Optimization Archives

A Solution for Inefficient Transport in the Oilfield: Uber for Crude Trucks

POSTED BY Thomas Hunt ON August 19, 2019 IN Blog, Digital Transformation, E/CTRM, Featured Resource, Optimization

It’s one of the most common challenges in the oilfield: inefficient transportation of trucks that carry crude oil, sand, and produced water to and from the wellsite. Not only are these transportation costs high, but on average these trucks travel empty 50% of the time. It all adds up to a price that can significantly …

capSpire Discovers How Machine Learning Can Save Millions By Predicting Crude-Hauler Rejects

POSTED BY Thomas Hunt ON April 29, 2019 IN Analytics, Blog, Optimization

First purchasers of crude oil often use tanker trucks to transport crude oil from tanks on well sites (leases) and deliver crude to pipeline injection points (stations). First purchasers may own their own trucks, use third-party haulers, or both. As the first interface between the producer and end users, first purchasers need to test crude …

8 Highlights from the 9th Annual OPIS NGL Summit 2019

POSTED BY Thomas Hunt ON March 6, 2019 IN Blog, Digital Transformation, Featured Resource, Optimization

Recently, hundreds of professionals in the natural gas liquids (NGL) industry gathered at the OPIS NGL Summit in Phoenix, Arizona. This is the annual conference that brings together the majority of the industry in one place to set up contracts, network, and attend educational sessions. From these presentations and conversations with attendees emerged distinct themes …

Improve Operational Decision Making and Maximize Profit with capSpire’s New Natural Gas Network Optimization Platform

POSTED BY Ben Ridgway ON October 19, 2018 IN Blog, Digital Transformation, E/CTRM, Optimization

The shoulder seasons bring significant uncertainty to natural-gas markets. During this time, unexpected weather events in particular can wreak havoc on spot natural-gas prices. Imagine the scenario in which bid week took place just over two weeks ago, during which baseload purchases and sales for October were negotiated, as well as firm transport on pipeline …

How Permian and Canadian Pipeline Constraints Benefit Refiners

POSTED BY Thomas Hunt ON August 27, 2018 IN Blog, Digital Transformation, E/CTRM, Optimization

Limited takeaway capacity in the Permian and the widening of the WCS-WTI spread are benefiting some independent refiners. (The Permian Basin crude hub is located in Midland, where prices are benchmarked against the WTI Cushing price [Mid-cush spread]. Canadian crude from the prolific oil sands is called the West Canadian Select, and it is settled …

How to Save Six Figures on Your Next Refinery Turnaround

POSTED BY Bernard Wehbe ON June 5, 2018 IN Blog, Digital Transformation, E/CTRM, Optimization

You know because you likely just experienced this in March or April — refinery turnaround months are highly volatile. These changes are disruptive to your supply network and often costly. The expenses associated with diverting supply elsewhere to satisfy contractual obligations can reach into the millions of dollars in some scenarios. But what if there was …

Permian Basin Bottlenecks to Benefit Regional Refiners

POSTED BY Thomas Hunt ON May 18, 2018 IN Blog, Digital Transformation, E/CTRM, Optimization

In our last blog, we explored the impact of refinery shutdowns on the macro supply and demand of crude in regional hubs such as Midland. We also explored how refiners and midstream operators are increasingly leveraging optimization technology to help them manage their lease crude obligations during refinery shutdowns and turnarounds. In this blog, …

NGL Supply Chain Optimization Drives Profitability

POSTED BY capSpire ON May 8, 2018 IN Digital Transformation, E/CTRM, Optimization, White Paper

NGL Supply Chain Optimization Drives Profitability in Margin-Compressed Midstream Energy Space The shale revolution has increased complexity in commodity supply chains and created stress on profit margins. As a result, business leaders and their teams are under pressure to capture maximum margins. By incorporating cutting-edge, industry-specific analytics, they can make data-driven decisions that enhance profitability. …

Permian Basin: Optimizing Lease Crude Supply During a Refinery Turnaround

POSTED BY Thomas Hunt ON May 7, 2018 IN Blog, Digital Transformation, E/CTRM, Optimization

Between March and May of this year, we have seen a perfect storm of supply-and-demand imbalances in the Permian Basin. Production hit record levels of 3 million barrels per day (bpd) according to the EIA, refineries shut down for annual turnarounds, and pipeline takeaway capacity reached its limits. All this has culminated in the Midland-Cushing …

6 Highlights from the 8th Annual OPIS NGL Summit 2018

POSTED BY Thomas Hunt ON March 16, 2018 IN Blog, Digital Transformation, E/CTRM, News, Optimization

A few weeks ago, hundreds of professionals in the natural gas liquids (NGL) industry gathered at the OPIS NGL Summit in San Diego, California. This is the only annual conference that brings together the majority of the industry in one place to efficiently negotiate contracts and work out deals, network, and attend educational sessions. From …