Drilling advancements, including horizontal drilling techniques, have transformed oil and gas operations from simplistic single-well pad fields to more complex multi-well pads. In turn, operators and equipment builders can modify their control systems approach to optimize these changing applications. The Well Manager solution from Rockwell Automation provides oil and gas companies a single solution for all control functionality throughout a well pad, resulting in easier implementation, real-time data visibility, production efficiency and reduced costs.
Traditionally, oil and gas companies built multi-well pads using different controls and locations throughout a single pad. The Rockwell Automation solution leverages just one controller for all well pad operations – including rod pumps and plunger lifts, electrical submersible pumps, progressing cavity pumps, natural flowing wells and more. Shifting all operations to one controller from a single vendor reduces maintenance costs, helps with revision control, and streamlines training and support.
“Today’s modern, multi-well pads resemble small production facilities,” said Marcus Toffolo, global sales lead for Oil and Gas, Rockwell Automation. “As such, traditional approaches for well monitoring and control using RTU technologies have become cost prohibitive and require a high level of integration effort. This makes our Well Manager solution an ideal fit for multi-well pad applications. Modular and scalable, this solution helps ease integration with existing systems and other Rockwell Automation applications, including energy management and intelligent power integration. It also helps lower costs and cut installation time for improved lifecycle management.”
The Well Manager solution is delivered pre-engineered to speed integration of a multi-well pad. It is scalable and can support up to 32 wells in one location with flow management, artificial lift control, and site-wide data visibility. Because data is pulled directly from the control system, it has higher integrity than operations that leverage manual data reporting. The solution is built with expansion in mind – ready to support wells and equipment that might be added to a site years after initial implementation.
The solution also enables self-declaring wells to be automatically discovered and integrated into the production environment. This auto-discovery feature removes human interaction, reducing risk of error and dependencies on special skill sets. It also speeds the time it takes to bring a new well online to mere minutes, allowing producers to get valuable production data out of the well more quickly.
The Well Manager solution is part of the broader ConnectedProduction offering from Rockwell Automation that can help connect all existing automation systems and intelligent field equipment from the wellhead and surface processing to custody transfer. Users can select specific solutions as needed, and monitor ROI to justify scaling up for broader usage. Each added segment of the solution is purpose-built for connectivity to help transform data into useful intelligence. The offering makes use of current investments, and does not require a complete infrastructure overhaul.
