measurement equipment.
Field services offered by Critical Control include meter testing and calibration, well stream testing, calibration of measurement devices, and field data collecting. Moreover, Critical Control’s solutions allow visibility into calibration schedules and records with digital tools.
Such a combination of field services and digital measurement management will ensure producers’ consistency in measurement assurance process.
5. Enhance Production Reporting and Accounting
Measurement data becomes a part of vital business processes. The volumes of production can affect the process of allocation, reporting on revenues, financial records, and other decisions.
In case if measurement information is incomplete or incorrect, downstream reporting will be affected as well.
Advanced production accounting solutions will gather data from various sources including field measurements, charts, SCADA, web SCADA. For instance, the ProCalc platform by Critical Control provides cloud-based validation of data, artificial intelligence-augmented data collection, identification of anomalies, and volume reporting.
Enhancement of data quality and availability before measurement data gets to accounting workflows will minimize errors and improve reliability of reported volumes.
6. Facilitate Regulatory and Operational Compliance
In oil and gas industry accurate records, testing, reporting, and measurements are vital. However, it becomes complicated to maintain documentation for measurement activities if information is scattered between various systems or even recorded manually.
The use of reliable measurement management tool will improve traceability by maintaining all measurement records, test information, calibration and reports in a structured environment.
Digital access to measurement records will facilitate search for required information.
What Should Oil and Gas Producers Look for in a Measurement Management Solution?
Not every measurement management system offers the same capabilities. When evaluating a solution, oil and gas producers should consider whether it can:
- Automate measurement data collection and validation
- Integrate data from field equipment, charts, SCADA, and other systems
- Provide centralized access to measurement records
- Support meter testing and calibration management
- Reduce repetitive manual data entry
- Provide reporting and historical data access
- Connect measurement data with production accounting and allocation
- Scale as assets and production volumes grow
- Provide secure, cloud-based access for field and office teams
- Identify anomalies and potential data-quality issues.
Integration is particularly important. A measurement management solution should complement existing operational systems rather than create another isolated source of information.
The Bottom Line
Reliable measurement management is no longer just an exercise in capturing production data for oil and gas companies operating in today’s world. Reliable measurement management is an exercise in creating trust in data which will drive the entire process.
Reliable measurement allows producers to enhance production reporting, improve measurement assurance, automate processes, comply with regulations, and create data necessary for decision-making. In the age of increasing digitalization of oil and gas operations, producers require software solutions which will be able to manage measurement data efficiently as well as connect field operations with reporting, accounting, and other processes.
By implementing reliable measurement management software, oil and gas producers will be able to shift from an outdated and labor-intensive to a more efficient and data-driven way of managing measurement information.