PHR Expands Big Data Utilization in the Sumatra Region

Pekanbaru, December 14, 2021 – Pertamina's Upstream Subholding, through its subsidiary PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR), inaugurated the expansion of digitalization of upstream oil and gas operations in the Regional 1 Sumatra Region. President Commissioner of PT Pertamina (Persero), Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, together with the Commissioner and Secretary-General of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ego Syahrial, attended the event held at the Integrated Optimization Decision Support Center (IODSC) facility in Minas, Riau, on Monday (13/12).

The inauguration marks the IODSC digitalization center managed by the PHR Rokan Working Area (WK), with two other Pertamina WKs in South Sumatra, namely Jambi Merang and Prabumulih. "I am delighted and appreciate the completion of the early stages of digitalization expansion which was carried out well and quickly. We can transfer things that have gone well in the Rokan WK to other upstream oil and gas areas managed by Pertamina," said President Commissioner of PT Pertamina (Persero), Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.

At the inauguration ceremony, the Director of Development and Production Subholding Upstream (SHU) of Pertamina, Taufik Adityawarman, Director of PHR, Jaffee A. Suardin, and the management of WK Rokan were also present.

As an initial stage, the expansion of the digitalization of Pertamina's upstream oil and gas operations started from the Jambi Merang WK ​​and Prabumulih WK, which were successfully completed in just two months. In the two WK, value creation from digitalization is intended to reduce the risk of oil/LPO production loss and boost the reliability of production facilities.

The Rokan WK IODSC facility can now receive information in real-time and process equipment performance data and well data in the two oil and gas WK. From the incoming data, the system at IODSC WK Rokan will work like factory automation and provide recommendations for quick and appropriate follow-up to improve safety, equipment reliability, and efficiency of upstream oil and gas operations.

In Jambi Merang, real-time data collection from the Sungai Kenawang Gas Plant is used for monitoring gas turbines and gas compressors. An artificial intelligence-based model is constructed from the data collected to provide automatic early warning of any irregularities. Meanwhile, at Prabumulih, well operations are being optimized through the Integrated Exception Management (IEM) system, an automated workflow based on the knowledge and experience of IODSC experts in their respective domains embedded in the IEM.

Following the prepared roadmap, this digitalization extension project will continue to several additional WK in the Regional 1 Sumatra Region. Meanwhile, expansion to other regions under SHU will be carried out in 2023. Digitalization expansion is Pertamina's efforts to optimize business processes with appropriate digital technology (fit-for-purpose), strengthen business innovation and build collaboration to realize efficient operations.

During his previous visit to Minas in mid-September, Basuki appreciated the added value from digitalization in the Rokan WK and encouraged its expansion in Pertamina's upstream oil and gas operations. Efficient operations will optimally contribute to foreign exchange for the country.

Responding to these challenges, the technical team from SHU, WK Rokan, WK Jambi Merang, and WK Prabumulih collaborated with the agile scrum method that prioritizes speed and flexibility in solving problems. As a result, the technical team succeeded in the first phase in just two months.

The expansion of digitization is carried out using a "Software as a Service" (SaaS) concept approach. The IODSC of the Rokan WK acts as a hub or activity center in receiving and processing equipment performance data and production well data sent by Jambi Merang WK ​​and Prabumulih WK. This SaaS method is considered the most efficient and effective in cost and time.

Collaboration between Pertamina's oil and gas working areas is expected to strengthen the standardization and optimization of the application of digital technology throughout the region under the SHU.

In WK Rokan, the IODSC facility is a source of information or 'big data' related to well activities and equipment in the field. Every day about 0.5 terabytes of data are entered and processed into valuable information to help make quick and accurate decisions. The digitization in the Rokan WK provides at least four main benefits. It includes improving safety performance, significant reduction of potential loss of oil/LPO production to around 45 percent, optimization of the reliability of production facilities increased to 97.6 percent, and increased efficiency.**