Gazprom Neft implemented a numerical control system logistics in the Arctic

2019: Implementation of an intellectual numerical control system Arctic logistics

The Gazprom Neft company announced on April 9, 2019 TAdviser implementation of an intellectual numerical control system the Arctic logistics of KAPITAN of own development. The project is implemented for the purpose of ensuring uninterrupted transportation of all volume of the extracted oil of sorts of ARCO and Novy Port from remote assets and optimization of logistics management. At the same time, by estimates of representatives of Gazprom Neft, at a system big market perspectives — accession to it of the third-party companies can provide break in mastering of the strategic region.

Our Arctic projects develop, and the company consistently creates conditions for oil transportation process optimization. We already implemented the logistic scheme of year-round export of oil. The digital Captain system will allow to increase its efficiency and security, to optimize the structure of the fleet and operating costs. Due to use of digital technologies we will be able to provide export of the growing production volumes in the Arctic region — Anatoly Cherner, the deputy CEO for logistics, processing and sale of Gazprom Neft noted.

Gazprom Neft implemented a numerical control system logistics in the Arctic

Prerequisites

Export of hydrocarbons from the Arctic fields of Gazprom Neft — Novoportovsky and Prirazlomnoye — is for a variety of reasons possible only the marine transport: the first field is located on the shelf of the Pechora Sea, and the second, being on the Yamal Peninsula, deleted on considerable distance from traditional infrastructure of transportation of oil. In such conditions critical is a competent logistics, any failures in shipment increase risks of overflow of the reservoir park that can lead to restriction of level of oil production.

When scheduling shipments it is also necessary to consider monthly volumes of oil production, a possibility of its accumulation in reservoir parks, restrictions on moorings to terminals. Raw materials from assets are exported using 12 tankers shuttles making regular circular flights between the floating oil storage (FOS) of "Umba" in Kola Bay near Murmansk, the platform in the Pechora Sea (2 tankers) and the Gate of the Arctic terminal in Gulf of Ob (10 tankers). In spite of the fact that all tankers have the strengthened ice class allowing them to work in the Arctic, for their safe and effective movement during winter navigation in the Kara Sea and in Gulf of Ob atomic ice breakers of Atomflot are attracted. A system performs the choice of an optimal route on the basis of accounting of weather and climatic conditions and also the analysis of space pictures of an ice situation.

In turn, through PNH "Umba" about 1 million tons of oil of two sorts are monthly shipped and in order that its export happened timely and uninterruptedly, it is necessary to coordinate approach about 50 courts (tankers shuttles, tankers-otvozchikov, fuelers) to an oil storage, including movement 10-12 of tankers-otvozchikov — vessels which deliver the Arctic oil to end consumers. In total logisticians should synchronize actions of 15 participants of process of transportation of oil: five subsidiaries of Gazprom Neft and ten third parties.

Prirazlomnoye field of Gazprom Neft

Manual logistic calculations for such number of participants and taking into account the permanent growing amount of data were too labor-consuming and ineffective. For making manually the plan for month, specialists spent day, and development of the three-year plan lasted for several days. And it in the conditions of constantly changing input. Therefore after in 2016 Gazprom Neft began full-scale year-round export of oil with the Arctic assets, optimization of logistic calculations became task number one. For its solution in the company the project on control automation was initiated by the Arctic logistics.

Project Tasks

As envisioned by Gazprom Neft, implementation of the complete digital solution had to provide minimization of expenses on transportation of all volume of oil extracted in the Arctic and reduce the risks accompanying production and logistics in the Arctic.

Problems of the Captain system:

• it is safe to manage logistics in the Arctic;
• round the clock to trace parameters of availability of fields and oil storages of the company taking into account the forecast of weather conditions, including data on an ice situation that allows to adjust logistics of the Arctic fleet of Gazprom Neft if necessary quickly;
• at the expense of the saved-up historical data to predict potential restrictions which can arise on the way of ship traffic and offer optimal and safer routes.

Possibilities of the implemented system

The system developed by specialists of Gazprom Neft works in three modes: long-term and operational planning, scheduling of the Arctic fleet and the analyst using artificial intelligence.

An analytical system uses such information streams as volumes of daily production on Novoportovsky both Prirazlomnoye fields of Gazprom Neft and volumes of accumulation of oil in oil storages, location and parameters of ship traffic, data on an ice situation on routes, diagrams of inflows and otliv, weather conditions, a possibility of formation of new batches of supply of raw materials, standard for the market.

The schedule of courts and the diagram of shipments of oil interconnected with it from oil terminals on fields and with PNH "Umba" is result of work of Captain. One click of a mouse the user of a system can obtain online all necessary information on volumes of daily production of oil for the interesting period, about that how many oil is in reservoirs, exact dates and time of approach of tankers shuttles and tankers-otvozchikov to terminals. On the screen of the computer it is visible how there is a loading or unloading of oil from the tanker, location and parameters of ship traffic, fuel reserves on tankers in what place there is an ice breaker or the support vessel and when ice wiring is planned.

Initially we were going to build only diagrams of approach of tankers to terminals on fields and to a floating oil storage taking into account icebreaker assistance. Our developers solved this problem quickly. But in parallel there was a need for ship traffic monitoring to have an idea where in what timepoint there are tankers, with what speed and in what weather conditions they move, what is the time they spend for a way in ballast (without load) and with a load. Further there was an idea of consolidation of monitoring and planning that as a result we could control as all process of ship traffic affects final result — export of all oil extracted on fields — the chief of logistics of oil of the Arctic projects Raphael Valiullin told of evolution of Captain.

The functionality of a system allows to conduct in real time complex efficiency analysis of operation of the fleet, estimating motion speed on a route, fuel consumption, volume of loading of courts. "Captain" performs online monitoring of location and parameters of ship traffic, cargo transactions, routes and icebreaker assistance.

Connection to a complex of automatic planning of the fields given from infrastructure gave the chance of monitoring of oil production on the earth. So far this information is updated time at two o'clock, but it is supposed that further data on the current volumes of oil production will arrive online, specified in Gazprom Neft.

"Captain" is capable not only to control the present, but also to predict the future. For this purpose a system constantly studies. As of April she is able to consider the current and forecast meteoconditions when planning on the near-term outlook and selects a route, optimal for the tanker, taking into account the direction and wind force, air temperature, an operational ice situation.

Besides, in Captain the functionality of predictive analytics is implemented. A system accumulates the large volume of statistical data which it constantly processes and analyzes, drawing conclusions using artificial intelligence. While in base of Captain there are all data on navigation of 2017-2018, there is also a possibility of adding in it historical data and parameters.

Project Results

On a response of representatives of Gazprom Neft, system implementation allowed to reduce considerably terms of planning and approval of operations on shipment of oil and to optimize transportation costs.

For April, 2019 Captain creates the schedule of courts for a month in 5 minutes, and drawing up the perspective plan for 3 years with hourly discretization takes about two hours. Every day a system analyzes about 7 thousand different input parameters, hourly selecting an optimal solution from more than 66.5 million options. If it significantly disperses from the approved version of the diagram or somehow influences accomplishment of the production plan, then a system automatically adjusts all further processes so that to level the revealed deviation.

A system independently creates the optimal diagram of use of the tanker and icebreaker fleet, shipments from terminals and a floating oil storage and synchronizes all links of a supply chain. In general its functionality allows to create quickly the diagram of shipments of oil with the horizon up to three years that provides a possibility of optimization of structure of the chartered and own fleet of the company, summed up the results in Gazprom Neft.

As emphasized in the company, a system is capable to analyze ship traffic both own, and attracted fleet and to predict the average speed of tankers on routes, fuel consumption, to calculate specific transport costs of oil. It allows to estimate efficiency of the fleet and to optimize its structure.

So, making the three-year plan for 2019-2021 using Captain, we saw that we can do without freight of one tanker shuttle which we initially were going to use. Generally due to optimization of logistics we managed to reduce in 2018 specific costs for export of 1 ton of oil from the Arctic fields by 10% concerning indicators of 2017. And it is not a limit — Raphael Valiullin is sure.

Development perspectives

In the closest plans of founders of Captain — to teach the program to predict drift of ice on the basis of the ice pictures received from satellites using data on sea currents, the direction and wind force. It is necessary that optimum to calculate routes of tankers shuttles. So far such analysis is performed manually, but in 2020 these calculations as it is planned, will do artificial intelligence.

One more important task within development of Captain — the organization of transfer by the Arctic logistics of information, necessary for management, via domestic satellites. Gazprom Neft already conducts negotiations with Gazprom space systems company on start of new satellites with the installed receivers of the automatic identification system (AIS). As envisioned by Gazprom Neft, it will allow to adjust collecting of telemetered informations from courts of the companies users of Captain using the Russian partner and to refuse services of foreign suppliers. Also the companies discuss an issue of start of satellites of space radar shooting with good permission that, as expected, will allow to obtain operational data on change of an ice situation from domestic operators, but not from foreign contractors.

In addition to everything as are convinced of the oil and gas company, the digital Captain system can be used not only for logistics management of oil production of Gazprom Neft, but also for projects which are implemented in the Arctic by other companies.

The synergy effect will increase efficiency of combined actions, and adding in the system of new users will allow to increase many times the volume of historical statistical data on the basis of which a system performs forecasting and calculations. It, in turn, will give new opportunities for use of functionality of predictive analytics — concluded in Gazprom Neft.

So, any organization or the company operating in the Arctic region in the future will be able to join Captain theoretically. A digital system passes a test stage so far. It is supposed that its entry into the broad market will help with mastering of the Arctic region, strategic for the country, and will contribute to the active development of remote territories of the Russian Far North.

The Captain system already considerably facilitated work of logisticians. But we are not satisfied with what has already been achieved and we set more ambitious tasks for ourselves: for example, to perform the analysis of thickness of ice according to space pictures and to predict an ice situation on the basis of neural networks. In a system collecting of historical data on an ice situation for further training of artificial intelligence is already conducted — Sergey Ovchinnikov, the head of the department of management systems of the block of logistics, processing and sale of Gazprom Neft added in return.

By estimates of the chairman of the board of Gazprom Neft Alexander Dyukov, in the long term Captain has potential to become a part of a comprehensive plan on upgrade and expansion of trunk infrastructure for increase in a cargo flow across the Northern Sea Route.