Economy

View From Up High

Panorama Digital Control Center

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has embarked on an ambitious digital transformation journey to maximize value from its reserves and operations, and the centerpiece of this transformation effort is […]

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has embarked on an ambitious digital transformation journey to maximize value from its reserves and operations, and the centerpiece of this transformation effort is the Panorama Digital Command Center.

The platform, which cost AED50 million, has a dramatic 50-m display with 120 live dashboards, draws on some 200,000 data points gathered from across the organization’s 14 operating companies. The significance of this is that through the aggregation of real-time information from all its business units, ADNOC has a bird’s-eye view of its oil and gas operations. Data scientists can carefully analyze real-time feedback on the company’s assets across the upstream segment—both onshore and offshore, the transport of crude and product in the midstream, and chemicals and refining in downstream.

By streamlining and visualizing the company’s entire operations and critical business information on a single video wall, ADNOC is able to uncover new pathways to optimize its assets and infrastructure. Consequently, this helps improve asset reliability, availability, and performance while also reducing unplanned equipment downtime. In addition to this, it facilitates faster and more informed decision-making. What’s more, in terms of financial savings, it is estimated that the Panorama Digital Command Center helps ADNOC save around USD60-100 million per year.

And the investment is also paying off in other ways. In May 2020, it was announced the center had generated over USD1 billion in business value and helped ADNOC maintain operations and remain resilient during the COVID-19 health emergency. The center gave ADNOC access to real-time data, allowing it to predict disruptions and optimize operations using AI and data analysis.

More broadly speaking, the connection between energy production and technology is part of a broader trend known as Oil & Gas 4.0. The utilization of AI, big data, and blockchain is set to continue at an intense pace over the next decade as the industry looks to reduce costs and boost output.