RFID for Oil & Gas: An Essential Guide
RFID is not new to the oil and gas industry. Its role in the ever-evolving digital transformation of production, distribution and deep data intelligence, however, continues to grow broader and deeper. While the ability to assign a digital identity to physical products was and still is the most important element of why RFID is leveraged by oil and gas companies, the value of the technology has grown beyond its original use case.
RFID has become a foundational element that enables other critical technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). In order to analyze the vast amounts of data with AI models, whether to optimize operations or achieve a more predictive maintenance program, that data has to be efficiently collected.
It’s no surprise why RFID technology adoption is accelerating now, with firms leveraging it to improve performance across the entire upstream value chain. And along the way, they’re capturing a range of operational benefits and competitive advantages.
Price and demand pressures in oil and gas have increased both the value of advanced connectivity and its resulting visibility and traceability benefits. They’ve also transformed solutions like RFID from “nice-to-have” value-adds into necessities. According to EY, enterprise companies that implement best practices around AI in engineering could realize three times more value from their efforts than those that don’t.
The following are some critical RFID use cases for oil and gas as well as technical benefits of the technology when appropriately certified for use in the various levels of explosive and hazardous environments. For a deeper dive, download the full guide which includes:
- RFID Use Cases for Oil & Gas
- Asset Tracking & Traceability
- Monitoring & Maintenance
- Safety & Security
- Top Benefits of RFID in Oil & Gas
- Hazardous & Rugged RFID Tags
- Building an RFID Solution
- Finding an RFID Solution Provider
RFID Use Cases in Oil & Gas
The following use cases are just a handful of examples of how RFID is being effectively leveraged to supercharge reliability and create robust operational environments to accelerate efficiency. Once you’ve browsed these specific examples, download the full guide.
Drill Pipe Tracking
Most sections of drill pipes are accounted for manually before and after the drilling process which makes lifecycle management a challenge. The result is often an overly conservative approach to maintenance which leads to a higher number of failures due to damaged or missing pipe sections and incredibly costly downtime.
The pioneers of RFID for drill pipe tracking originally used low frequency (LF) RFID but there were a number of challenges with these early experiments. A very close read range was required to make the tracking function. They needed to use a very large explosion-proof LF antenna that went around each drill bit which got in the way. And the drilling deck where the pipe goes through varied on all different rigs. Using LF RFID for this use case was frightfully expensive and complicated to standardize/operationalize.
Advances in UHF RFID turned out to be the solution. UHF RFID has a long read range so standard antennas are suitable and they can be kept out of the way of the workers so it no longer matters what the drill table looks like. And it can be economically and practically installed on the rigs. UHF RFID has been widely used by a major operator in the North Sea for more than 10 years and adoption has been growing globally, especially throughout the regions of Asia.
Problem
- Drill pipe sections counted manually before and after the drilling process
- Inaccurate inventory management
- Inaccurate lifecycle management and service life for each drill pipe section
- Increased downtime when a section fails or is lost
Solution
- Passive Ex RFID tags installed on each section of the pipe
- Fixed Ex reader at the wellhead to track how many times and how long each drill pipe section has been in use
- Handheld reader for inventory control
Benefits
- Accurate inventory management
- Access to accurate data about servicing, cleaning or sections in need of replacement before they fail
- Reduced risk of leakage and ruptures
- Reduced downtime and cost saving
Gas Cylinder Tracking
The application of RFID for gas cylinder tracking is one of the more diverse use cases, spanning from where the consumer interacts with the cylinders, especially in developing countries, to the more traditional tracking through the logistics flow and as points of filling.
There are several million types of RFID products that are available for this use case and can be utilized for more standard butane/propane cylinders as well as a variety of specialized gasses in industrial and medical applications. Form factors are usually based on specific use case, durability expectations and the life expectancy of the tanks.
Passive RFID allows for normal line of sight and 100% accuracy, especially at the point of filling, both of which allow for a much more efficient operation. Maintenance tracking means better regulatory management. And, when paired with an NFC component, RFID can be used to enhance the customer experience through easy mobile reordering.
Mobile readers are most common, whether as specialty UHF readers or simply as an app on a mobile device, but with careful planning, reader portals are also possible.
Problem: Traditional systems for tracking gas cylinders were time-consuming, cumbersome and prone to damage or removal.
Solution
- Ex certified passive RFID tags attached to cylinders
- Fixed readers installed at entry/exit points, filling stations and dealer locations to provide last known location
- Mobile readers for inventory control and identification
Benefits
- Accurate inventory counts of cylinders out and on site
- Control of gas cylinder filling process
- Management of regulatory requirements for pressure testing
- Reduced cost due to fewer lost cylinders
- Enhanced customer experience via NFC capability
Oil & Gas Platform Personnel Tracking
Offshore drilling involves large teams of people working in hazardous environments across multiple platforms that move from one location to another. It is incredibly difficult to know who is where and when at all times. Manual checking in and checking out doesn’t provide enough granularity, and even personnel cards with passive RFID require too much human interaction to achieve enough accuracy.
Active tags are most common for this use case where more accountability is required, especially in the event of an emergency, and the best solutions include health and safety features such as motion detect, fall detect and emergency call buttons.
For floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs), the ability to allow safety teams to locate exactly where an individual is by monitoring signal strengths using existing WiFi infrastructure is especially important.
Problem
- Tracking of multiple personnel around a densely structured zone 1 oil and gas platform
- Manual mustering was time-consuming, slow and potentially inaccurate
- Little space on the platform to install large numbers of chargers
Solution
- Ex active RFID tags with long-life batteries used in conjunction with exciters for automatic mustering
- Person on board (PoB) tracking with Ex active tracking tags
- Call button also added as extra safety feature during emergency events to accurately locate personnel in need
Benefits
- PoB data and location of personnel known throughout shift
- Personnel safety increased
- Automatic mustering removed reliance upon manual paperwork and slow systems
Refinery Turnaround Contractor Management
Turnaround contractor management is another incredibly complex challenge for the oil and gas industry. With thousands of contractors on site, the safety risk increases as do concerns over productivity — workers may be under various contracted goals, timelines and more. Manual tracking becomes a burdensome task that doesn’t provide sufficient granularity.
A mobile real-time location system (RTLS) installation powered by Bluetooth® Low Energy can keep track of who is there (or not) and enable detailed data collection to significantly improve worker safety and calculate worker productivity ensuring the contractors are all present on site as scheduled and delivering on the time and production goals the contract demands. Operations can also leverage the system to rapidly reconcile invoices for services built by providers during the turnaround.
Additionally, with no permanent infrastructure, any technology solution would need to make sense as a temporary deployment with easy stand-up/tear-down procedures. Ensuring the solution is portable and can be put up in a few days is critical.
Problem: Thousands of contractors on site presents more risk and concerns over productivity.
Solution
- Ex solar powered Bluetooth® Low Energy/ WiFi gateways
- Ex Bluetooth® Low Energy personnel tracking tags with access control
Benefits
- Improves worker safety
- Manages invoice reconciliation
- Improves productivity
- Reduces overall cost of turnarounds
Conclusion
Reliability (or lack thereof) in oil and gas can have significant impact on profitability. McKinsey estimates that “reliability-related production losses” at oil refineries alone can exceed $50 million per year per refinery. Understanding how to leverage the latest technologies — and the latest advances in trusted foundational technologies — will ultimately help drive efficiency and profitability.
In this high-stakes industry, equipment failure and personnel problems can have dire consequences. Monitoring and predictive maintenance are crucial strategies to prevent costly downtime and ensure the continuous operation of critical machinery and teams. Partnering with an experienced RFID provider that also has oil and gas expertise will ensure your solution meets the unique operation requirements of your environment and goals.
Get the essential guide to RFID in oil & gas for all the details on options, benefit calculations, regulations and more. Then contact HID to see what an RFID solution might look like for your operation.