Digitalisation and technological innovation offer the pathway to the future of energy supplies and achieving carbon net zero. So, when we talk about digitalisation in our industry, we mean:
Replacing manual or physical tasks with digital solutions
Streamlining work processes by reducing time spent on manual or repetitive work
Advanced analysis of data â to better understand and utilise the vast and complex data sets that can improve our decision making and performance
Robotisation and remote control, improving operational regularity, reducing cost and improving safety by reducing human involvement in dangerous tasks and environments
The internet and industrial internet of things (IoT, IIoT), big data, predictive and prescriptive analytics and artificial intelligence.
Pumps, turbines, generators run our plants. We monitor them to prevent malfunction. But machines can fail. Data scientist Eva Andritsopoulou and her team use machine learning to predict malfunctions before they occur. This is artificial intelligence at scale, with direct impact on operations and safety.
A subsea drone working for Equinor recently set the world record for the longest period ever for an operational remotely controlled vessel underwater, spending 165 days at a depth of 330 metres.
The Saipem Hydrone-R drone has been working at the Njord field in the Norwegian Sea, performing regular drill support, production support activities and some autonomous operations at Njord field, giving important information about potential leaks or hazards.
Transforming through robotics
Equinor is robot-ready â and they are already in daily use in many areas of our business.
Years of investment in IT infrastructure, advanced data analytics, machine learning and AI, software development and third-party solutions, a cloud first strategy, all based on the recognition that data and connectivity will transform Equinor, our industry and society. We have the technical core to transform through robotics.
We use drones and robots to do more of the dangerous, dirty, distant and the dull jobs for us, leaving our employees to focus even more time on innovative tasks and solutions.
From inspection of chemical tanks to subsea pipelines, and maintenance work such as sand blasting and painting, robots and drones are transforming the way we work. They extend our reach and capability in environmental monitoring and are also being tested for logistical flights offshore.
Do you see chaos or opportunity in 70 petabytes of data? And do you find purpose in developing the digital solutions for the future of energy? What about Europeâs energy security of today? Equinor offers a unique range of challenges and development opportunities for digital professionals, and we are hiring.
Equinor âstreet viewâ for platforms and plants
Wouldnât it be great if Google Street View and Google Maps could show where to go in the vast jungle of pipes and valves in a plant? Our specialists agreed, and developed Echo, a âstreet viewâ and visualisation tool for digital twins. The operators have all they need on a tablet, and can find equipment, simulate modifications, plan maintenance and collaborate in real-time. Or just find their way back to the office.
If a part breaks down and impacts operations, it quickly gets very expensive. But so is having duplications of every possible part that can break. The solution is a digital inventory and 3D printing. Additive manufacturing can save money, the production can be done closer to where the part is needed and the process is often less CO2 intensive than traditional manufacturing. Coupled with a digital inventory, we can produce parts on demand, close to where the need is. And in the not-to-distant future, drones will fly the part from the production site to where it is needed.
We will buy software solutions and applications if they are available, and if not, we can develop them ourselves. Like âAutomated drilling controlâ, a cruise control for drilling, developed by a supplier in cooperation with Equinorâs engineers. With ADC we can avoid incidents, drill faster, take better decisions, reduce cost and improve safety in our operations. And that is no small matter when we drill 100 to 150 wells on the Norwegian continental shelf every year.
Data as a high-value biproduct of oil
In Equinor we use data in new ways to find oil, produce it more efficiently and with lower CO2 emissions. From the wells at the enormous Johan Sverdrup field, data flows up from the ground faster than the oil does. Many times faster. In fact, 10,000 Netflix movies-a-second fast. To keep track, our engineers and subsurface specialists have turned to data science. They can livestream vast amounts of data from 3,000 meters underground, and are developing machine learning algorithms to make it easier for the engineers to view the right âmovieâ to optimise the operation.
Weâre sharing our data with the world. Hereâs why.
Did you know that data sets from our Northern Lights, Volve and Hywind Scotland assets are open and available to researchers and students?
If you didnât â hereâs why weâre sharing them, what they contain, how to access them, and what itâs been used for so far. Data is the new oil, and weâre sharing a lot of it!
By sharing data, we can foster new ideas to solve complex energy problems.
