Problem

The existing iFIX-based SCADA system had become technologically obsolete, making it increasingly complex and costly to add new functionalities and improve system performance. The platform lacked native web and mobile client support, relying heavily on manual configuration workflows, and had limited interoperability with corporate IT systems such as AVEVA PI, Power BI, and Office 365. The system architecture made it difficult to scale efficiently to support the company’s rapidly growing Vaca Muerta operations. Cybersecurity risks were also increasing as the platform fell further behind modern industrial security standards. The system had severely limited interaction with remote field equipment and lacked centralized diagnostic capabilities, making it difficult to proactively detect and resolve issues before they impacted production.

The project faced significant technical and operational challenges across every layer of the system. The implementation required a robust edge computing layer and a multi-client architecture supporting native, web, and mobile clients from a single development environment to achieve seamless field device interaction from both central control rooms and remote locations.

To improve communication performance over the wide-area network — including low-bandwidth, intermittent radio links typical of Patagonian oilfields — the system demanded a shift from polling-based protocols to lightweight, exception-based MQTT with Sparkplug B and store-and-forward capability at the edge.

To reduce manual configuration tasks, the new system required AUTEXOPEN and ASE Global to design a fully object-oriented UDT (User-Defined Type) tag model with inheritance across hundreds of well templates covering multiple extraction methods (mechanical pumping, plunger lift, y-plunger, gas lift, surge, and injection wells). The absence of a standardized, unified data model across the operation further compounded this challenge, as process data was fragmented across systems with no common namespace or consistent structure. To ensure zero-downtime deployments while simultaneously developing and releasing new functionality, the project called for a strict DevOps methodology with segregated development, testing, and production environments, integrated with GitHub and Azure DevOps.

AUTEXOPEN and ASE Global needed to build a flexible, open API layer using OPC UA, REST, and JDBC connectors to eliminate ad hoc integrations with corporate systems (AVEVA PI, Power BI, ERP, Office 365) and achieve ISA/IEC 62443 compliance.

To meet the energy company’s strict industrial cybersecurity policy, the system required careful network zoning encryption across all communication layers, Active Directory integration with role access control, and a comprehensive security hardening program aligned to Inductive Automation’s Ignition Security Hardening Guide.

Finally, AUTEXOPEN and ASE Global needed to provide advanced domain-specific features, including dynamometric card acquisition for mechanical pumping, predictive diagnostics for plunger lift optimization, and a fully automated well control test workflow.

Solution

AUTEXOPEN and ASE Global deployed the new Ignition SCADA platform with a comprehensive, multi-layer architecture purpose-built to match the scale and operational complexity of the Vaca Muerta unconventional operations. Ignition’s Perspective Module provides unified native, web browser, and mobile (iOS/Android) clients from a single development environment — any screen built once works across all client types without rework, eliminating the dual-development burden of the legacy architecture.

The Enterprise Administration Module (EAM) provides centralized management for all Ignition Gateway instances across the entire distributed architecture, handling license distribution, module updates, backup and restore, and real-time health monitoring from a single console.

The system’s use of Ignition Edge with MQTT Sparkplug B across remote well sites is a particularly innovative aspect of this project: it enables reliable, low-footprint telemetry over the low-bandwidth and intermittent radio links that are typical of the Patagonian oilfield environment, while dramatically reducing data traffic compared to the previous polling-based iFIX architecture.

Ignition connects to field devices like PLCs and RTUs from multiple manufacturers through Kepware Server via OPC UA. Ignition’s object-oriented UDT system enables rapid templated configuration for thousands of wells. The Tag Historian Module stores all process data in open relational databases (SQL Server), enabling transparent integration with AVEVA PI and corporate analytics tools via JDBC.

The system’s alarm management leverages Ignition’s Alarm Notification Pipelines with five-level priority management, shelving, scheduling, and escalation workflows delivering notifications via email and mobile push notifications.

AUTEXOPEN and ASE Global used a DevOps methodology integrating testing and production environments to ensure zero-downtime deployments and full auditability of every configuration change.

The system integrates an Active Directory via LDAP to provide a single sign-on that aligns to the energy company’s role operator hierarchy, with optional two-factor authentication via Identity Providers. Adhering to Ignition’s Security Hardening Guide, the system features TLS 1.2+ encryption across all communication layers, with network segmentation following the Purdue Reference Model, and full alignment with ISA/IEC 62443.

The Ignition system includes advanced custom-developed domain-specific modules: dynamometric card acquisition, cataloging by date and type, and visualization with multi-card comparative analysis for mechanical pumping wells; predictive diagnostics and automatic preset recommendations for the plunger lift.

Result

The new Ignition-based platform delivers a modern, scalable SCADA foundation for unconventional upstream operations through a single unified development environment. Operators now have full SCADA functionality available from any device — desktop workstation, web browser, or mobile phone and tablet — from any location, dramatically improving flexibility for remote operations across the vast Vaca Muerta basin in Patagonia.

Ignition has significantly reduced configuration time for new wells due to object-oriented UDT templating and bulk well management tools, allowing the energy company to commission new wells far more rapidly than with the previous system. AUTEXOPEN and ASE have already expanded the system, which now supports 80 surface installations and 2,000 wells.

The Ignition solution integrates corporate platforms including AVEVA PI, Power BI, Microsoft Teams, and Office 365 natively through open APIs, eliminating the custom middleware and ad hoc developments that previously created ongoing maintenance burdens.

The implementation significantly strengthened the company’s cybersecurity posture through Security by Design architecture, TLS 1.2+ encryption across all layers, ISA/IEC 62443 compliance, and Active Directory-based role management covering 11 defined operator roles.

The Ignition platform’s unlimited client licensing model eliminated per-seat costs, enabling the company to deploy as many operator, engineering, and mobile sessions as operationally required without additional license expenditure as operations scale. Ignition’s advanced analytics capabilities — including predictive plunger lift diagnostics, automated preset recommendations, and dynamometric card interpretation — deliver measurable improvements in well production optimization and reducing the need for on-site specialist interventions.

An unexpected benefit was the speed at which Ignition’s open, Python-scriptable platform enabled for prototyping and deploying new analytical tools without external development cycles, which significantly accelerated innovation while also allowing automatic monitoring of the overall system status.

The project establishes the technological foundation for the continued growth in the Vaca Muerta, with an architecture designed to scale to thousands of additional wells as Argentina’s unconventional production expands.

Project Team

The project was conceived, designed, and implemented by AUTEXOPEN, ASE Global, and an Ignition Certified engineer with deep expertise in Ignition deployments across oil & gas, utilities, and manufacturing industries. The team brought together a multidisciplinary group of professionals including SCADA architects, software engineers, HMI designers, database specialists, field communications engineers, and cybersecurity analysts — all with hands-on experience in oil & gas upstream environments.

The project was led by AUTEXOPEN and ASE Global, with technical coordination by a dedicated project team that worked in close collaboration with the energy company’s team — comprising specialists in OT systems, IT architecture, cybersecurity, and supply chain — throughout the entire RFP, design, and implementation lifecycle. This collaborative structure was essential to translating complex operational requirements.

Project Scope

• Start Date: 06/2023

• Deploy Date: 01/2024

• Tags: 1,800,000+

• Screens: 200+

• Clients: 50+

• Alarms: 150,000+

• Devices: 450+

• Architectures: Scale-Out

• Databases: 8 SQL servers

• Historical data logged: 60,000+

• Number of people on team: 20+