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PRODML™ : Data Exchange Standard for Production Data

    headshot_jay_hollingsworth   headshot_laurence_ormerod

    By Jay Hollingsworth, Energistics and Laurence Ormerod, Ormerod Consulting

    The Digital Oil Field uses technology based solutions to help companies leverage their resources to more quickly and accurately capture and analyze large volumes of data generated in the field such as down-hole sensors and MWD applications. It encompasses the complete suite of upstream activities and allows analysis of the data in real- or near-real time. All this data comes from different applications, different providers, in different formats. The prevailing electronic documents in this space are spreadsheets, PDFs, etc. The effort required of companies to gather the data to run their analyses is both time consuming and costly. Using a common standard format not only reduces costs, it reduces human errors as well.

    Energistics’ PRODML is a standard data exchange format for moving upstream oil and gas production-related data concerning downhole and surface facilities. The aim is to support any workflows associated with production operations. PRODML consists of several XML document schemas and associated web services that are consistent with service-oriented architectures (SOA). It enables data to be moved from one application to another for the purposes of reporting, surveillance and optimization, describing the network and for equipment information. The PRODML standard is freely available for public use with no license fee.

    PRODML enables applications to track hydraulic information, such as whether valves are closed or open, connectivity, and flow direction and properties. It also transfers dynamic well data:

    • Distributed temperature sensing data
    • Detailed fluid analysis information
    • Well tests.

    The Shared Asset Model (SAM), under development, serves as a registry of asset components. This registry provides a single place for discovering asset components and the data which is available for them. It uses a common API to load and access the data. The SAM also stores multiple hierarchies for representing roll-ups such as the financial structure, operations, as well as regulatory and partner reporting by lease (multiple wells), by well, and by reservoir (by well, by lease). Finally it provides a registry of data services (the systems of record) from which detailed information may be obtained.

    The PRODML standard is developed and maintained by the PRODML Special Interest Group (SIG). This SIG is comprised of international oil and services companies as well as specialist technical suppliers. PRODML was initially developed in 2006 and the SIG continues to expand and enhance capabilities. PRODML V1.3 is the current version and was released earlier this year. This version includes an update to the Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) specification. A new data object for transferring PVT data from the service companies who do the measurements to the operators and among partners is under development.

    OPC provides a general purpose real-time process control data environment for closed loop processes but the OPC Unified Architecture (UA) does not contain specific information about the oil and gas industry. Energistics’ PRODML provides OPC members with upstream production-specific semantics in context. It includes production volume reporting, flow networks, well tests, wireline formation transient tests and sampling, well completion descriptions, distributed temperature data and configuration, and fluid sample lab analysis. Moving beyond the current PRODML version will provide additional rich, contextual data in the full context that you need. It will contain the raw data plus the context of that data. PRODML does not duplicate OPC UA, but rather can act as an information model extension, creating an interoperability platform for OPC members to more effectively compete in the upstream oil & gas market.