Some Thoughts on IIoT and the Future of Energy

A couple of months back, I attended a conference on the future of energy. I found myself discussing with a colleague the future of the Kaybob Duvernay and, more generally, the future of energy. I've been to several conferences on "the future of energy" (in some form or another). You tend to hear lots about: drilling techniques and equipment, unmanned offshore rigs, renewable infrastructures like solar and geothermal, heavy autonomous vehicles that handle trucking, etc. All of this has interested me for some time, but one area that I think may be under-appreciated is Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

Over the past year, my team – in partnership with other groups within our business unit, has had the opportunity to experiment with IIoT and autonomous technologies in the field.

The results have been excellent, and we're continuing to experiment with how we can use IIoT to deliver on our Integrated Operations Center (IOC) focus of:

1. Increasing safety across the field
2. Production output and production efficiency
3. Lowering our carbon intensity

I think IIoT could be a game-changer for realizing a digital oilfield and a foundational part of digital transformation in oil and gas.

But I often find I need to convince people that the investment is worth it. I know for sure that IIoT is often treated as a technology project when it's really about changing our mindsets and work processes in terms of how we operate.

Here are some of the common objections to deploying IIoT that I've heard: 

1. "IIoT is just another buzzword."

This objection may seem cynical, but I understand where it comes from. There are so many "buzzwords" and trends that I have seen come and go over the years. But if IIoT is a buzzword, it's one that's been around for a long time (almost 15 years). But the point is that I understand the suspicion and skepticism that some colleagues have.

But this dismissal of IIoT technology risks leaving lots of money on the table because you'd also need to turn a blind eye to the business impact that IIoT has had (and is having) in many industries, including energy. For example, when you look at numerous industry polls and studies, you find that generally, around >60% of energy companies are using this technology already, and that number has been trending upward for some time.

2. "We don't need IIoT because we already have machine-to-machine connectivity" or some version of "we're already doing this..."

This objection can reflect the confusion I sometimes hear when we talk about IIoT with those from a pure (sometimes more traditional) operational technology background.

I'm certainly not a technologist, so I can't get into the weeds with those. But I don't think I'm wrong in saying that machine-to-machine and IIoT are not the same things.

While machine-to-machine connectivity is simply connecting devices within the facility, from my point of view, IIoT is much broader. IIoT encompasses machine-to-machine communication while also collecting and leveraging data to manage and optimize the system as a whole – in accordance with the business outcomes we're pursuing.

For me, IIoT is not just the "thing." It's the data used to change and optimize that "thing" in relation to the other "things" in the environment. I've learned through much frustration that the data component of IIoT is incredibly critical to making IIoT work.  So critical that we need a mind shift to treat data like an asset itself with ongoing efforts (and $ spend) to maintain its accuracy, completeness, and reliability, just like any physical asset would have a maintenance program assigned to it. Without emphasizing data and data quality as critical enablers of IIoT, the other benefits that we're often sold (cost reduction, safety, production efficiency, etc.) collapse entirely.

3. "IIoT is too complicated and expensive."

I don' know about that. My experience has been that starting off small with IIoT has still provided excellent results for a very reasonable cost. A few years back, we started experimenting with edge computing devices like Industrial Raspberry Pi's, simple IP cameras to monitor sight glasses, gauges, tank levels, and other inexpensive sensors that monitor things like site security or corrosion within a pipeline.

My experience has been that IIoT can be simple and cost-effective when done right. For example, at the conference, it was cool to see presentations and breakout sessions that showed off how energy companies are using IIoT solutions to remotely start and monitor wells and detect and even predict pipeline leaks. These types of IIoT solutions can be implemented relatively quickly and cost-effectively.

The bottom line is that IIoT is a real phenomenon that is already delivering tangible benefits to companies in many industries – including energy. But the other key point I walked away with is that, like many technology initiatives, I think success here has more to do with how we lead and change how we work than the technology itself.

My observation has been that our ability to build and scale new IIoT solutions and technologies is moving at a faster pace than our ability to change our ways of working, operating models, and philosophies.