Digital transformation fuels energy industry

Wider use of technologies benefits daily operations

Shi Wenbin, a 57-year-old oil worker, knows only too well how bitingly cold it can be in Daqing, Heilongjiang province, in winter, when temperatures often plummet to -30 C.

Describing a winter patrol of a 3-square-kilometer operational area at a local oilfield, he said: "Amid the freezing cold, I and at least 14 colleagues had to inspect oil wells scattered throughout the patrol area every morning and afternoon. Each time, it took us four hours and we walked more than 10 kilometers a day."

Shi, captain of an oil production team at Daqing Oilfield Co, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp, and his team have worked in one of the nation's largest oilfields for years, regardless of weather conditions that include snow, rain and extremely high wind speeds.

But now they have an efficient helping hand, thanks to the pioneering use of digital technologies such as drones, 5G, the internet of things, big data and video surveillance in and around the oilfield.

"Drones now patrol the operational area four times a day, and we only arrange for about six people to do additional inspection work every three days. The technology has greatly reduced our workload and the risk of injury," Shi said, adding that ditches and swamps within the patrol area pose a danger to manual patrols.

Shi is just one of the rising number of front-line employees at the company benefiting from the wider use of digital technologies in their daily work. The oilfield, which is more than 60 years old, has been quick to embrace cutting-edge technological solutions to revitalize its production and management.