The United States bears fuel losses of $10 billion annually due to leaks and thefts. The companies, operating in the midstream segment of the oil and gas industry, foresee significant upside in improving pipeline safety and reliability. The statistics measured that around 2.5 million miles of pipelines in the USA have an average of 93 leaks per mile.
The world relies on the Oil and Gas Industry heavily as the industry has contributed more than 61% in global energy production.
To get over the problems that the industry is facing, companies have invested in more operational hardware and human capital. But the outcomes were not up to the point as it wasn't necessary that after colossal capital expenditure, these issues will be mitigated. What may be needed is a shift toward data-driven infrastructure, which begins with the Information Value Loop by investing in sensors and cloud.
Why the leaks in pipelines occur?
Among the various reasons and predictions, it is known that there are prominently a few significant causes of the leakage. And the researchers analyzed that the corrosion alone contributes to 61% of the total leakage in pipelines in contrast to the 39% of other miscellaneous factors. Monitoring these leakages is essential as it is affecting energy production across the world.
To eradicate the leakage problem in the oil and gas process, the companies need end-to-end visibility throughout the pipelines. Although it is feasibly impossible for downstream businesses to trace all the leakages throughout the distribution pipelines.
How the Internet of things (IoT) became a giant savior in leakage detection?
To have an integrated technology for the detection of leakage was something missing in the midstream and downstream Oil and Gas sectors. Oil and Gas industry believed in updating the traditional method of pipeline leakage detection to create a safer and greener industry for the next 100 years. As the detection of the leaks was getting exceptionally hard, especially in remotely located wells, the need for an alternate solution became a necessity.
Industry 4.0 or the Industrial IoT (Internet of Things) appears to be the future of the industrial revolution, the revolution which initiated with the introduction of steam power followed by electric energy usage. Nowadays, multiple industries are opting for Industrial IoT and leveraging their existing resources.
With it's out of the box IoT architecture, Biz4Intellia's industry-specific industrial IoT solutions, eradicate the challenges that the Oil and Gas industry is facing such as leakage detection, remote area monitoring, fleet monitoring etc.
The Oil and Gas companies which already has implemented Biz4Intellia's Industrial IoT solutions are leveraging its power in the following way:
1. Real-time Alert system and pipeline Leakage detection
Biz4Intellia, an end-to-end IoT solution saves bucks to the companies by providing instant notification of pipeline leakage. By quickly addressing the problem, our solution prevents oil/gas seeping further into the environment where it could have a significant impact on wildlife, plants, and water. The Real-time Alert system detects the leakage and addresses them immediately, which saves money, oil, and the environment. All the information from the sensors is acquired and sent to the cluster cloud. With all the real-time data and geek technology one can predict the 96% accurate data and can send alerts well before time. The moment a leak alert is received, one can take immediate action to ensure that damage is mitigated.
IoT Leverages the combination of sensor technology for monitoring the pressure, gas flow, compressor conditions, temperature, concentration, and other variables inside the pipeline. The leaks start from a pin-sized hole which can be detected by means of IoT sensors. For example, smart pig, which is sent inside the pipe, detect cracks of the sides and welding effects using ultrasounds waves and magnetic flux features. Detecting gas leaks using infrared is possible via video cameras with a special filter which is sensitive to a selected range of infrared wavelengths. Hydrocarbons absorb infrared radiation from the infrared wavelengths making it possible to detect the leaks as an image of smoke on the video display. There is another way of monitoring leakage, which is fiber optic cables, which is based on physical changes occurring at the leak site. One such change is a variation in the temperature profile. The fiber optic cable is placed along the pipeline to detect such variation. However, this method can only be possible to use with limited lengths of pipeline as many reflections are required to design a useful temperature profile which detects gas leaks. There are some mechanical methods for the diameter and thickness measurement of a pipeline for detection of corrosion.
2. Monitoring pipelines even in Remote areas
Our implemented pipeline monitoring system helps to know even about the minute leakage that occurs within the pipeline. The invisible vapors indicate leaks which are detected by IoT sensors and real-time sensors which ensures safe Oil and Gas operations. On tracking every meter of the pipeline, alerts are immediately transmitted to control room and accordingly alerts are sent to the supervisors as well. If the leak is found to be more hazardous, the particular pipeline can be shut down.
3. Ingesting real-time equipment status
Oil and Gas industry is highly dependent on the effective and consistent operation of the pipeline and other equipment. Excess of vibrations and unmonitored pressure cause catastrophic losses. IoT Sensors, implemented with Biz4Intellia Industrial IoT Solution, helps in monitoring the pumps, motors, and compressors in oil and gas supply. Also, the sensors help in detecting the dynamic pressure, temperature, and pulses, whereas the sensors in engine detect the emissions and hence helps in avoiding huge losses.
4. Methane Gas detection
Our smart IoT sensors help in detecting the combustible gas such as methane. They work best at a temperature of 20 degree Celsius and a humidity of 65%. The sensors are able to detect the gases in relatively low quantities. If the detection is not properly monitored then these gases lead to hazardous situations and cause explosions. Our Smart IoT solution helps businesses of every shape and size to improve the efficiency and reduce the costs.
From operations to customer engagement, the integration of smart connected devices in almost every stream of oil and gas industry will revolutionize the oil and gas supply chain. Now is the time to revolutionize the operations of the legacy industry – and give a chance to the oil and gas to compete in a commoditized world.
The key concern with IoT adoption is that companies require robust IoT solutions which consist of hardware, software, connectivity, and integration. There are numerous IoT platform vendors available in the market, but buying just an IoT platform won’t help the companies. If they go only with IoT platform, they would require to look for appropriate hardware and the integration. In other words, they would need a team of IT experts and a high LoE (Level of Efforts). The best option is to go with an IoT solution provider who can take care of all, including the integration with existing enterprise software such as ERP. A huge benefit that IoT brings along for oil and gas companies is the two-way communication by which they are allowed to control the pumps and other controllers.
Okay, now when we have talked about the Industrial IoT implications in Oil and Gas industry, but the question remains the same. That what is the return on investment an Oil and Gas company can expect against IoT deployment expense?
Well, we have the answers to all your queries regarding Industrial IoT deployment by Biz4Intellia:
- Recently we have successfully completed an PoC for oil pipeline leak detection system for oil and gas.
- We have a subscription-based pricing model with initial cost is around $7,000
- For monthly pricing, please refer to https://www.biz4intellia.com/pricing/
Click here to get started with a Pipeline Leak Detection Solution for your business https://www.biz4intellia.com/contact-us/
