INPEX Migrates AVEVA PI System to Azure for Enhanced Data Analytics Promoting Sustainable Energy Development

System Operations Challenges Faced by the Largest Energy Development Company in Japan

INPEX Corporation is one of Japan's largest integrated energy development and exploration companies. It produces and markets oil, natural gas, renewable energy and is expanding its efforts in clean across approximately 20 countries worldwide.

INPEX has set priority themes to promote the stable supply of energy and the energy transition, and tackle sustainability issues such as climate change. INPEX aims to achieve these goals through steady supplies of clean energy such as hydrogen and renewable energy, developing CO₂ capture and storage technologies, and improving efficiency of cleaner oil and natural gas operations.

Advanced digital technology is absolutely essential for optimized handling of these numerous types of energy. This has led INPEX to become an industry leader with the digitalization of its operations.

The company has been using Microsoft 365 with Office apps starting even before the Corona Pandemic. This includes communication tools such as Microsoft Teams, and the extensive security features of the cloud platform. The company is committed to developing a digital workforce, with one in ten head office employees improving workflows using the Microsoft Power Platform.

INPEX’s plants, pipelines, and LNG terminals have been collecting and analyzing data using the AVEVA PI System since 2014. The AVEVA PI System provides data management infrastructure for real-time operational updates from the field that is accessible to all users at corporate headquarters. Coordination and collaboration among users across the company furthers comprehensive operational optimization. Confirmations of equipment operation and monitoring of mid-/long-term productivity are done at headquarters with respective dashboards. 

Particularly in the power, petrochemical, and manufacturing industries, the AVEVA PI System is a widely used platform for collecting and utilizing data from equipment and sensors at diverse plants and facilities around the world.

Kohei Kawamura, Digital Strategy & Planning Group, Information Management & Technology Unit, INPEX Corporation, recalls that operating the AVEVA PI System as on-premise infrastructure presented one notable challenge.

“The domestic AVEVA PI System was running on an on-premise server in Niigata, Japan, so we had risk that we have to rush 300 km away in case of serious problem . Moreover, hardware and OS maintenance would expire at the end of 2021, so we reexamined our infrastructure and made the decision to move to the cloud," says Kawamura.

INPEX selected Azure as its migration platform for the AVEVA PI System.

Azure Selected as New Platform Due to its Stability, Security, and Compatibility with Peripheral Operations

“INPEX has long been moving towards shifting existing system infrastructure to the cloud with Azure. That led to Azure being the first choice for the migration of the AVEVA PI System,” explains Kawamura.

'Fewer failures' is a very important concept for stable operations of a system, and since Azure has a solid track record for stability, we consideres it as first choice from the beginning. We had also been using Microsoft products in our other business operations, so the seamless compatibility was another deciding factor.”

As a leader in energy infrastructure, INPEX has high security requirements given the increasing prominence of cyber attacks. The migration was conducted with a keen focus  on the core topic of cloud security.

“Default configuration uses the Internet, so the first step is a switch to the closed network of Azure ExpressRoute," says Kawamura. “We also needed to understand which of the multiple features of Azure would be included in our internal network and how much would port to the Internet. Our security department at INPEX already had good knowledge of Azure, and with our migration partner Mitsui Knowledge Industry, were luckily able to proceed without significant worries."

Akiyoshi Sasaki, Senior Engineer, DX Engineering Div., DX & CX Engineering Unit, Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., LTD., in charge of migrating the AVEVA PI System, provided an evaluation of the infrastructure with Azure.

“Operational data is very important and many customers require strict access control. Azure is widely used in critical systems because of its high reliability and the advanced security and governance features that are part of the platform’s foundation," says Sasaki.

Kawamura adds, "Azure is essential for INPEX today.”

“We are taking on the challenge of developing stable supplies of not only oil and natural gas, but also a variety of other energy sources and technologies. In those situations, we have to start from the procurement of servers fitting for the new project if we are setting up on-premise. However, sizing is straightforward with Azure and we can adjust on a pay-as-you-go basis. It really is an indispensable platform for creating new value.”

“We migrated the core of the AVEVA PI System from on-premise servers in Niigata to Azure on January 8, 2022. The project went according to plan, with two migration methods being proposed at the time,” explains Yusuke Hirano, Engineering Dept. 1, DX Engineering Div., DX & CX Engineering Unit, Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., LTD.

“The options were of shutting down the system or not shutting down the system, and with the former being chosen. There was the option of migration without shutting down the system, but there was also the risk of server overload. In the worst case, that could take them offline for an extended period of time. Careful scheduling of rehearsals several months in advance allowed us to hedge those risks and we were able to complete the migration smoothly," says Hirano.

Kawamura recalls that there were some hurdles coordinating operational schedules at the facility sites.

“We looked for a window when there were no LNG ships scheduled to arrive in port to minimize the data acquisition gap of stopping the system for 8 hours.  However, ship operations are greatly affected by weather conditions, so that required close coordination to arrange scheduling. Nevertheless, we were able to complete the system migration successfully by deciding ‘shut down and migrate’ from first and by carefully confirming all steps during rehearsals.”

Greater Time Efficiency and Data Utilization with Azure Migration

What business value has the AVEVA PI System migration to Azure brought for INPEX? Kawamura answers, "Our IT staff can now spend significantly more time on advanced analysis.”

“In terms of total costs, cloud and on-premise options are almost the same over a five-year period. However, full elimination of server maintenance and replacement work is worth it, allowing our IT staff more time actually visualizing, using, and analyzing data. The elimination of maintenance has also resulted in a longer actual usage time by users of the platform," says Kawamura.

AVEVA PI System usage has expanded further through the use of Azure cloud infrastructure. IT staff and data scientists at INPEX are now analyzing data extracted from the AVEVA PI System for "Signs of trouble in power plant gas turbines with machine learning” and “Maintenance standards for heat exchangers”.

Azure and AVEVA PI System Collaboration Drives INPEX's DX Strategy

Kawamura is looking forward to further data integration, visualization, and analysis in the future with Microsoft products.

“AVEVA PI System is a platform for operational data, but when determining business progress, we need to look at other data, such as costs, etc. With the Web API of the platform we can integrate the data necessary for our management and visualize it for faster decision making with tools such as Microsoft BI. In addition, I believe that usage of application development with tools like Microsoft Power Apps will expand within the company," says Kawamura.

“AVEVA will focus on supporting industrial innovation through collaboration with Microsoft,” says Shigeya Miyajima, Account Manager ,  AVEVA K.K

“We have prepared numerous APIs and SDKs for interoperability so that users can make the most of their data with the AVEVA PI System. That includes providing the AVEVA Data Hub, a platform for securely passing data not only within our company, but also to other collaborative partners. The platform is also based on Azure. We plan to continue supporting innovation in the industry as a Microsoft partner."

Kawamura says, “As a person working in IT, I used to only think in terms of specific systems, but recently my thinking has changed to think in terms of combinations. Such as considering, ‘If the AVEVA PI System and Azure's PaaS are linked, what can we do with it?’ We will continue to accelerate our DX strategy with thorough use of Azure at INPEX.”

INPEX is building and testing operations of floating offshore wind farms and a test facilities for methanation, a technology that synthesizes methane, the main component of city gas, from hydrogen and CO₂. This type of sustainable energy development absolutely requires data visualization and analysis. The company's use of advanced digital technology will definitely contribute to realizing a net-zero carbon society.