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Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is gaining traction in the oilfield as companies develop hardware and software able to meet the industry’s demands and harsh environment.

 

RFID technology provides a non-optical, non-contact method to get in-depth information about virtually any asset, from drill pipe through surface equipment up to and including personnel. RFID uses attached to or embedded electronic modules which respond to a radio transceiver with an identifier number. The electronic modules are packaged in different ways (most commonly as tags), to mount or embed into various assets and to survive a variety of environmental conditions. The identifier number of each tag can be associated with any type of collected and electronically stored data, like location, use history, maintenance, inspection records, etc.

 

Traditional asset tracking methods (bar code, stenciling, and RFID tags originally developed for retail or transportation industries) work for tracking assets not subject to harsh conditions, but fail when deployed to track assets in drilling and subsea operations where tracking does not survive the extreme temperatures, pressures, vibrations, and abrasives.

 

A new generation of rugged RFID technology, specifically developed in recent years to meet the unique needs of the oil and gas industry, is designed to survive extreme conditions. Driven by high-temperature/high-pressure (HT/HP) demands in deepwater operations, certain tags have rated sustained temperature and pressure survivability to 400° F (204° C) and 30,000 psi (2070 Bar).

 

The largest potential return on investment (ROI) for RFID technology in oil and gas is in component-level identification of surface, subsea, and downhole assets used in drilling and production operations. Industry estimates that positive ROI for this technology ranges from three months to two years from deployment.