#RSS Feed A Social Media Today community [network-drop-down.png] * [brand-bar-wheel.png] About Social Media Today ______________________________________________________________ * [logo.png] The world's best thinkers on energy & climate ______________________________________________________________ * [logo.png] The world's best thinkers on the urban future ______________________________________________________________ * [logo.png] The world's best thinkers on business intelligence & data analytics ______________________________________________________________ * [logo.png] The world's best thinkers on healthcare ______________________________________________________________ * [logo_0.png] The world's best thinkers on social media Sign up | Login with → SmartData Collective The World's Best Thinkers on Data * Home + About Us & Contact + Work With Us * Post Here * Analytics + Social Media Analytics + Text Analytics + Sentiment Analytics + Predictive Analytics + Modeling + Web Analytics + Workforce Analytics * Big Data + Social Data + Data Warehousing + Visualization + Workforce Data + Data Mining + Data Quality * Business Intel + Business Rules + Decision Management + Knowledge Management + Market Research + CRM * Data Management + Risk Management + Transparency + Culture & Leadership + Policy & Governance + Best Practices + Privacy * IT + Mobility + Security + Hardware + Location + Cloud Computing * Software + Hadoop + MapReduce + SQL + Open Source + Marketing Automation + R Programming Language * Reports * Webcasts * Help + FAQ Posted by: [Screen%20Shot%202013-06-06%20at%2015.18.37.png] Bernard Marr Posts Profile Comments Follow Please login or register to follow this user. Big Data in Big Oil: The Amazing Ways Shell Uses Analytics to Drive Business Success Like it? 94 comments 0 Posted November 17, 2015 Keywords: The Big Data Guru Image The oil and gas industries are facing major challenges - the costs of extraction are rising and the turbulent state of international politics adds to the difficulties of exploration and drilling for new reserves. In the face of big problems, its key players are turning to Big Data in the hope of finding innovative solutions to these pressing issues. Big Data is the name used to describe the theory and practice of applying advanced computer analysis to the ever-growing amount of digital information that we can collect and store from the world around us. Over the last few years businesses in every industry have enthusiastically developed data-led strategies for overcoming problems and solving challenges, and the oil and gas industries are no different. Royal Dutch Shell is one of the largest oil and gas companies – one of the “supermajors” which also include BP, Chevron, Total and ExxonMobil – and the world’s fourth largest company by revenue. For some time now it has been developing the idea of the “data-driven oilfield” in an attempt to bring down the cost of drilling for oil – the industry’s major expense. A recent survey by Accenture and Microsoft of oil companies and those involved in the support industries found that 86% to 90% of respondents said that increasing their analytical, mobile and Internet of Things capabilities would increase the value of their business. The search for new hydrocarbon deposits demands a huge amount of materials, manpower and logistics. With drilling a deep water oil well often costing over $100 million, no one wants to be looking in the wrong place. Surveying of potential sites involves monitoring the low frequency seismic waves that move through the earth below us due to tectonic activity. Probes are put into the earth at the spot being surveyed, which will register if the pattern of the waves is distorted as they pass through oil or gas. In the past this would involve taking a few thousand readings during the typical survey of a potential drilling site. But in the past few years technology has advanced to the level where it could involve over a million – vastly increasing the amount of data gathered during exploration. Shell uses fibre optic cables, created in a special partnership with Hewlett-Packard, for these sensors, and data is transferred to its private servers, maintained by Amazon Web Services. This gives a far more accurate image of what lies beneath. Data from any prospective oil field can then be compared alongside that from thousands of others around the world, to enable geologists to make more accurate recommendations about where to drill. Production forecasting is one of the first jobs – determining the likely output of the reservoir is key to determining what resources should be spent on collecting it. When this decision is data-led, operators can have more confidence that this will be done efficiently. Shell also uses Big Data to ensure its machines are working properly and spending as little time as possible offline due to breakdowns and failure. Machinery used in drilling has to operate in harsh conditions for prolonged periods of time so is prone to wear and damage. To counteract this, the machinery is fitted with sensors collecting data about its performance and comparing it with aggregated data, meaning parts can be replaced in an efficient manner and downtime minimized, further reducing overheads. As well as exploration, Big Data is being put to use to streamline the transport, refinement and distribution (retail) of oil and gas. Shell is vertically integrated, and therefore involved in every aspect of the process through to packaging and selling it to the consumer as fuel for their car for heating their home. Refineries have limited capacity and fuel needs to be produced as close as possible to its point of end use, to minimize transportation costs. Complex algorithms take into account the cost of producing the fuel as well as diverse data such as economic indicators and weather patterns to determine demand, allocate resources and set prices at the pumps. Of course, we’ve long been conscious of the fact that we could eventually use up all of the non-renewable oil and gas buried under the earth – perhaps sooner than we think. While this is an environmental concern to us all, it’s a financial one to companies like Shell. Dwindling reserves mean the cost of getting at what is available goes up, as they are forced to look deeper underground in ever more remote locations. One alternative is offered by the growing hope that “unconventional resources”, such as shale gas and tight oil will fill the gap. These resources, trapped in shale and sandstone, now supply 20% of the gas used in the USA and their use is expanding rapidly around the globe. However they demand new extraction methods such as hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). Because this is relatively new far less data is available so exploration can be more hit-and-miss. However new techniques are being developed to use the data that is being collected from probing and drilling these sites to help pinpoint other locations where reserves could be hiding. All of these elements form the “big picture” – every part of which must be synchronized if a company is going to prosper in the costly, dangerous and highly competitive field of oil and gas production. Thanks to big data analytics, the interconnection between these elements of the business can be examined and monitored in detail. This means models can be built and simulations created by analysts, to explore how minor tweaks to a certain area of operations could have big impacts on the productivity or efficiency of another. The vast amount of data collected from all areas of the company’s activity means the result of the simulations will hopefully be as close as possible to the way things will play out in the real world. Ultimately this leads to decision-makers being better equipped to make the decisions that affect the company’s fortunes. As always, thank you very much for reading my posts. You might also be interested in my new books, which are available to pre-order now: Key Business Analytics: The 60+ Business Analysis Tools Every Manager Needs To Know and Big Data in Practice. * Login or register to post comments * [Screen%20Shot%202013-06-06%20at%2015.18.37.png] Connect: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook website Authored by: Bernard Marr Bernard Marr is a globally regognized big data and analytics expert. He is a best-selling business author, keynote speaker and consultant in strategy, performance management, analytics, KPIs and big data. He helps companies to better manage, measure, report and analyse performance. His leading-edge work with major companies, organisations and governments across the globe makes him a globally ... See complete profile Would you like to contribute to this site? Get started » Other Posts by Bernard Marr 3 Ways the Internet of Things Will Change Every Business - November 10, 2015 Big Data in Motorsports: How F1 And NASCAR Compete on Analytics - October 13, 2015 4 Ways Big Data Will Change Every Business - October 6, 2015 Of Big Data, the IoT, and Trust: Tales from Google's Nest - September 29, 2015 The Amazing Ways Big Data Drives Success at Rolls Royce - September 15, 2015 Related Posts There are no posts that fit this criteria. » Already a member? Login now to comment! » Not a member? Register to comment! Like it? 12 January 7, 2016 Webb Rowan says: Regardless of the nature of any business, finance is the key factor that helps the firm progress forward toward success. When operating costs increase, their profits will in turn reduce. Hence, to address this ongoing issue, business owners need to always find smart alternatives that have all along been tactfully disregarded due to its subtle nature like analytics. When studied on an in-depth basis, it can help a business regain the losses slowly, but surely. Share this comment: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn * Login or register to post comments Please note: Your first comment as a registered user will be held for moderation up to 24 hours (usually less). For more information about comments on our site, please read our FAQ and terms of use. Image The moderated business community for business intelligence, predictive analytics, and data professionals. 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No doubt there is a lot of things that you have ...” January 6th, 2016 by webbrowan “The final aim of MCC is to allow implementation of rich smartphone web apps on ...” January 7th, 2016 by jamesmartin057 “When it concerns money, you cannot afford to commit even a single mistake and ...” January 6th, 2016 by webbrowan “Regardless of the nature of any business, finance is the key factor that helps ...” January 7th, 2016 by webbrowan “Such comparison tools are great for borrowers to perform an estimated ...” January 7th, 2016 by webbrowan “Due to modernization we have found good technology advanced in the society; ...” January 7th, 2016 by edwardmiller “Social collaboration seems like a funny way to describe the process of speaking ...” January 6th, 2016 by webbrowan show more “The final aim of MCC is to allow implementation of rich smartphone web apps on an excess of cell phone devices, with a gorgeous user experience.” January 7th, 2016 by jamesmartin057 “By including more factors to score a person’s credit worthiness would make it ...” January 7th, 2016 by webbrowan “Due to modernization we have found good technology advanced in the society; ...” January 7th, 2016 by edwardmiller “Regardless of the nature of any business, finance is the key factor that helps ...” January 7th, 2016 by webbrowan “Such comparison tools are great for borrowers to perform an estimated ...” January 7th, 2016 by webbrowan “There are clearly a number of changes coming for small businesses as they await ...” January 6th, 2016 by NguyenNga “When it concerns money, you cannot afford to commit even a single mistake and ...” January 6th, 2016 by webbrowan “Social collaboration seems like a funny way to describe the process of speaking ...” January 6th, 2016 by webbrowan “This is such a scary article. 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