Digital Twin Innovations in Artificial Lift and Flow Assurance: Overcoming Brazilian Offshore Challenges

Abstract Digital Twins represent a major step towards integrated engineering analysis of data available for a physical system. A digital twin is a virtual replica of an asset and aims to provide relevant information for decision-makers, enabling risk mitigation and optimization of its real-world counterpart. Physical simulations, optimization, and data analytics, combined, enhance efficiency and safety during lifecycle. The operational insights provided to operators by plotting precise and contextualized data contained in the digital twin ecosystem improve company's workforce productivity, avoid mistakes and contribute to better and safer asset operation. Data flowing from the physical object to its digital representation ensures the update of the Digital Twin state in an automated or supervised manner. Data generated by the Digital Twin can provide valuable information for operators and decision makers, assisting in production optimization and risk mitigation. Controlling the physical object can then be done manually or automatically in order to attend the aspired goals. The so-called 4.0 Industry tends to gradually incorporate Digital Twins into its processes, leading to a blurred boundary between the physical and the digital worlds. In the Oil & Gas industry, digital twins are becoming a reality across many stages of the production process. This article shows the progress and challenges of a digital twin solution focused on upstream, or, more precisely speaking, on the Flow Assurance and Artificial Lift aspects of oil and gas production of Brazilian offshore fields.