Baker Hughes IO and BEACON with a Focus on Downsizing Personnel Requirements at Rig-Site

For more than a decade, Baker Hughes has developed a number of IO applications and WellLink technologies building its BEACON (Baker Expert Advisory Centre Operation Network) platform for the digital oilfield. The scope of BEACON is remote access of real-time rig data, drilling data and wireline data, production and pump monitoring, and static file management. These technologies have enabled the company’s collaboration centers around the world primarily to monitor, support, and optimize operations without having to be physically present at rig site. This development has been a foundation for a successful roll-out of remote collaboration and re-manning of operations, where Baker Hughes has reduced the number of personnel needed at rig site by 25-50%. Monitoring and remote supervision of real-time information 24/7 to optimize overall performance and paperwork (logging, petrophysical analyses) are now all done by people in the office using information communications technology to connect to the rig site. Larger-scale re-manning can also be done with services such as reservoir navigation, drilling optimization, pump management, liner hanger down hole technical support, et cetera. On the Norwegian shelf, where re-manning has been done at higher levels than in many other regions, nearly 50% of Baker Hughes’ staff who would traditionally have been offshore can be re-manned during operational peaks – this means they are either in an office onshore, or their responsibilities have been changed. Baker Hughes’ cross-training of personnel facilitates this flexibility, allowing for efficient and HSE-compliant re-manning.