Overview
The digital transformation of oilfields demands effective data management to enable remote control and support critical decisions in production and development. PetroChina Huabei Oilfield Company (Huabei Oilfield), a major player in the sector, aimed to integrate IoT and cloud computing to build a unified, real-time data collection platform and streamline complex operation and maintenance (O&M) processes.
The deployment of the EMQX MQTT Platform addressed major challenges associated with scattered data storage, multiple collection links, and excessive costs, allowing Huabei Oilfield to remotely manage its critical terminal equipment.
The Challenge: Fragmented Data and Costly Legacy Systems
Huabei Oilfield's legacy systems, built on traditional SCADA architecture, created significant operational bottlenecks that hindered data value realization:
- High O&M Costs: Aging hardware and software for data collection and storage at remote well sites led to escalating update and maintenance costs.
- Data Fragmentation and Latency: Data was scattered across local databases. Synchronization was inefficient, lacked real-time visibility, and created redundancy.
- Performance Bottlenecks: As the volume of collected data grew, the legacy infrastructure could not handle the increased data throughput, resulting in insufficient real-time monitoring capabilities.
- High Labor Costs: The reliance on scattered, dedicated systems required an increased workload for on-site technical maintenance personnel, driving up labor costs.
The Solution: A Unified Cloud-Edge Architecture with EMQX
EMQX provided Huabei Oilfield with a comprehensive, two-tiered Cloud-Edge solution for real-time data collection and management, significantly simplifying their infrastructure:
Edge Industrial Gateway (EMQX Neuron)
Deployed at the well sites, EMQX Neuron served as the industrial protocol gateway and edge computing software, handling data acquisition and initial processing:
- Multi-Protocol Conversion: EMQX Neuron communicated directly with field instruments through protocols like Modbus-TCP and serial DTUs/servers, converting industrial protocols into the standard MQTT protocol.
- High-Speed Bidirectional Data Flow: EMQX Neuron handles routine data collection (oil pressure, power charts, etc.) at sub-second speed for over 10,000 data points. It enables bidirectional transfer, supporting both data reporting and issuing commands to devices.
- Edge Data Stream Processing: EMQX Neuron utilized its lightweight stream data processing and rule engine capabilities to periodically pull data from third-party applications (like electronic fences and video monitoring), apply custom rule-based processing, and forward the refined data to the central platform.
Central Data Hub (EMQX Enterprise)
The EMQX Enterprise acted as the scalable, central data hub, ensuring high-throughput data aggregation, flexible storage, and remote control:
- Unified Data Aggregation and High Scalability: EMQX collects data reported by EMQX Neuron and other MQTT/HTTP devices, achieving unified aggregation. Its elastically scalable cluster mode can handle millions of Transactions per Second (TPS), providing a highly stable data architecture that scales seamlessly with business growth.
- Flexible Data Persistence and Distribution: The built-in rule engine is key to distributing device data to various third-party solutions, including time-series databases (InfluxDB, TDengine) and relational databases (MySQL, SQL Server), and pushing data to upper-layer applications via HTTP APIs.
- Remote Control: Upper-layer applications issue remote commands via the EMQX HTTP API. These commands are ultimately sent to EMQX Neuron, which then issues the corresponding control signals to the on-site devices via Modbus-TCP, achieving remote control.
The Results: Enhanced Efficiency and Major Cost Savings
The implementation of the EMQX Cloud-Edge solution delivered immediate and measurable operational and financial improvements for Huabei Oilfield:
- Massive Cost Reduction: The system achieved a reduction of over 70% in on-site operational workload and personnel costs by enabling remote control and reducing the need for manual maintenance. Furthermore, the platform delivered over 25% annual savings on data collection system maintenance costs and over 40% savings on point access expenses.
- Real-Time Control and Visibility: By connecting critical assets, including 10 oil pipelines, 1100+ oil wells, and 30+ oil tanks, the platform dramatically enhanced real-time business performance with low latency and high throughput.
- Streamlined Operations: The solution streamlined data collection, utilizing cloud-based deployment and high-speed data channels to enhance data stability and transmission efficiency. Data is now unifiedly collected, processed, and stored at the source, facilitating robust data sharing and management.