Advanced Tech at Center of Customer-Focused Vision

Q: How does Wood support the entire value chain of its clients?

A: Wood continuously follows the regulatory framework that applies to the country in which we operate. This includes the certification process we use for our suppliers and processes. As a MAC integrator that always thrives to find the best solution in the market for its clients, compliance with norms, regulation and certifications is at the forefront of the added value we offer to our clients. Such added value allows us also to support the entire life cycle of the client’s projects, from the conceptual engineering to the decommissioning, individually or as a whole.

Q: Why is the Advanced Technology Center (ATC) by Wood, Cisco and Roue important for the Mexican oil and gas industry?

A: The ATC is the perfect meeting point to showcase the capabilities of two of Wood’s main service lines, the Asset Solutions and the Specialist Technical Solutions business units, together with synergies derived from partnerships with Cisco and Roue. With the ATC, we are establishing a space to get closer to the client, innovate and find new differentiators that make our company more competitive and completely customer-focused in its services. We will reach a point in which the needs of the clients can be anticipated. This is extremely important for a main automation contractor (MAC) like Wood.

Q: In which areas is the ATC mostly focused in terms of applications for the oil and gas industry?

A: While the ATC can be used to explore the integration of services in any of the oil and gas sectors, a strong focus is the midstream sector, especially for the transportation, storage and distribution of hydrocarbons and its liquid derivatives. This goes hand in hand with the new and muchneeded infrastructure and brownfield revamp projects that will help companies effectively handle fuels at every stage, from their arrival at maritime terminals to the distribution points. Wood is conscious of the particularities of the country; at this initial stage, companies investing in the transportation and distribution of fuels prefer to use virtual pipelines (control and automation of oil tanker trucks and oil rail car-based transport). Wood has a range of solutions adapted to this segment as well as the more traditional pipeline transmission and distribution methodologies that are used in other countries. We strive to ensure that, no matter what, our clients’ business will always be profitable and safe.

Although the current focus has been on the development of midstream projects, we emphasize the skills we can bring to other sectors, such as petrochemical facilities, refineries, power generation, mining and even waste treatment. 

Q: Where can the advantages of automation and digitalization be best showcased for the oil and gas industry?

A: The positive effects of automation and digitalization can be witnessed across the entire value chain of the oil and gas industry. Using solutions that allow for the exploration of dangerous environments without the need for human personnel onsite is one good example. In Mexico, we can see that very clearly in the short term because in certain regions of the country, the presence of workers can pose a certain type of inherent risk. Using Wood’s Remote Expert, Virtual and Augmented Reality solutions, a machine can livestream the process to a worker in a control room, from where that same worker can control the maintenance operations. Solutions like these can be explored at the ATC. The ATC also allows for companies to recreate a specific problem they faced and seek a solution using all the cutting-edge technologies developed and integrated by Wood. All this is done in an environment protected by rigorous cybersecurity tools. There are two types of companies in the world: those that have suffered a cyberattack and those that are being attacked without even knowing it. This has become an extremely important topic that is at the top of every company’s agenda.