Please note: This event finished on 22 May 2019

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The Future of the North Sea Digital Transformation Summit

Tuesday 21st & Wednesday 22nd May 2019 @ Apex Grassmarket Edinburgh

With decommissioning upon us, adopting new strategies for extending the life of assets and enabling the North Sea to thrive is a central industry concern. Technology and data hold the key to unlocking this transition, with digital technology providing transformative solutions to current challenges.

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In the face of a rapidly evolving technological landscape, embracing a digitally enabled supply chain, adapting operating models to the ongoing digital revolution, adopting advanced & integrated digital solutions across the sector, and driving transformation before the industry is disrupted have been brought to the forefront of industry discussion. The need for collaboration across the industry for the promotion of knowledge sharing, advancing innovation, reducing costs and maximising capabilities is also becoming of central importance to industry development. The Future of the North Sea Digital Transformation Summit will address such challenges by uniting the North Sea supply chain, supporting cross-sector collaboration, driving transformation, aligning incentives throughout the supply chain and securing the future of the industry.

With such a fundamental shift occurring within the industry, developing strategies for how best to approach this new digital age of oil & gas is at the forefront of industry discussion. Despite common misconceptions, digital transformation is not in fact a technology-led transition, but a business-led evolution transforming all characteristics of an operating model to utilise digital technology, affecting everything from internal structure and culture, to external partners and suppliers. This session will navigate strategies for transitioning to a digitally enabled business. Discussion will include addressing business challenges & needs, developing a bespoke digital transformation road map, where to focus digital efforts, transforming a business into a data driven one, and key areas for suppliers & contractors to change to support digitalization. The session will also consider the latest policy developments shaping the sector, including discussion of government forecasts, strategies for supporting growth, investment drives, regulatory frameworks, and cross-industry collaboration.

Schedule:

9:25 Chairs Opening Address Willie Reid, Director, Strathclyde University
9:30 Niall Rowantree, Strategy and Analytics Leader, Total

Title: Total E&P UK : Digital Transformation with a Flagship Asset

•Total E&P UK (TEPUK) is one of the largest producers of hydrocarbons in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS)
•In 2017 the company formally started to explore the possibilities for improvement using Digital & Data.
•Support from the right vendors, delivering in an Agile manner and taking advantage of modern tools and techniques has laid the groundwork for a digital transformation.
•The affiliate has been selected as Total E&P’s ‘Digital Asset Flagship’, with the mandate to consolidate the Group’s efforts in Digital & Data on a single asset; learning quickly and maximising value.
•The session will summarise TEPUK’s Digital experience, focussing on the ambition, what has worked well, what hasn’t and next steps.
9:50 James Elgenes, Leading Digital Advisor, Equinor

Digitalisation: What’s behind the long word?

Digital transformation continues throughout our industry and for many organisations and leaders this transformation has been met with an increase in corporate buzz words such as ‘digitalisation’, ‘agile’, ‘sprints’, ‘big data’, but what do these all mean, for companies needing to remain competitive and for leaders that are expected to be digital ambassadors of the future?
10:10 Peter Damer BSc MSc PGCE CEng MIET, Consultant Engineer, ABB

Title: ABB and Industrial Revolutions - Born of the Second, Leading the Fourth

As a technology business born of the golden era of heavy engineering, ABB is embracing digitalization in its products, services and the way it operates. The conference programme states that “Despite common misconceptions, digital transformation is not in fact a technology-led transition, but a business-led evolution”. As a technology company ABB is fully aware of its place in an ecosystem built on the business case for digitalisation. Whether through evolution or revolution, it is active in all the areas explored through this exciting conference programme.
10:30 Q&A
10:45 Coffee and Networking Break

As digital transformation develops across the industry, this case study led session will discuss the future of operations across the North Sea. The session will hear from NOCs and leading IOCs regarding their successful digital operations to date, alongside digital roadmaps for achieving increasingly enhanced, optimised and integrated operations moving forward.

Schedule:

11:35 Prashant Soni, Digital Strategist - Operations, Aker BP

Title: The field of the future: new ways of operating, maintaining and designing assets to achieve maximum value.

The field of the future is Aker BP’ vision for both the existing and upcoming assets. Our future assets will be remote operated, unmanned and with zero discharge/emission. Aker BP is at the forefront when it comes to digitalization and we believe digitalization is a key enabler in realizing this vision. During the presentation concrete examples on digital initiatives (successful implementation and its impact) will be shared along with the a roadmap.
11:55 Frederic J. Santarelli, CTO, Geomec

Title: Optimising Reservoir Potential through Real-Time Data Analytics: Field Cases from The
North Sea

“Big-Data Technology” is considered to be a “major revolution” in the oil industry. One of its many components is real-time data analytics.
The presentation will focus on its application to the optimisation of reservoir potential and highlight 30-years of cases from the North Sea on using real-time data analytics.
“Big-Data Technology” is not a revolution but rather a natural evolution. The result of this application leads to multiple changes in the way wells and fields are being operated, which is the real revolution.
12:15 Dr Julian Pickering, CEO Geologix Systems Integration Ltd

Title: Managing the Performance of Declining Production Assets

Within the oil and gas industry, it is widely accepted that smaller operators can sustain economic operations in declining assets more effectively than larger companies. It is very common to see rounds of divestments as producing fields advance towards greater maturity. It is true that there are some economies of scale that drive the thinking of larger companies but the deeper concerns are about increased lifting costs, more complex processing requirements and the declining reliability of aging facilities. These problems are no less of a concern to smaller companies but they can tolerate lower production revenues owing to their much reduced infrastructure costs. However, if we can take steps to manage the three problem areas, a mature asset can be a very valuable proposition as its reserves will be proven, its production fluids well understood and its export markets established.

Within Geologix we have been addressing the reliability of aging facilities. The cost of ownership, in general, is driven far more by avoiding unplanned downtime rather than minimising the costs of maintenance and repair but the prudent operator wants to keep both to an absolute minimum in the case of declining production assets, to maximise economic return. The critical component is the accurate prediction of equipment failure, which is a product of current status and operational history. Anyone purchasing an older car should want a current condition report and evidence of past reliability and quality servicing to guarantee their investment. The same is true with aging oil and gas facilities, which in oil industry parlance means real-time condition monitoring combined with effective knowledge management.

In this presentation we will describe our solution for combining efficiency monitoring with knowledge management to provide best in class reliability prediction.
12:35 Q&A
12:45 Lunch and Networking

This session will consider cross-sector experience within digital transformation. Discussion will focus upon how different industries and companies have incorporated digitalisation to help reduce the cost of operations, improve productivity and increase efficiency.

Schedule:

13:50 Libby Valance-Bull, Head of Pre Sales and Dave Holmes
Manufacturing Director, BAE Systems

Title: Made Smarter – In Action
13:55 Cross Sector Panel discussion

Professor Stephen McArthur, Deputy of Associate Principal, University of Strathclyde

Dr Jim Hamill, Director, Future Energy Leaders
14:15 Cross Sector Panel discussion

Professor Stephen McArthur, Deputy of Associate Principal, University of Strathclyde

Dr Jim Hamill, Director, Future Energy Leaders

David,Holmes, Head of Manufacturing, BAE Systems
15:00 Antony Biondi, Senior Account Executive, M-Files

Title - As easy as listening to music, with M-Files

We're so used to hearing how everything should be digital nowadays, that we sometimes forget what that actually means for our working lives. Digital Transformation is about control and visibility, enhanced processes, and enabling employees to work more efficiently… but what does that look like? At M-Files, we're going to show you what Digital Transformation really is by reminding you how it's already part of your everyday life - for example, the way you access and listen to music. We'll be looking at music streaming - a way of finding and consuming information that's quick, easy and personalised - and we'll discuss how to replicate this digital approach at work.
15:25 Coffee & Networking Break

Alongside the countless solutions brought by digital transformation, the transition to a digital industry also brings with it a number of associated risks. One of the most pressing challenges facing the industry to date is cyber security. This session will address risk management for transitioning to a digital business. Key themes will include protecting critical infrastructure from cyber threats, encouraging security awareness across the industry, employing digital technologies without causing risk to operations, data protection & ensuring critical information remains secure, trusting machine-driven operations, and developing robust control systems to combat cyber vulnerabilities.

Schedule:

15:45 Robin Oldham, Head of Cyber Security Consulting Practise, BAE Systems
16:05 Cyber Security Panel Discussion

Clare Dobson, Deputy Director for Energy Cyber Security (ECS), BEIS

Robin Oldham, Head of Cyber Security Consulting Practise, BAE Systems
16:40 End of Day 1

The dawn of the “Digital Twin” is one of the most ground-breaking solutions to emerge from the digital transformation movement. “Digital Twins”, namely a virtual model of a physical asset, are increasingly becoming a business imperative. Covering the entire lifecycle of an asset, digital twins can be used to optimize business outcomes, accurately predict results, reduce risk, improve productivity, and provide a foundation for other connected services or products. This session will address the latest developments within “digital twin” technologies, alongside the benefits of utilizing such technologies as an asset management strategy.

Schedule:

9:25 Chair Opening Address; Theo Priestley, Chief Marketing Officer, WFS
9:30 Martin Bragg, CTO, Honeywell

Title: How can the Digital Twin Optimise Your Plant or Process Assets?

What has Honeywell learnt so far from its 90 Million connections and 10,000 plant asset base with respect to Digital Transformation? A presentation that captures the learning on a journey that started with “hype” and culminated in a deliverable generating significant multi-million savings. One key aspect of the journey was the deliverable of a Digital Twin Asset Model. Martin shall discuss the key points of learning in a digital ecosystem including Honeywell’s 15,000 server based Virtual Engineering Platform addressing the “what, why and where” toward an asset management strategy.
9:50 Digital Twin Panel Discussion

Martin Bragg, CTO, Honeywell

Peter Damer BSc MSc PGCE CEng MIET, Consultant Engineer, ABB
10:30 Coffee & Networking Break

This session will focus upon utilising a combination of advanced information technology and corporate process management to streamline operations, increase oilfield recovery and maximise profitability. Discussion will consider how to effectively process large quantities of data, creating actionable opportunities out of data, the latest digital solutions for improving performance, the impact of real-time operational data upon transforming the industry, and the influence of Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to- Machine (M2M) technology.

Schedule:

11:20 Dave Masson, Consultant , Oil & Gas

Katherine Royse, Science Director for GeoAnalytics and Modelling, British Geological Survey

Theo Priestley, Chief Marketing Officer WFS Technologies
12:30 Scottish Enterprise Case Study
12:55 Lunch and Networking Break

As the industry strives to become more productive, efficient, safe and reliable, the adoption of advanced analytics and automation is becoming increasingly prominent. With possibilities for improving operational processes across the oil and gas value chain, including exploration, production, processing and distribution, advanced analytics and automation systems provide a wealth of promise for the industry. This session will consider the new generation of analytics and automation which is serving to enhance operational efficiency, alongside saving time and money. Discussion will include analyzing seismic data, real-time information delivery such as well bottom communication, improving reservoir characterization and simulation, predictive maintenance requirements, increasing drilling safety & reducing drilling time, AI-based analytics for automated data processes, enhanced asset management, prescriptive analysis of runs, and improved occupation safety.

Schedule:

13:55 Chairs afternoon address
14:10 Chris Rivinus, Digital Transformation Lead, Tullow Oil

Title: A People-Centric Approach to Digital Transformation

Tullow Oil have embarked on a comprehensive digital transformation programme including deployment of Predictive Analytics and development of Robotic Process Automation. But actually, the approach is guided by a “people-centric” philosophy. Tullow’s digitalisation is being achieved with broad participation from staff at every level of the organisation and targets bringing the best out of its human resources.
14:35 Advanced Analytics & Automation Panel Discussion

Chris Rivinus, Digital Transformation Lead, Tullow Oil

Caroline Bailey, Analytics Service Delivery Lead, Chevron.

Chris Frost, Technical lead, Dataco
15:05 05 Professor Helen Hastie, Work Package Lead, ORCA Hub
Challenges for Collaborative Remote Human-Robot Teams
Collaboration between human supervisors and remote teams of robots is highly challenging, particularly in high-stakes, distant, hazardous locations, such as off-shore energy platforms. In order for these teams of robots to truly be beneficial, they need to be trusted to operate autonomously, performing tasks such as inspection and emergency response, thus reducing the number of personnel placed in harm's way. In this talk, Professor Hastie will present general challenges in this area of human-robot teaming. As remote robots are generally trusted less than robots in close-proximity, techniques will be discussed to instil trust in the operator and enhance human-robot collaboration, for example through natural language interaction and explanations of robot behaviour.
15:30 Coffee and Networking Break - End of conference