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North Sea Oil-to-Wind Transition

Way back in 2018 the Norwegian oil company Statoil changed its name to Equinor. This marked a clear shift in company policy, a transition to broader range of energy sources such as wind and solar. That change was highlighted in a recent Supplier Day event held during the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) 2022 event at company headquarters in Stavanger, Norway. Over the course of two hours, it became clear that Equinor invites its suppliers to make this transition with them.

“We really want to progress the acceleration of the energy transition together,” said Mette H. Ottøy, chief procurement officer for Equinor. She told the audience of well-established providers of equipment and supplies for offshore oil and gas extraction that the company will now be looking for new suppliers of renewables, as well as those that can make the transition.

“I think we will need a whole range of different suppliers,” she said, “those competent and experienced within oil and gas, and new suppliers within renewables and low-carbon solutions.” Then she added, “And suppliers that have been with us for a long time within oil and gas that are actually able to transform themselves, that is also something that we are working on.”

Making the Transition

The transition has been interesting so far. Spoken presentations were punctuated by videos of Equinor suppliers installing oil platforms and erecting offshore wind turbines. You could see the similarity of technology and hardware needed to construct platform bases and wind-turbine pylons on the ocean floor—structures capable of supporting the necessary equipment. Certainly those engineering and construction companies are well-positioned to make the transition, with perhaps some adjustments in product design and implementation.

From our side, the transition is even easier. Data is data, after all. Whether it comes from an oil platform or a wind turbine, a secure, robust connection between the offshore equipment and onshore facilities is vital for safe and efficient operations. The same, secure DataHub tunnelling technology that Equinor has been using for years works equally well for renewable energy sources as it does for oil and gas. And the Equinor suppliers that also use DataHub technology will have an effortless transition as well.

Safety and Cybersecurity

Safety is the number one priority at Equinor. And for connecting remote systems through networking, that means cybersecurity. “Interconnected industry is what we have become,” Ottøy said. “We share data, we share systems, and links, and like it or not, an attack on one is an attack on several, and sometimes it’s actually an attack on all. Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important, and digitalization of the energy industry is something that is increasing that risk, no doubt.”

This issue is front of mind for many in the industry: how to gain access to production data without compromising on cybersecurity. It is possible—with the right approach. Our recent white paper, Accessing Production Data vs Cybersecurity? Why not both? explains the challenges, pitfalls, and best practices in detail.

As the world faces ever-worsening effects of climate change, we fully support Equinor in their initiative to transition from traditional to renewable energy sources and low carbon technologies. We are pleased to see the company respond to the needs of the times, and equally pleased to play a part in making their transition a success.

US Gas Pipeline Ransomware Shutdown – A Ready Solution

An entire US gas pipeline was shut down for two days due to a ransomware attack according to a recent report from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The hackers sent a spear-phishing email to someone on the IT network that crossed over into the OT network and infected HMIs, data historians, and polling servers on the process control system. Although only one facility was hit, management shut down the whole pipeline for two days, resulting in loss of productivity and revenue to the pipeline, as well as to upstream production systems and downstream distribution networks.

This need not have happened. There is a simple remedy―isolate the OT network. They could have used Skkynet software on a DMZ to keep their firewalls closed and their gas pipeline system secure.

Using a DMZ

The first technical recommendation in the CISA report is to segment networks using a DMZ: “Implement and ensure robust Network Segmentation between IT and OT networks to limit the ability of adversaries to pivot to the OT network even if the IT network is compromised. Define a demilitarized zone (DMZ) that eliminates unregulated communication between the IT and OT networks.”

The easiest and most cost-effective way to pass production data securely through a DMZ is using DataHub tunnelling. Because it is secure by design, DataHub tunnelling can provide bidirectional data flow with no open inbound firewall ports, and no VPNs. The key is to access the data, not the network. This technology has been deployed in mission-critical systems worldwide for over 20 years, and was implemented recently in the TANAP project in which DataHub software was used to securely transmit process data from an 1800 km pipeline into a central control system through closed firewall ports.

Secure OT Assets

The second technical requirement recommended by CISA is to secure OT assets as much as possible.  The report said, “Organize OT assets into logical zones by taking into account criticality, consequence, and operational necessity. Define acceptable communication conduits between the zones and deploy security controls to Filter Network Traffic and monitor communications between zones. Prohibit Industrial Control System (ICS) protocols from traversing the IT network.”

Again, DataHub tunnelling is a ready, off-the-shelf conduit for making the necessary connections.  It provides secure, bidirectional real-time data mirroring between logical zones of OT assets, and from OT to IT. Data traverses the tunnel using the DHTP protocol, and can be converted to or from industrial protocols at either end.

Of course, the most secure system relies on sound planning and operational strategies in addition to strong technical and architectural solutions. The choice of software is one element of a larger picture. But in this case, simply using Skkynet IoT software would have prevented this gas pipeline shutdown altogether.

How IoT Can Revolutionize the Oil and Gas Industry

Have you ever driven past a gas field or oil refinery at night, and seen the blazing orange fires raging atop the gas flare stacks?  What a waste, eh?  How much money must be going up in smoke?  How much CO2 is the oil and gas sector needlessly spewing into the atmosphere?  It makes you want to pipe that gas to your own house and cut your monthly heating bills, if nothing else.  Surely there must be some way to collect that gas, saving precious resources and the environment at the same time.

Solving the Problem

Perhaps this decades-old problem can be solved—with the help of the IoT (Internet of Things).  In a recent article, From Measurement to Management: How IoT and Cloud-Based Data is Changing the Oil and Gas Industry, Adam Chapman, Global Director of Marketing at Fluenta, lists in detail the waste and damaging effects of gas flaring, and then shows how the IoT can transform the status quo through remote assest management.

“IoT applications can not only support measurement, but enable businesses to manage more effectively in hostile and hazardous locations,” he said.  “For the oil and gas industry, IoT connectivity will enable organisations to control risk more effectively, and support the necessary transition from measurement to management of greenhouse gasses as the industry addresses the problem of emissions.”

Opportunity

There is a big opportunity here.  Chapman says that the total amount of gas flared every year is roughly equal to 30% of the gas consumed in the European Union—over 150 billion cubic meters.  In Africa, where much of the flaring takes place, it adds up to about 1/2 of the total energy use for the continent.  Capitalizing on this missed opportunity can be done through proper asset management. “When applied effectively, remote asset management through connected infrastructure will revolutionise oil and gas operations,” says Chapman.

Gathering real-time data using the IoT can cut manpower costs of offshore platforms, provide input for continuous emission monitoring systems, and help centralize Big Data repositories for company-wide comparitive analysis, Chapman explains. “It is cloud technology and the ubiquity of internet connectivity that fundamentally brings significant change to remote asset management.”

Appropriate Technolgy

Offshore platforms and other remote industrial assets call for specialized cloud technology.  Skkynet provides not only the real-time data required by an industrial asset management system, but it also ensures secure connectivity and robust performance that is fully compatible with cellular and satellite technology commonly used in these kinds of applications.

Chapman says, “The combination of accurate, real-time information on remote assets and cloud technology can have a significant positive impact on moving an oil and gas operation from a monitoring approach to a management approach.”