A digital algorithm is used in infrastructure planning at the earliest stages of the project lifecycle, with the programme generating the optimum location for facilities
Image: Officials from Gazprom Neft among others. Photo: courtesy of Gazprom Neft PJSC.
Gazprom Neft has developed a new digital technology for designing infrastructure at new assets. This innovative solution makes it possible to model the optimum location of field facilities, cutting construction and operating costs by up to 10 percent.
A digital algorithm is used in infrastructure planning at the earliest stages of the project lifecycle, with the programme generating the optimum location for facilities, subject to potential limitations, taking into account local terrain, hydro-geological conditions, and administrative, archaeological, historical and cultural, environmental, physical and other metrics. Working with large volumes of data, the algorithm automatically performs complex multi-stage calculations, determining the optimum location for production, domestic, transport and other infrastructure facilities in field design.
This new system brings together a comprehensive set of solutions for infrastructure facilities of all categories, both in mapping the location of facilities and in determining their physical parameters, with the algorithm evaluating thousands of options, and selecting the most effective in each case. The analytical process involves high-performance computing, machine learning, “digital twins” of various facilities, and other innovative tools. The digital algorithm was developed by specialists at the Gazprom Neft Science and Technology Centre, Gazpromneft-Geo and Gazpromneft-Razvitiye.
The new calculation module has been tested during infrastructure design for the Yamburgskoye, Zapadno-Zimnoye, and Ourinskoye fields, as well as at Chonsky-group assets, with the new digital system facilitating greater efficiency in planning the location of road networks, pipelines, well pads, and field and surface facilities. Using this product is expected to cut capital and operating costs at various infrastructure facilities by seven to 10 percent, in the future.
Alexei Vashkevich, Head of Gazprom Neft’s Technology Development Directorate, commented: «The key task for any industry technology is to cut costs to make production more efficient, while working with ever more complex reserves. We understand, very well, that you get the greatest impact precisely at the very start of developing a field, when nothing’s been built, and you’re not subject to any limitations in decision making. Indeed, how infrastructure is developed, and what it consists of, largely drives the economic success of the whole project».
Yuri Masalkin, Director for Geological Prospecting and Resource Base Development, Gazprom Neft, added: «Early-stage planning is one of the key stages in terms of optimising and maximising the value of an asset, and the cost of mistakes in those early stages can increase exponentially, going forward. A digital algorithm for the optimum placement of infrastructure facilities makes it possible to eliminate uncertainties in building surface infrastructure and improves the viability of every business case, not just immediately, but in the long term. I am confident that this development from Gazprom Neft will become an indispensable tool for our projects».
Yuri Masalkin Director for Geological Prospecting and Resource Base Development, Gazprom Neft
Source: Company Press Release