Kepware Technologies announced its new KEPServerEX 5.9 industrial automation communications platform for the oil and gas industry. New EFM (Electronic Flow Measurement) capabilities and WITS (Wellsite Information Transfer Specification) Level 0 Drivers work to ensure systems and devices supporting pipelines, wells, and drilling rigs can easily gather and share vital operational information. The new solutions help improve operational efficiencies while reducing production costs and data inconsistencies.

“Traditional EFM and WITS are critical, enabling technologies for the oil and gas industry. However, rapid industry growth is forcing these solutions to be able to connect to a widening portfolio of products,” according to Craig Resnick, vice president of consulting, ARC Advisory Group. “These offerings provide a critical portion of the oil and gas industry’s production data; the need for greater clarity and context must be met through tighter integration of systems and information. In response to this market demand, Kepware has expanded its KEPServerEX 5.9 communications platform to ensure this data and information, especially from flow devices and computers, along with the drilling infrastructure, is appropriately connected and distributed throughout the enterprise.”

New EFM Capabilities

A significant number of flow devices and flow computers have the ability to store raw historical flow measurement data, and perform co mputations to accurately determine the amount of product, or energy that has flowed through a pipe. KEPServerEX’s new drivers with EFM capabilities, tap into stored data to monitor, manage, collect, and distribute real-time data and historical information. The EFM Exporter takes the retrieved historical flow data and creates appropriately formatted output files for upload into flow analysis and accounting software (Flow-Cal) for custody transfer and operational analysis purposes. New EFM capabilities include:

  • Enron Modbus Driver with real-time and EFM communications.
  • OMNI Flow Computer Driver with real-time and EFM communications.
  • EFM Exporter Plug-In with ability to export historical EFM data to Flow-Cal’s CFX file format.

"Kepware will make a significant, and immediate impact with their new EFM functionality,” said Thomas Bont, President of Bont Software & Control Systems, Inc., a control systems and software solutions company serving the Oil and Gas Industry. “The Oil and Gas market has demanded a highly robust, easily configurable, and affordable EFM solution and Kepware has answered the call."

New WITS Level 0 Drivers

Kepware’s WITS Level 0 Drivers for KEPServerEX provide fast and easy access to real-time drilling and mud logging data across multiple geographic sites, including offshore drilling platforms, onshore rigs, and well sites. The new drivers also provide connectivity to numerous types of drilling equipment, such as Measurement While Drilling (MWD) down-hole drilling systems. In addition, the WITS suite of drivers allows the data collection of variables such as temperature, pressure, vibration, and mud consistency that are typically used in analysis of drilling operations. This important exchange of drilling information provides users with:

  • A manageable source of integrated data including, operational, technical, geological, production, and asset management data.
  • Real-time visibility and faster access to onshore and offshore drilling data for improved operations and quicker turnaround.
  • Easier data sharing with all project stakeholders such as internal, in the field, and external contractors/vendors.

“Doing business in the upstream, midstream, or downstream sectors of the Oil and Gas Industry is exceptionally complex,” said Tony Paine, President and CEO of Kepware Technologies. “Companies need to better manage drilling operations, well production, and pipeline infrastructures, while also staying compliant with multiple regulatory mandates. Our new oil and gas offerings ensure greater asset visibility across multiple geographic areas, while streamlining data collection and consolidating tasks.”