DHI Uses Data Telemetry to Transform Oil and Gas Industry alongside AWS Partner WellAware

As a service provider for the oil and gas industry, Dalbo Holdings Inc. (DHI) has to navigate harsh conditions in the Texas oil fields. High winds, strong storms, and extreme temperatures create difficult conditions for gathering the reliable data that DHI needs to gain a clear picture of its field operations. Moreover, oil fields are usually located far from the digital infrastructure typically needed to gather and process information. DHI is always looking for tools to alleviate hardships for its employees, who work long, tiring hours with exposure to heavy machinery and many other hazards.

To address all of these challenges, DHI turned to Amazon Web Services (AWS) Energy Competency Partner WellAware, an industrial internet of things (IoT) company that’s bringing edge compute and cloud technology to the energy industry using solutions from AWS. In November 2021, WellAware earned the AWS Energy Competency as a launch partner. AWS Energy Competency Partners help their customers build and implement advanced solutions powered by AWS across the energy industry value chain. By engaging with WellAware, DHI gains access to a highly specialized and trusted AWS Partner that has verified success using technology to transform complex business and operational systems. Gary Coates, DHI’s CEO says “For us to be able to get data telemetry out of our equipment in the fields at very short notice at a very acceptable cost is something that WellAware has changed in the market.”

Consolidating reliable data to streamline oil field operations

DHI specializes in a critical aspect of oil field operations, water management, which involves the storage and transfer of water to and from well sites. Water is critical for modern drilling programs that use hydraulic fracturing, a process that can consume millions of gallons of water per well. This same water comes out of the well as a natural byproduct during crude oil production. This yields what’s known as produced water. DHI’s services require reliable data to optimize the efficient movement and storage of water and monitor both fresh and produced water. Reliable, near-real-time information helps drive the management of water quantity, as well as quality, critical to DHI’s emphasis on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). WellAware’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions help DHI consolidate all of its information into a single data source on AWS, thereby improving communication among field-monitoring systems that typically don’t talk to each other. “Our customers are asking us for a journey, to be alongside them and help them implement technology,” says Coates. “Our customers can measure the benefits of technology in their operations, in their safety numbers, and in their ESG results. The managed service is key.”

To host its data, provide security, and drive business outcomes through data analytics, WellAware uses various AWS solutions. Its turnkey SaaS services include WellAware Tank Level Monitoring and WellAware Pump Monitoring. These provide customers with predictive quality, maintenance, and remote operation monitoring through an intuitive visual interface. DHI can view data on a colored map, in charts, or through reports. Furthermore, DHI can tell remotely if its assets are in good working order or in potentially hazardous conditions using WellAware’s interface, which includes notifications and alarms. Matt Harrison, WellAware’s founder and CEO, says “Our solutions are a way for our customers to take advantage of technology so they can improve their operations, improve the safety around their operations, and ultimately improve their sustainability as a company.”

Bringing edge computing to the energy industry

WellAware’s SaaS solutions work by collecting data from physical devices provided by WellAware that attach to core assets in the field, such as pumps, motors, compressors, and tanks. Sensors in this edge hardware gather and feed high-resolution, near-real-time information using AWS IoT Core, which simply and securely connects devices to the cloud. This disparate data—such as pressures, temperatures, and levels—is normalized using Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS). This makes it simple to set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud. Amazon RDS automates time-consuming administration tasks, such as hardware provisioning, database setup, patching, and backups, freeing WellAware to focus on its applications and turning data into actionable insights. “Using WellAware, we are able to deploy sophisticated instrumentation and data telemetry and put that information on my desk very, very quickly and easily,” Coates says. “That benefit has been a great help in being able to provide an extra level of service to our customers.”

The AWS Energy Competency required WellAware to undergo a rigorous technical validation related to energy industry–specific best practices. Not only does the AWS Energy Competency distinguish WellAware as a highly-specialized AWS Partner that has demonstrated technical expertise and repeat customer success, but also it recognizes WellAware’s mission to help energy producers such as DHI build and operate assets efficiently and safely while working to transition to a lower-carbon world.

WellAware offers its SaaS products through a data-as-a-service model. This means that customers pay for the data and not the overhead and infrastructure of traditional data acquisition systems. The end result is better and more actionable data delivered in near-real-time directly to those who have access to the software’s dashboard. In September 2021, WellAware began offering its SaaS products on AWS Marketplace, a curated digital catalog where companies can discover, procure, entitle, provision, and govern WellAware’s software. By using AWS Marketplace, companies can purchase WellAware’s solutions with ease, as well as scale and deploy the technology alongside their existing AWS services.

Improving the oil and gas industry using AWS solutions

Using WellAware’s SaaS solutions helps DHI understand the health and performance of all of its assets and make business decisions in real-time. “DHI is in the data, and it’s been fun to watch the company innovate and lead through the adoption of our technology,” Harrison says. “We very much appreciate that, and we appreciate what DHI is doing for the oil and gas industry around the very critical water resource that we use as part of the production piece of the business. DHI is making the industry more efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly.”