Connecting the Dots in the Oil & Gas Supply Chain
Posted: Wednesday, Apr. 7, 2010 by Roger Thomas
Every moment, countless people across the planet become end-users of Oil & Gas industry products. Each time you fly on an airplane, gas up your car or use the stove to prepare a pot of tea, some small part of the Oil & Gas supply chain has reached the end of its journey. End-users of products like jet fuel, gasoline and natural gas are the final link in a supply chain that must successfully pass through three distinct sectors: Upstream, Midstream and Downstream.
Upstream is a complex, extreme industrial environment where petroleum products are extracted from the earth. Drill pipe is a key Upstream asset that must be carefully managed and maintained. If drill pipe is lost in the supply chain, then drilling cannot occur.
Midstream is where petroleum products are processed, stored and transported. Pipeline is an asset vital to keeping the Midstream supply chain moving. Field operatives in remote areas need access to accurate data on each piece of pipe’s maintenance records in order to ensure the pipe’s integrity.
Downstream is where petroleum products are refined and delivered to end-users. Personnel tracking is important in Downstream for safety and security reasons. In a refinery, for example, contractors may need step-by-step directions to areas where they will complete work. Keeping unauthorized persons out of dangerous areas is also important.
The process of extracting, refining and distributing petroleum requires thousands of people and millions of pieces of equipment. Only by making sure that this vast network of people and things is moving safely, efficiently and according to plan can the Oil & Gas Industry achieve its goal: delivering to you, the end-user, the petroleum products on which you rely.
To hear from an expert on Oil & Gas Industry asset management challenges and how RFID can help overcome them, don’t miss this video interview with Dr. Ben Zoghi. Dr. Zoghi is a professor at Texas A&M University, a co-founder of the Oil & Gas RFID Solution Group and a respected thought leader on the use of wireless technology in the Oil & Gas Industry.
Tags: Oil&Gas
