Oil & Gas
We have been building Intelligent Agents for the Oil and Gas Industry for the last 30 years.
We use artificial intelligence and in-well robotics to help Oil & Gas companies throughout the world achieve their green objectives in terms of reduced carbon footprint in their operations.
We use artificial intelligence and in-well robotics to help Oil & Gas companies throughout the world achieve their green objectives in terms of reduced carbon footprint in their operations.
Production Management
Drilling
Autonomous In-Well Robots
The Oil and Gas Industry in Transition
WE HAVE BEEN BUILDING INTELLIGENT AGENTS
FOR THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS.
We are committed to developing new paradigms using artificial intelligence and robotics products that increase profits and lower the carbon footprint of existing and future operations.
A major energy transition from dependence on fossil fuels to other, lower-carbon forms of energy is underway but will take many decades. There is intense pressure, from consumers, governments, activists, and others, to wean the world of its fossil fuel dependence to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are said to contribute to global warming. This has led in some cases to advocate dramatic shifts away from fossil fuels in favor of carbon-free renewable energy (mainly wind and solar). In turn, this will require some restructuring within the hydrocarbon industry itself as executive management working with their boards of directors seek to find a transition path.
Despite these transition pressures, the mainstream prognosis suggests that driven by population and economic growth and the relentless pursuit of prosperity in developing countries, the demand for hydrocarbon fuels will, of necessity, continue to grow. With the continuing reliance on fossil fuels, there will be no less a demand that Oil and Gas companies make every effort to reduce the carbon footprint of their operations. To do so will require paradigm shifts in operational performance and applications of technology that were looked upon as “out of the box” but are now within the realm of possibility.
The Energy Transition to NetZero 2050
Responding to the Energy Transition
The world has been responding to the energy transition at three levels: at the country level, in business corporations, and in civil society. Data on the transition can be found in the extensive network of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) agencies and affiliates but is also reflected in a number of major studies that are tracking the progress of countries and companies in the transition.
The major finding from recent studies is that the energy balance has grown and is foreseen to continue to grow but with a shift in the structure of energy supplies and consumption away from hydrocarbons in favor of lower-carbon renewable energy sources. Even as these shifts take place and renewables may increase their share, the prognosis is that the world will still rely on hydrocarbons to a significant extent well into the remainder of this century.
Oil and Gas operators will have to seek ways to reduce their carbon footprints in order to stay in business and increase in value.
Reducing the Carbon Intensity of Upstream Operations
Upstream Carbon Intensity (UCI) of oil and gas production is defined as the quantity of emissions per barrel of oil produced (kg CO2 equivalent/barrel). UCI thus measures how much climate damage is done per unit of energy produced. Most O&G companies are now seeking ways to reduce their UCI and most often they see Production Optimization as the first step in doing so.
IMARC Robotics technologies are designed to replace heavy, rig-based, diesel-burning wireline or coiled tubing methods with battery-powered in-well robots which can achieve production optimization at sharply lower cost and drastically reduced carbon footprints. Operators can both reduce their UCI while making greater profits.
The Pathway to NetZero by 2050
Most major oil and gas companies have made commitments to attain or approach NetZero by 2050. IMARC Robotics’ can assist these companies in reaching NetZero goals. Each company will be different and will reach its goals at different times, hence the FIFTY SHADES OF GREEN™.
An added attribute of IMARC Robotics technologies is their labor-saving aspect (large rigging crews no longer needed), which can be a major benefit to companies in the severely tightened labor market of the present post-COVID global economy.
The oil and gas industry has been aware of the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) for many years and has made numerous efforts to leverage its use and add value across its digital oil field activities. These efforts have been resisted for a variety of reasons which include a lack of expertise with AI and economic disincentives due to static operational paradigms impeding adoption. This is now changing, under the pressure of both climate policy and restrained profitability in the industry.
Carbon Footprint EPA Emissions Scope 1, Scope 2 & Scope 3
Overview of GHG Protocol scopes and emissions
- Scope 2 emissions are GHG emissions that occur indirectly from operations of a given company or organization which are purchased from another company (e.g., electricity, steam, heat, or cooling). Although scope 2 emissions physically occur at the facility where they are generated, they are accounted for in an organization’s GHG inventory because they are a result of the organization’s energy use.
- Scope 3 emissions are the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organization, but the organization indirectly impacts its value chain. Scope 3 emissions include all sources not within an organization’s scope 1 and 2 boundaries. The scope 3 emissions for one organization are the scope 1 and 2 emissions of another organization. Scope 3 emissions, also referred to as value chain emissions, often represent the majority of an organization’s total GHG emissions.
Upstream Carbon Intensity (UCI) of oil and gas production is measured as the quantity of emissions per barrel of oil produced (kg CO2 equivalent/barrel). It will show what upstream emissions contribute to the overall carbon emissions from O&G and that there is increasing attention within the O&G industry to give attention to reducing the carbon intensity of upstream operations, though it is different in different companies. It will describe the fact that Production Optimization (a prime attribute of IMARC Robotics applications) has been identified as the first run for companies to reduce their carbon intensity, and it will offer some proforma calculations on possible magnitudes.
Illustration of IMARC Robotics Impact on Carbon Footprint
For the purposes of illustrating a typical example of carbon footprint reduction (i.e. measured in absolute emissions) that could be achieved by IMARC Robotics technology, a comparison has been made of the processes involved in a typical CONVENTIONAL offshore slickline sleeve shifting operation, using a BP Platform as the case study.
Based on current methods such an operation would typically involve some twenty distinct processes or events in getting the job done, each of which will involve a certain amount of (mostly diesel-based) carbon emissions. These process events are estimated to collectively result in about 69,000 Lbs of carbon emissions.
In comparison to the methods used today, IMARC Robotic technologies achieve the same sleeve-shifting operation on the same BP platform using only nine process events, whose cumulative emissions would likely be no greater than some 4,400 Lbs of carbon. That is more than a 15-fold decrease in the footprint.
Moreover, along with these benefits would come also substantial savings in both time and safety. It is clear that IMARC’s nine process events can be executed in far less time than today’s twenty processes, which implies major improvement in efficiency and substantial cost savings in fuels and labor.
Further, the switch to robotics would have huge safety improvements, bearing in mind that helicopter delivery of robots and tools directly onto the platform deck will avoid all ship-to-platform off-loading of heavy rigs and equipment which are hazardous when seas are heavy.