As technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have advanced, so has the number of multi-well pad sites and the need for standardized process automation and instrumentation. The goal of these automation technologies is to help bring first production on-line faster, reduce lease operating expenses, optimize production, and ensure health, safety and environmental compliance.

In a recently recorded webcast, Best Practices for Well Pad Automation, Emerson’s Michael Machuca shared ways to deploy automation in order to achieve these goals. He addressed some of the challenges operators face in seeking ways to standardize in order to reduce facility costs and deploy assets in less time to meet aggressive drilling schedules.

I wanted to share the results of two poll questions that Michael asked during the webcast. The first was, “What is your greatest challenge in developing your well pad facilities?” Here are the results to date:

His second poll question was, “Which well pad asset is the most challenging for you to manage?” The results to date:

For the development phase in the lifecycle of a well pad, it appears that selecting/applying the right technology and its associated cost, and managing the aggressive project timelines are the top challenges. Once the wells are producing, controlling the various means of artificial lift and operating and maintaining the key production vessels are top challenges.

What is your experience? Watch the recorded version of the webcast and share your experiences on these questions. Michael highlighted opportunities where technologies such as wireless transmitters can reduce installation time and cost and provide flexibility over the lifecycle of the wells on the pad. He also pointed to an article where distributed automation streamlined operations for a 12-well pad installation.

Other recorded well pad automation webinars which provide insights into effective projects and ongoing production include:

• Key Considerations for Improving Production Separation
  
• On the Level about Better Tank Management
  
• Optimizing Well Pad Custody Transfer of Liquid Hydrocarbons
  
• Improving the Safety and Efficiency of Your Drilling Operations with Better Measurements

You can also connect and interact with other oil & gas experts in the Oil & Gas group of the Emerson Exchange 365 community.