American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2022 - 70

SpecialReport: Markets & Compression
we chose to invest in that business is that
its pulse does not depend on the price of
oil or gas, " Barr says. " The projects also
tend to be planned well in advance, with
some requiring a year to come to fruition.
This often keeps activity steady when
prices fall, which has improved our resilience
to price cycles and allowed us to
better serve our oil and gas customers. "
Lessons learned in the CNG space
have helped J-W design reliable compression
for enhanced oil recovery and
high-pressure gas lift, Barr says. " We
have packaged several EOR compressors
to support projects that were put on the
back burner during the pandemic, " he
says. " These packages are large, with
most capable of injecting somewhere between
12 million cubic feet of gas a day
and 20 MMcf/d at 9,000-10,000 psi.
" High-pressure EOR is already in several
basins and is spreading to others, "
Barr says. " The economics can be quite
strong for producers, especially as the
industry gets better at identifying the
reservoirs where it's most beneficial. "
Leveraging Data
Archrock finished deploying telematics
across its entire fleet late last year
as part of a major digital transformation,
reports Steve Abernathy, the company's
strategic transformation director. " It's
early on, but we already have field examples
of the data improving our compressors'
reliability, efficiency and emissions, "
he says.
Telematics delivers those benefits largely
by simplifying fieldwork. " As we designed
the system, one of our objectives
was to make technicians' and service
managers' jobs easier, " he comments. " If
we do that, we can provide the customer
and our employees a better experience. "
Abernathy adds that automation and
remote monitoring can make oil field
jobs more appealing. " Our compressors
need to run 24/7, but no one enjoys
getting a call at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday
because equipment is down, " he reflects.
" We all are much better off when we see
potential problems ahead of time and can
take care of them before they cause unscheduled
downtime. "
When something unusual does occur,
Abernathy says the telematics help technicians
address it efficiently. " Before they
head to the site, they can access a control
system dashboard online and look at the
unit's history to diagnose what happened, "
he illustrates. " In many cases, this lets
them grab the parts they will need before
heading to the site, which is much faster
than diagnosing the problem on-site, then
leaving to pick up parts and return, or
waiting for someone to deliver them. "
Abernathy points out that eliminating
unnecessary trips to the field also reduces
safety risks and vehicle emissions.
" While deploying the telematics, we
upgraded analog units with digital controllers, "
he mentions. " Most of the upgraded
equipment includes encrypted
Wi-Fi, so when technicians arrive onsite,
they can quickly check the control
system and see real-time data using their
ruggedized laptop versus the small screen
on the unit. "
Early Gains
In the long run, Archrock intends to
use machine learning algorithms and
other advanced analytics to predict equipment
issues before they happen, Abernathy
notes. However, he stresses that even the
simpler analytics currently available can
be extremely powerful. " We are already
using the data to put together straightforward
analytics that gives service managers
and technicians indicators of potential
problems. For example, we can highlight
early warning signs for detonation issues
such as head problems and valve issues.
" We are codifying some of our expertise
to automatically create reports
that show which units warrant near-term
attention and which parameters to focus
on, with more urgent issues highlighted
in red and ones that need to be monitored
shown in yellow, " Abernathy continues.
" This helps our service managers and
technicians prioritize, be more proactive
and work more efficiently. "
Abernathy says that more accessible
access to data and better analytics tools
often enable Archrock to spot problems
upstream of the compressor, then work
with its customers to diagnose the cause
and address the issue. " We are seeing
case after case where this type of collaboration
has improved customers' throughput
and maximized uptime, " he reports.
" By looking at the data, we also have
found opportunities to change how we set
up, control and tune the equipment that
will reduce emissions and increase the reliability
and longevity of key parts, " Abernathy
says. " These changes could be huge.
We are confident these alone will deliver
significant cost savings each year. Providing
more reliable compression services while
reducing emissions and costs is a winwin
proposition for all stakeholders. "
By deploying telematics across its fleet, equipping previously analog units with digital
controllers and developing mobile tools, Archrock says it has improved its technicians'
and service managers' ability to anticipate and fix problems.
70 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER
Data Governance
During the two-year process of deploying
telematics across its fleet, Abernathy says,
American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2022

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