Shell and SAP co-innovate using the SAP HANA platform

[Former Member]

Shell and SAP co-innovate using the SAP HANA platform and create the next generation toolkit for Wells & Reservoir Facility Management

Shell is an innovation-driven global group of energy and petrochemical companies that is active in over 70 countries and produces more than three million barrels of oil each day. The oil extraction requires utilization of numerous wells that are constantly monitored by the Wells Reservoir Facility Management (WRFM) which consists of reservoir engineers, geologists, technologists and various other operational staff.

Shell deploys a WRFM system that enables data aggregation from sensor data from the multiple wells and reservoirs. WRFM measures, analyzes and predicts the production of the wells and compares the data with forecasts in order to perform necessary volume adjustments. To overcome performance and usability challenges of existing applications, Shell and SAP launched a co-innovation project and jointly built a new WRFM solution. 

The key goal of this project was to provide an application that enables its users to identify opportunities for performance improvements during the operating phase, including enhanced reservoir management and infill opportunities.  Therefore, the system had to aggregate data from various data sources and displays the information in a user-friendly and interactive front-end tool within response times of below two seconds.

To achieve this, Shell had implemented SAP HANA as a single in-memory computing platform that supports acceleration of analytics, business processes and sentiment data processing. The result: the WRFM solution now integrates information from over 20 data sources in SAP HANA including real-time access to time series data from OSIsoft PI systems through the SAP HANA smart data access capability. This solution delivers tools and practices for well and reservoir reviews that enable asset teams (reservoir engineers, operations staff etc.) to build a professional understanding of their asset and identify improvement opportunities during the operating phase.

Furthermore the current WRFM application creates reports and surveys at least ten times faster and allows its users a real-time interactivity that was not possible so far. Another benefit of the new platform derives from the possibility to combine the data from sensors with business data that provides more details and additionalinsights. The successful implementation of SAP HANA in the WRFM system was a first step towards a renovated corporate smart solution platform and led to less deferment, increased early production and improved optimization of resources.