written by jen roney
Energy producers manage vast networks of assets across the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. These companies are responsible for tracking, monitoring, and updating records based on real-time data from these assets, and they need dependable, robust support to do so.
However, the data collected from these assets must be enhanced with the right intelligence to build knowledge and wisdom within a company. These companies need clarity and confidence in that measure of data.
“Data quality is fundamental to asset intelligence, which tells the full story of a company’s or industry’s assets,” says Brian Hall, president of GDM, Inc. “It arms companies with the complete picture.”
Companies need access to quality data to understand their assets — what is known and sometimes, even more importantly, flagging what may be unknown. The higher the data quality you can access, the more likely you are to recognize gaps in your knowledge or understanding, fill them, and have a complete picture of what’s happening with your assets at any given time.
This accessibility is at the core of integrating asset intelligence and asset integrity into actionable decisions within a company.
“It’s critical to have that holistic view,” says Hall. “Without that understanding, how can you handle more specific workflows, such as asset integrity workflows, relative to risk considerations, regulatory requirements, and compliance?”
Beyond data: Asset intelligence and asset integrity
Asset intelligence uses technology and data to optimize asset management across increasingly large networks of assets owned by organizations. Data collected from a volume of sources can enable businesses to garner deep insights and advance better planning.
“Intelligence gathering from multiple sources allows completeness in how we can represent that data, allowing us to build superior applications for the industry,” says Hall.
Asset intelligence refers to the data, software, and services companies use to perform analysis and make key business decisions. Robust asset intelligence is ideally fostered by the compilation of hundreds of data sources and feeds to create actionable information for company leaders to make better business decisions.
Data propagation across many access points and platforms provides consistent and accurate representation and the results needed for accurate analysis. When intelligence is applied to high-quality data that is carefully collected and curated, it enables customers to see the full value provided by asset data and information.
Asset intelligence is crucial for organizations to stay competitive by maximizing asset value, minimizing downtime, and reducing risk across the company. On the other hand, asset integrity leverages intelligence to ensure an asset operates effectively, protects personnel and equipment, and maintains its lifecycle. It involves managing assets from design to decommissioning while balancing costs and managing degradation.
Asset integrity management becomes crucial for maintaining operational efficiency and safety in industries like oil and gas, where infrastructure ages and assets may change hands more than once through mergers and acquisitions.
How data accessibility empowers asset intelligence and integrity
“It’s simply good business to manage assets well,” says Hall. “With a proactive approach, you minimize risk and protect your profitability. But many companies need support to do so.”
Beyond ensuring the quality of the data you work with and that your data set is as complete as possible, another essential component is accessibility. The greater the data access, the greater the ability to create a thorough understanding and knowledge that drives asset integrity decision-making.
Data access empowers asset intelligence and integrity in different ways:
- Consistency across the industry – Access to quality data provides equal and easy access to contextualized data that solves for the industry’s diverse needs. Customers are empowered to access and use the same data to view, query, manage, and analyze across the industry. This consistency can level playing fields, elevate accuracy and understanding, and uplift the industry as a whole.
How does GDM contribute?
GDM contributes to this consistency and empowerment through collaborations with partners to create solutions for mutual customers. We bring our content to their solutions with a shared commitment to high-quality asset intelligence. For example, our partnership with Altalis, geoLOGIC systems ltd. (geoSCOUT), and S&P Global (AccuMap). We also offer flexible licensing through Converge so that non-operators can access the same data as operators.
- Data-driven decisions – Broad data access also enables useful insights to enhance collaboration and decision-making. It can make complicated processes easy to use, such as flow apportionment, support communication and collaboration, and visualize and manage integrity-related information and workflows. It allows companies across the industry to operate with accurate facts at the core of every business decision.
How does GDM contribute?
GDM’s product advisory board is one of many client feedback loops used to help create robust industry data sets with a focus on accessibility. Our product advisory board helped drive change in its first year, including corporate hierarchy, pipeline selection imports, and propriety well production imports.
- Strategic insights – Data access provides fresh perspectives on infrastructure assets to support evolving businesses. It can increase understanding, uncover opportunities, and provide insight into the role current assets may play in a company’s strategic planning.
How does GDM contribute?
GDM evolves our data and software to accommodate changes in the energy landscape. We also collaborate with customers and industry to create innovative solutions that drive change. For example, our work with Corrigal Consulting to develop our Field Review Manager, automating and customizing water crossing categories based on certain proximity factors with Crescent Point Energy (now Veren), and Total Containment’s business development.
Partnering wisely to increase impact
“There’s no question that the level of asset intelligence we offer can provide a strategic competitive advantage,” says Hall. “But our partnerships in the industry and how these strong collaborations benefit our clients is equally advantageous.”
Partnerships between companies like GDM and geoLOGIC systems help bring power to the intelligence so it can be applied to integrity management and risk-based decision-making.
Bill Whitelaw, managing director of strategy and sustainability with geoLOGIC systems, agrees, noting the significant value of these partnerships when considered in the broader picture of delivering strong asset intelligence solutions.
“We can take you on a data journey from a data point at the total depth of a well all the way up to that well’s impact on a corporate balance sheet, says Whitelaw. “Between GDM and geoLOGIC, we help customers take that journey and ensure the integrity of the data through its curation, cleaning, nurturing, and timeliness.”
The energy industry can realize a significant potential benefit if context can be applied to the data companies can access.
“We have a broad range of different variations of subsurface data, but we also have a broad range of finance and operating ESG and sustainability data,” says Whitelaw. “That interconnectivity, or interoperability, provides an opportunity to understand what stories the data is telling.”
Western Canadian energy producers and companies supporting them must leverage asset intelligence and asset integrity to achieve results.
“The insights that arise from high-quality, connected datasets can influence decision flow,” says Whitelaw. “They can help companies make the decisions that make them more money or prevent them from losing money.”
For best results, partner with companies focusing on your needs and offering creativity, reliability, and collaboration.
The role of data quality in the future of asset intelligence
“Industry leaders need to be thinking about how we can continue to make ourselves and what we do relevant today and in the future,” says Hall.
Ideally, the industry will continue to improve the quality of data and how it’s applied within the business to help leaders make better decisions across their organizations. Knowledge retention is key, and asset intelligence will play a critical role.
This is especially relevant as the energy industry navigates attrition due to retirement, downturns, and other labour market realities. Industry data represents vital institutional knowledge, which can be lost when significant portions of the workforce leave an industry. Mergers and acquisitions over the past 60 years have only exacerbated challenges with lost information as assets have changed hands over time.
If your most essential data lives in the heads of those who work in your company, you may have more vulnerability than you realize. Accessing that data and applying context allows that knowledge to stay within your company and enable everyone who works there.
“Data is knowledge capital,” says Whitelaw. “It’s intellectual capital, and it’s critical for the younger generation of leaders to recover all that data. Partners like GDM and geoLOGIC can get that data — and that knowledge — back for you.”
The energy industry is evolving, and companies will need to be able to change with it. Asset data and the intelligence needed to understand it will be necessary to help companies transition and navigate rapid change effectively.
“It’s time to change the narrative in our industry,” says Whitelaw. “We’re really a technology industry that just happens to produce hydrocarbon products. The next generation of leaders are more data savvy and will be able to leverage these skills to create sustainable, values-based careers.”
GDM: Providing simplicity and accessibility over complexity
GDM provides access and context to the data to make this achievable. We act as facilitators between understanding what you know about asset intelligence and what you don’t. If there are gaps, we’ll help you find and fill them so you can avoid worrisome compliance risks or oversights in future planning.
We’ll continue to anticipate how the landscape will evolve so we can continue to offer solutions to our customers as industry needs change.
GDM data is the Western Canadian Energy industry’s greatest advantage. We are the only energy infrastructure data provider that helps customers develop, manage, and execute integrity management programs by providing easy access to Canada’s most complete, accurate, and trusted database.
Contact us to learn more about how our asset intelligence and integrity expertise can improve your decision-making processes.
