GIS in Oil and Gas

BY SANGEETA DEOGAWANKA


As an industry that fuels progress, development and basic human needs, the oil and gas industry is a vital part of the global economy. It is also the most capital intensive. Revenues are large, as are the costs. It also makes headlines for unforeseen accidents and environmental hazards. The ever changing dynamics of this industry drives sustained efforts for increased efficiencies and risk mitigation. This is where GIS and supporting technologies step in with limitless uses and seamless applications.

The Oil and Gas industry is driven by an estimated 80% data that has a spatial component. This is the only industry that harnesses spatial information at every stage of the life-cycle, beginning with opportunity analysis and exploration, through appraisal and production, right up to the abandonment phase.

INTERACTIVE WEB MAP SHOWING OIL AND GAS BASINS IN U.S., WITH LINKS TO GEOLOGIC REPORTS

So companies are beginning to understand the importance of geospatial to maximize ROI as well as minimize risks. Beginning with the integration of spatial databases within existing systems, the oil and gas sector has also begun looking at software companies to come up with industry-specific software, tools and models to maximize value from their investments.

For the geospatially driven this is an industry to look at. Assets, offices, sites, workers as well as operations are geographically dispersed. So large and complex data is utilized to explore and manage the spatially distributed assets and operations. Dedicated maps and models are proving to be the most effective way to visualize and communicate. The spatial component is however still underutilized, and out-of-the box GIS solutions are needed to address the vast needs of this industry. With the surface barely scratched, there is an enormous potential for geospatial technology employment and software development.

GLOBAL ENERGY MAPPER – A SPATIAL DATA AND VISUALIZATION TOOL FOR OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

GIS deployment through the oil field life-cycle

Well Planning and Acquisition

• Basin Analysis – map of potential hydrocarbon accumulations; hydrological modeling; sub-surface secondary fluid migration network mapping; flow direction – flow accumulation mapping across DEM; potential migration pathways, etc.
• Play Analysis – risk segment mapping for each petroleum play element; regional risk mapping; geological maps; ground truthing or validating imagery through field surveys
• Acreage Analysis – rapid evaluation and gradation of opportunities using multi-disciplinary asset data and assigning weightings and criteria; ranking of acreage, petroleum leases, blocks and companies; exploration statistics in visual platform, etc.
• Prospect Analysis – hydrocarbon reserve or volume estimation; raster analysis based deterministic prospect volume of petroleum reservoirs; reserve estimation and spatial analysis of well data in unconventional hydrocarbon, like shale, and so on.

Seismic planning – terrain analysis; seismic survey maps and data; satellite image processing and spatial analysis; etc.

Exploration

• Well Planning – well planning around multiple drilling constraints; GIS tools used in well pattern optimization workflows
• Drilling –spatial analysis within GIS for optimized well drilling patterns and efficient configurations
• Production – GIS allows data integration and visualization of production volumes, injection rates and recovery efficiency in near real-time

Exploration (Onshore) – visual framework for exploration across assets; 3D modeling of geological, geophysical and petrophysical hierarchical data

Exploration (Offshore) – bathymetry mapping; sea floor surveys; shipping lane maps with data integration; 3D seismic analysis; on-demand satellite image processing for offshore mapping and exploration activities

Field Operations – GIS supports drilling around surface and geologic constraints; improved field production efficiencies for whole reservoirs /basins; data integration and visualization in real time for production dashboards, coordinated workflows and personnel across rig sites; Dynamic Hazard modeling for resource allocation; asset tracking in real time; updated DEMs to help detect subsidence caused by extraction and much more.

Facilities management – 3D GIS with field layout helps accurate monitoring of associated environmental changes in near real time for HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) and emergency response during oil spills, leaks or explosions.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM FOR TRACKING GAS LEAK – USING ARCGIS

Distribution and Pipeline management – least cost path analysis for distribution network; network analysis for environment friendly and cost effective routes; pipeline monitoring for geo-hazards and leaks; tracking of inspections using remotely acquired data; monitoring and analysis of spatially dispersed data in real-time; seafloor geodesy and asset management in offshore operations, etc.

LEAST COST PATH ROUTES WITH WEIGHTED OVERLAYS (1,2,3) VIS-A-VIS THEOGALLALA AQUIFER CASE STUDY (KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE, NEBRASKA)

Pipeline Routing and Vehicle / Fleet Tracking – A GIS ecosystem supports tracking of valuable assets in a capital intensive sector. The precise location of vehicles and ships ensures timely delivery of goods and services, as well as efficient emergency response.

ASSET AND FLEET MANAGEMENT BY OIL COMPANY SAUDI ARAMCO – USING ARCGIS

Decommissioning – field data from earlier phases of the oil field life cycle centralized in enterprise GIS help to remove infrastructure and assets, and recover the site for land use.

Benefits of GIS in Oil and Gas 

• Empowers decision making – which acreage or play to enter, how to shorten portfolio workflows, how to plan the optimal pipeline route, integrate results of seismic survey, planning emergency response, better management of facilities, manage pipeline outage and leaks, etc.
• Supports future action and ongoing exploration activities – By standardizing processes and reducing technical uncertainty, GIS improves exploration efficiency. The GIS framework models a consistent exploration processes across all assets within the company. This supports a consistent, auditable corporate prospect portfolio, for ongoing portfolio decisions.
• Increased efficiencies – multi disciplinary data integration for risk assessment and uncertainty, better access for cutting wasteful downtime, optimized maintenance schedules; monitoring and analysis of daily fleet movements in real time, least cost path analysis for pipeline routing, standardized portfolio workflows, cutting down decision cycle times, etc.
• Cost saving – an estimate of 10-30 per cent cut in operational costs, prevention and management of incidental or accidental costs, efficient pipeline and fleet management saves costs, optimized drilling and operation workflows enhances ROI, and so on.
• Seamless management with a real-time mapping visualization and analysis of remote /offshore sites, operations and assets
• Improved communication across spatially dispersed locations
• Record keeping – the huge data loaded in centralized GIS builds a strong framework for managing data with full transaction support and reporting tools.

Conclusion


The Oil and Gas industry has been a comparative late comer to GIS. However, it is fast emerging as the industry with the highest potential of GIS application through the entire life-cycle. What’s more, it enables a seamless integration of geospatial technologies like UAV, sensors, and existing computer systems within the GIS framework. This is helping companies compete in the global race to unlock new energy sources and maximize value from its assets.

Source: GIS Lounge - Maps and GIS

Geodesign - a Fusion of Geo-data in Harmony with Design

By Nadia Amoroso



In the fields of landscape architecture and planning, leading practitioners are tying together the power of GIS to integrate geographic information right into the design process. Known as Geodesign, a term coined by Jack Dangermond, the CEO of ESRI Inc, this approach utilizes new technologies and web-based tools, enabling a design team to create quickly and effectively alternative designs, visualize the design impacts, and evaluate results all with the goal of providing effective, evidence based solutions.

O2 Planning + Design, a landscape architecture and urban design firm based in Calgary, Canada, embraces Geodesign as an integral part of its practice. In response to a request from the City of Calgary in 2008, O2 created a plan for the Nose Creek Watershed with the goal of mitigating the effect of urban development on water flow and quality, and minimizing damage to riparian ecosystems. The project is revisited in 2011 with the express purpose of employing the analytical capabilities of ArcGIS and CityEngine, Geodesign tools offered by Esri. Using both 2D and 3D modeling the designers are able to evaluate the success of the project to date, then create scenarios of future developments showing resulting impacts on the watershed.

Nose Creek Watershed (credit: O2 Design)

O2 was recently tasked with the planning and redesigning of High River, a town in Alberta whose commercial centre was destroyed by flooding in 2013. Along with analysis of water levels and elevations, serious questions will need to be raised as to the wisdom of rebuilding a town centre in what is essentially a floodplain. The 3D visualizations produced by Geodesign technologies should assist the population in making informed decisions, particularly as the immediate reaction after a disaster is to rebuild in the same location. O2 utilized a detailed set of landscape constraint evaluation models and urban development impact models in a seamless design, evaluation, and reporting workflow based in ESRI’s ArcMap GIS and CityEngine 3D modeling software; offering a more effective and quicker project outcome.
Ming-Chun Lee, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, School of Architecture, addressed the importance of Geodesign in urban design and architectural practice at the 2015 Esri Geodesign Summit. His design studio focused on Coastal Cities and the issue of “keeping the water out” or “moving the town”. Ming-Chun Lee, along with his colleagues in the Urban Design Studio, presented this challenge to his students and gave them the opportunity to design with GIS.

The selected site was Wilmington NC, a city bounded by river and ocean. The City’s website includes information such as “Is my property in a flood zone?” Given rising sea levels, the City is some major concerns which needs to be addressed. The UNC design students began with the premise of a 2m sea level rise over a period of 100 years. They examined and analyzed three levels of scale: Regional, Sub-Area and District.

At the Regional scale, these were the questions that the students tackled “What are the big issues in terms of land use and populations? Where will we lose land and infrastructure?”

At the Sub-Area scale, these questions were part of the project. “Where is vacant and underused land that will still be usable? Can we build infrastructure and increase population density in these places?”
The questions that arose at the District Scale, included, “What parts of downtown will be underwater? Can we use this water as an ecological and recreational resource?”

For this critical urban design project, GIS was used throughout all scales for the design process, to maintain the same level of information. Several design recommendations were made to the City from circulation and street patterns, transportation hubs and to overall future neighbourhood developments that addressed rising sea levels. See Ming-Chun Lee’s presentation at the 2015 Geodesign Summit for more information.

Figure Ground map with Water edge protection (Credit: Ming-Chun Lee, UNCC)

Kongjian Yu of Turenscape Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urbanism has been advocating Geodesign for almost 20 years and has taken Geodesign to a national scale by influencing theplanning and construction of new cities in China.

“Today’s Chinese cities and architectures are unsustainable: Our monumental architecture, wide roads, endless parking lots, huge city squares, flowered landscapes, and engineering-oriented municipal networks will eventually be seen as ghastly mistakes.”

Yu Kongjian continues to advocate the importance of Geodesign for smart design practice, which allows landscape architects and designers to understand and design intelligently to address many of the environmental issues of today and the future that are far too complex to be managed in traditional ways. “More than the technology of overlaying and GIS, Geodesign is a way of thinking when facing complicated spatial issues that need systematic and integrative solutions.

In 2006, Turenscape undertook the restoration of a seriously degraded site in Tianjin City, China. The 54-acre site was formerly a shooting range, but had become so degraded that residents insisted something must be done. The site was polluted, filled with garbage, prone to flooding and surrounded by slums.

The original site was heavily polluted (Credit: Turenscape)

The original ecosystems included wetlands and marshes. After extensive analysis that included Geodesign, Turenscape created a series of cavities (depressions) to retain and detain storm water and aid in the regeneration of the site.

A series of cavities was designed to capture storm water (Credit: Turenscape)

As part of Yu’s design, a mixed palette of plant material was seeded to adapt to the various water levels of the site and would grow accordingly. Within two years the site was flourishing; water was filtered and purified, and garbage had given way to greenery. Given the opportunity, nature had quickly healed the site and a beautiful park was created for the community.

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