Edge-To-Cloud Architecture Acquires Real-Time Data From Remote Oil & Gas Facilities

Project Summary:

Automation Solutions Ecuador (ASE) developed a cloud-based solution for Smart Energy Applications that enables real-time monitoring, data acquisition, and reporting for Gas-to-Grid (G2G) systems located in remote oil & gas facilities in the Amazon.

Smart Energy provides Gas to Grid in a Box (G2G_B) solutions to produce energy using the gas associated with the crude oil extraction process. The G2G_B system uses gas without treatment to reduce carbon footprint. It comprises a generation unit (Waukesha), a control and synchronism unit (Woodward Easygen), and a load shedding unit (Multilin).

The project developed by ASE was crucial for Smart Energy to get real-time and historical data of electrical and mechanical parameters, KPIs, and automatic reporting of technical, financial, and environmental results. This allowed Smart Energy headquarters to assess the impact of its solutions. Additionally, the project allowed the solution to be maintained with OpEx instead of CapEx.

Problem:

Smart Energy’s generators are situated in remote facilities that are difficult to reach and have no permanent staff. As a result, Smart Energy’s systems did not have continuous monitoring and required an operator to visit each facility once or twice a day to collect data manually. At the end of each shift, the operator manually recorded the day's data in an Excel report and submitted it via email.

The staff at the headquarters would then review and analyze the technical data provided by the operator the day before. Based on this, they manually created weekly and monthly Excel reports that included process indicators and financial data. These reports were shared with management and partners who needed to justify the investment with energy savings and carbon footprint reduction to ensure the implementation of more G2G_B systems.

Obtaining KPIs and generating reports required significant time, resources, and personnel since data could only be collected directly from equipment displays.

Solution:

ASE designed a hybrid architecture using Ignition Edge IIoT and Ignition Cloud Edition in Azure.

To install Ignition Edge, the RTU box contains an Opto 22 groov RIO. The Modbus TCP devices are connected directly with the Ignition driver, while the Modbus RTU devices are connected via a Moxa adapter to use the RTU/TCP driver. Each G2G_B system requires one Ignition Edge installation.

For historical storage, the system utilizes an Azure Database for MySQL and an Ignition Cloud Edition subscription using Microsoft Azure. Ignition Edge publishes the collected data using MQTT and subscribes using Cirrus Link's Distributor and Engine modules for Ignition, with Starlink satellite internet for data transmission.

ASE designed the application interface in Figma and developed it using the Perspective Module in Ignition Cloud Edition. The interface includes a dark theme and parameterized views to add more generators dynamically in the future. The application is mobile-responsive and has login and language selection options, along with sections for real-time monitoring, historical queries, events, KPIs, and reporting.

Results:

Smart Energy has successfully eliminated manual data collection and replaced it with an automated system. All data is now collected and processed without human intervention, from the equipment to the end users. Personnel at the headquarters can monitor the equipment in real time and alert operators when an event occurs that requires their intervention.

Smart Energy achieved this by using Ignition and Opto 22 hardware, which meet the requirements of cybersecurity and have store-and-forward capabilities. Ignition Perspective was used to develop a dynamic application that facilitates future integration of new G2G_B systems. The application is mobile-responsive, user-friendly, intuitive, and complies with dark theme features.

To further improve decision-making and analysis of future investments, Smart Energy generates online KPIs and automatic reporting for managers and partners. Smart Energy was pleasantly surprised by the value they received from the Ignition Cloud Edition service; the price is much better than the price they had in mind. This makes it easier for them to maintain the solution with OpEx instead of CapEx.

Smart Energy optimized significant time, resources, and personnel; the solution helps to monitor in real-time the reduction of CO2 emissions and economic savings.

Start Date: December 2023

Deploy Date: February 2024