The oil and gas industries have been the backbone of the global economy for decades. However, market volatility, environmental concerns and operational inefficiencies have also challenged these industries to adapt and innovate. The use of digital twins is one such innovation.

In the era of digital transformation, digital twins are emerging as a potent solution to energy production challenges. Digital twin technology, an advancement stemming from the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), is reshaping the oil and gas landscape by helping providers streamline asset management, optimize performance and reduce operating costs and unplanned downtime.

What is a digital twin?

A digital twin is a dynamic, virtual representation of a physical object or system that simulates its behavior in real-time. By integrating real-time operational data, historical information and advanced algorithms into a comprehensive digital model, a digital twin can predict future behavior, refine operational efficiency and enable unprecedented insights into the real-world counterpart’s behavior. 

Digital twins in oil and gas

Digital twins were first used by NASA to prepare space missions, but their use cases run the gamut, especially for oil and gas operators. Digital twin technology facilitates the following:

1. Predictive maintenance: One of the most beneficial applications of digital twins in the oil and gas industry is predictive maintenance (PdM). In this context, a maintenance team would create a digital twin of a piece of equipment or machinery. The twin will continuously collect data from the physical asset and use predictive analytics and machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict future performance. By constantly monitoring equipment performance and comparing it to virtual counterparts, operators can predict potential failures or breakdowns.
2. Efficient and safe operations: Digital twin technology can significantly improve operational efficiency. A digital twin can simulate various operational scenarios, helping teams understand how different operating parameters affect performance. They can then use the information to optimize operations, improve efficiency and boost productivity. For example, a digital twin of an oil extraction process can help operators identify bottlenecks and optimize extraction rates.     
3. Asset optimization: Digital twins allow operators to fully leverage critical oil and gas assets. A digital twin of an oil reservoir can help operators better understand reservoir behavior and plan extraction strategies more effectively. This approach results in higher extraction rates and increased profitability for businesses.
4. Safety and emergency preparedness: Safety is a significant concern in the oil and gas industry, but digital twins can enhance safety in myriad ways. Digital twins will simulate a range of scenarios to help operators optimize operational procedures and mitigate potential hazards. For example, a digital twin of an oil pipeline system can help foresee potential leaks or ruptures, enabling operators to repair the pipeline before a dangerous malfunction. Digital twins can also be used for employee training, realistically simulating dangerous situations in a risk-free environment so that staff can learn new skills and procedures and know how to respond to safety emergencies.        
5. Sustainability: The oil and gas industry is under increasing pressure to reduce its environmental impact. Digital twins are an invaluable tool in this effort. By simulating operations and their environmental impact, businesses can develop strategies to reduce emissions, manage waste and comply with environmental regulations. Digital twins can also simulate the impact of new regulations and/or technologies, helping the industry continue to adapt as technology advances and proliferates.   
6. Drilling operations optimization: Drilling operations are complex and costly. Digital twins can help streamline these operations by simulating various drilling scenarios and providing insights into the best strategies. A digital twin of a drilling operation, for instance, can identify the optimal drilling speed and direction, improving overall drilling accuracy.
7. Reservoir management: By creating a digital twin of an oil reservoir, operators can visualize reservoir behavior, optimize drilling strategies and maximize extraction. This not only optimizes extraction rates but also prolongs the reservoir’s lifecycle.
8. Supply chain optimization: Oil and gas supply chains are very complex. Maintenance teams can use digital twins to simulate the entire supply chain, providing in-depth visibility into operations and logistics and identifying potential bottlenecks.
9. New system design and testing: Designing and testing new equipment and systems can be a costly, labor-intensive process. With digital twins, engineers can design, test and perfect new systems in a virtual environment before they spend time and money building them. Using digital twins in this way can significantly shorten the development cycle and improve the final product’s performance.
10. Training and skill development: Digital twins can serve as a practical training tool for industry personnel. For example, a digital twin of a complex oil refinery—when integrated with VR technology—can provide a realistic environment for personnel to train and hone their skills, enhancing safety protocols and the overall quality of products and processes.

The future of digital twins in the oil and gas industry

As the industry continues to embrace digitalization, the role of digital twins is expected to grow exponentially. And the increasing adoption of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and IoT will only further enhance the capabilities of digital twins. Moreover, with the advent of cloud computing—which provides the benefits of digital twin technology without the substantial upfront investment in IT infrastructure—implementation of digital twins is becoming more feasible for a broader range of companies.

Looking forward, we know that digital twins will play a crucial role in process automation. Integrating digital twins with robotics and autonomous systems, as one example, could lead to fully automated drilling operations. Similarly, digital twins could enable the development of smart grids in gas distribution networks, resulting in more efficient and reliable supply chains.

As the industry grapples with increasingly urgent calls for sustainable environmental practices, digital twins could also underpin the transition to cleaner, more renewable sources of energy. Digital twins of wind turbines, solar panels or entire renewable energy grids have the potential to improve overall performance, making these energy sources more competitive with fossil fuels.

And in the realm of exploration, digital twins can revolutionize the way companies search for new oil and gas reserves. With a digital twin of the Earth’s subsurface, oil and gas companies could accurately predict the location of new natural gas and oil fields, reducing the costs and risks associated with exploration. 

To fully realize these possibilities, however, the industry must overcome several barriers. Companies will need to invest in digital skill development for their workforce and navigate complex issues around data ownership, privacy and security. They will also need to foster a culture of innovation and agility, as the digital revolution will bring significant changes to traditional ways of working.

Despite these challenges, the potential benefits of digital twins are too significant to ignore. As the oil and gas industry navigates the path toward digitalization and sustainability, digital twins promise to be a powerful tool in its arsenal. By providing a window into the future, they can help the industry anticipate, prepare for and shape the changes that lie ahead.

Use IBM Maximo Application Suite to help you manage digital twin technologies

The era of digital twins in the oil and gas industry is just beginning. By providing a real-time link between the physical and digital worlds, they enable operators to understand, predict and produce systems like never before.

However, managing digital twins can be a complex process, requiring advanced software solutions like IBM Maximo Application Suite. IBM Maximo is an integrated platform that helps service providers optimize asset performance and streamline day-to-day operations. Using an integrated AI-powered, cloud-based platform, Maximo offers CMMS, EAM and APM capabilities that produce advanced data analytics and enable smarter, more data-driven decision-making in oil and gas production facilities.   

As exciting digital technologies continue to evolve, digital twins are set to redefine the industry’s future. With IBM Maximo, your business can leverage digital twin technology to build a more efficient, sustainable and prosperous tomorrow.