British oil and gas company BP is one of the world’s largest fuel providers and an innovator in improving the operations of its global empire. Digital twins are fundamental to this mission, and the company is developing cutting-edge digital twin software, such as the APEX System, to achieve this goal.
BP has used APEX to map parts of its operations worldwide, such as the company’s production cycles. APEX has been deployed to map oil and gas production in the North Sea. Due to the complexity of the software, APEX is being rolled gradually worldwide across BP sites. The Digital Twin is a highly comprehensive simulation and surveillance software stack that maps virtual production systems. Engineers working at the oil and gas giant can run production simulations in minutes, cutting simulation and engineering time rapidly.
Optimization is the key here, and APEX also enables engineers to optimize production to mitigate abnormalities and predict future scenarios. Furthermore, digital twins have also been deployed in new sites, such as its platform, Argos, in the Gulf of Mexico. APEX has delivered an extra 30,000 barrels of oil and gas across BP production.
BP has also partnered with digital twin provider Aize to assist in deploying digital twins in the North Sea; this includes managing and monitoring data retained through visualization in a comprehensive platform BP can use to make informed decisions.
Similarly, as mentioned in a previous article, BP has partnered with leading industrial software providers such as AVEVA to build solutions for its Azeri Central East offshore platform. With AVEVA and KBR, BP created the ACE digital twin, a cloud-based virtual simulation of the site, enabling the company to increase safety measures, implement maintenance, and collaborate on developing the facility before it was built. Worley is another provider that worked with BP to create a digital twin solution. A digital twin of the BP Clair Ridge project in Scotland greatly reduced risks and errors and enhanced training and production in the project’s development.
Alongside the various projects BP has worked on, it has partnered with Microsoft to utilize its Azure Digital Twins. It continues to implement twins across its production for better operational efficiency. For more information on how BP implements and uses digital twins, check out our intelligence platform for comprehensive analysis.
