BP’s David Latin - plans for Intelligent Energy conference
Feature Articles, Mar  12  2010 (Digital Energy Journal)

- We interviewed David Latin, VP of E&P technology at BP, and executive co-chairman of SPE Intelligent Energy 2010, about what he expects from the event Utrecht, The Netherlands from March 23-25th

Q: What are the main topics you would like to hear speakers discuss and debate with the audience at Intelligent Energy 2010?

David Latin, vice president of E&P technology with BP

Mr Latin: The first plenary is populated by CEOs/COOs and the intent is to have a conversation about how technology delivers value to the business.

The fact that the conference is able to attract so many senior leaders is evidence that the Digital Oil Field is on the agenda for most companies and is already starting to deliver value and create new opportunities.

Consider also that when we started planning the event oil prices had just tumbled from dizzy heights of $140/bbl and were at around $40/bbl - the lowest levels in 5 years.

So include in your thoughts adding value in a cost-conscious world:

- Has the Digital Oil Field finally become core to the business (like 3D seismic or directional drilling) or is it still regarded as an extension to IT?

- Is Intelligent Energy making a difference or is it hype? Participants will discuss whether or not intelligent energy technology programmes are really enabling them to produce more oil and gas reserves faster, cheaper, cleaner, and more safely.

- Has price volatility retarded technology uptake?

In BP technologies associated with our Field of the Future Program are deployed at scale across the upstream. It is not an extension to IT, we run the program in a way that integrates expertise from all disciplines and it is changing the way that our engineers work.

We have abundant evidence of real business results that we will share at the conference.

I believe that increased focus on the cost base and efficiency is a good thing for our technology programmes. It forces them to focus on what they can deliver and makes them compete for funds.

In BP the production benefits achieved through application of Field of the Future technologies are delivered at a cost which makes them highly competitive.”

Q: Can you give your thoughts on why the SPE Intelligent Energy event will be a good showcase for the industry to demonstrate its ability to efficiently maximise the recovery of discovered resources and expand the technological and commercial boundaries to identify and develop new reserves?

Mr Latin: “The extreme volatility in the price of oil and gas over the last 18 months reminds us once again of how important it is to leverage people skills and knowledge together with technology to improve overall business efficiency.

The 'Intelligent Oilfield' is one where the efficiency of day-to-day operations is improved continuously and where the extraction of subsurface resource is optimised.

Continuously improving our ability to efficiently find, develop and operate hydrocarbon assets, both at the technological frontiers and in the established heartlands, is the cornerstone of a sustainable oil and gas industry.

In BP we are driving technology-led improvements in our operations through a number of Technology Flagships, each of which is expected to deliver an incremental 1 billion barrels of reserves or more.

Examples of these include 'Pushing Reservoir Limits' which targets achieving closer to the technical limit in ultimate recovery; 'Advanced Seismic Imaging' which seeks to improve our ability to target and manage our reservoirs from exploration through the life cycle; 'Inherently Reliable Facilities' which is about designing and monitoring our infrastructure in smarter ways to improve overall operational integrity and efficiency; Field of the Future which seeks improved decision making through real time monitoring and optimisation of operational performance.

If you are at the event you will discover more about each of these areas at the BP exhibition stand.

“BP has also recently announced significant organisational changes in service of further improved efficiency which will facilitate technology deployment and utilisation. For example, the creation of a Central Developments Organisation will ensure all of our upstream capital projects build-in a consistent approach to the appropriate technology and its deployment across BP.”

Can you give some examples of where you’ve seen recent rapid progress or developments in intelligent energy culture & philosophy, and any changes in the industry’s attitude and implementation of integrated field operations in offshore developments?

Mr Latin: “We have reached the point in BP where we would not dream of developing a conventional oil and gas field without down hole pressure and temperature gauges and without a real-time integrated surveillance system.

Here are two examples of rapid progress that has been made in just the last few years.

The recent start-up of our giant Thunder Horse field in the Gulf of Mexico once reinforced the need for early surveillance and the integration of these data into thinking and operational decision making.

In 2009 the field produced 10,000 bbls per day more oil because we were able to closely monitor the production rates through individual elements of the production system and push them towards their operational limits.

Insights with regard to reservoir energy and connectivity gained through study of early performance data, gave us the evidence to quickly optimise ongoing development and add reserves.

In 2008 BP piloted an automated system, linking real-time data to algorithms to valves, to control slugging wells. The resulting system stability improved production performance by 5% in one of our Norwegian fields.

Through 2009 the BP slug controller was rapidly deployed across our portfolio to assets with similar instability issues. It is now being used in the Gulf of Mexico and recently had a very significant production impact in one of our assets in Angola.

Return on investment remains a key factor in today’s continuing tough economic climate. Can you give any examples of how business performance is being improved to deliver clear value?

Mr Latin: In BP we like to set business targets for technology. 3 years ago the Field of the Future Program set out a plan to deliver an incremental 100 mboe/d of net production by 2017.

At the end of 2009 we were almost half way to this target 2 years ahead of schedule. The incremental production is delivered at a price that makes it compete with the very best and most efficient production adding well work opportunities in BP.

The great thing about these technologies is that they can be low cost to develop, deploy and maintain and they can have a significant tangible impact on the bottom line of the business.

Now that we are approaching the event, what is the message you would like to give to industry professionals planning to attend?

Mr Latin: Come along and find out what is going on. Visit the exhibits, listen to the plenary and technical sessions.

Discover those areas, such as standards for data transmission, where we as an industry need to collaborate in order to make progress.

Take away the proof points and ideas that you need to make Intelligent Energy a reality that drives better business performance in your company and in the industry.

Intelligent Energy conference

<<BACK