Baker Hughes has deployed its industry-leading remote operations digital technology across Aramco’s drilling operations, encompassing 200+ sites, the largest deployment of its kind in Baker Hughes’ history, the company said on June 1.

Building upon Aramco’s existing industry-leading data management infrastructure and capabilities, this project provides the company with a single solution that covers data aggregation from the edge; real-time, unified data streaming and visualization; data management; software development services; rig-site digital engineers; and monitoring personnel. The project supports Aramco’s ongoing efforts to further drive digital opportunities and initiatives and to enhance operating performance and reduce emissions.

Baker Hughes’ technology, delivered through the WellLink solution, includes the following benefits that build on Aramco’s current digital capabilities:

  • Remote monitoring personnel receive faster, higher quality, standardized, real-time data delivered through a modern user experience, enabling enhanced well monitoring and management.
  • Field-based personnel have access to a unified view of wellsite operations from all providers on location, enabling effective and proactive mitigation of drilling hazards.
  • Office-based personnel have easy access to current and historical well data for quick visualization and benchmarking, enabling proactive operations management with a direct line to the wellsite.

By connecting all drilling sites with an integrated solution, Aramco enhances its view of its drilling operations in real time. Following the contract award to Baker Hughes in 2020, the combined teams worked in close collaboration and deployed the technology 50% faster than originally planned, despite working under pandemic conditions. Baker Hughes teams conducted more than 400 onshore and offshore trips across 350,000 km (217,480 miles) to install rig-site edge devices and integrate data streaming, monitoring and visualization capabilities into Aramco’s existing digital infrastructure.

To support the needs of more than 2,000 end users and 24/7 drilling operations, Baker Hughes and Aramco established a dedicated center staffed by a multi-disciplinary team of software engineers, data professionals and field service technicians. As part of Baker Hughes’ localization strategy, the team is staffed with 90% Saudi nationals who are being cross-trained on essential digital competencies in data operations.

“This remote operations deployment, the largest in Baker Hughes’ history, is a strong example of how we are investing for growth with customers who are driving digital transformation at a rapid pace, such as Aramco,” Maria Claudia Borras, executive vice president of oilfield services at Baker Hughes, said. “We will continue to expand our upstream digital capabilities to transform core operations, improve efficiency and reduce emissions. I am proud of the Baker Hughes team’s resilience in safely executing this complex project amid the challenges of the pandemic.”

The Aramco deployment builds on Baker Hughes’ remote operations capabilities, spanning remote drilling, logging, and production monitoring, to remote monitoring and diagnostic services for turbomachinery and large-scale industrial and renewable energy applications. Baker Hughes currently executes 87% of global drilling services jobs remotely, leading to consistently better outcomes for customers.