By Ron Wagnon, Chief Revenue Officer, Twenty20 Solutions
When you think about onshore energy operations, what comes to mind? Production facilities and extraction sites, right? While those locations are critical, most people forget about the hundreds of other sites operators use across upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. From storage facilities that house equipment and trucks, to service provider locations, these sites may store even more equipment than a production facility or extraction site.
With a single site housing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars’ worth of assets, the need for a strong security solution that provides visibility and control is paramount. Without these types of solutions in place, companies open themselves up to both risks from vandals or thieves, and operational downtime with no means to mitigate those risks. Additionally, since most operators maintain multiple sites across the country, damages or asset losses can add up quickly.
Implementing traditional video surveillance and access control systems may seem like an easy choice, but there’s a catch: these sites are often located in remote environments with little existing infrastructure, limited regular employee presence and difficult environmental or regulatory settings. These conditions, and ever-present budgetary and scheduling requirements, make it challenging to maintain consistent visibility at each location, let alone a strong security presence to respond to emergencies in real time. Often working with little or no existing power or cellular service, operators simply go without because they are unaware of any existing solutions that don’t involve long lead times, expensive installations and extensive infrastructure.
Twenty20 Solutions, a leading provider of security, monitoring and automation solutions specifically designed to benefit customers with remote operations, has the solutions these operators need. Utilizing the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), the company has built an advanced platform for remote environments, regardless of access to power and cellular service. Twenty20 is able to deploy its solutions in remote locations quickly and efficiently, saving operators time and money. Additionally, by offering security monitoring services with its own team of professionals, Twenty20 ensures customer sites are being watched, even when a customer does not have the manpower to do it themselves.
Two key solutions Twenty20 provides are surveillance and detection, and access control.
Surveillance and Detection
Video and radar surveillance are two of the primary applications Twenty20 provides for its customers, including real-time threat detection even at the most remote locations. Twenty20’s surveillance systems record footage on-site, push events to a web-based platform in real-time and alert the operator’s security team or the Twenty20 monitoring team when a potential threat arises.
Twenty20’s work with the world’s largest land-based drilling services company provides an excellent representation. The partnership was established during a recent production downturn to secure the customer’s drilling rig stack yards, each with materials valued at $10-25 million, as well as field offices and other remote facilities, and the assets stored there.
By the end of the nationwide rollout, Twenty20 had deployed hundreds of sensors at dozens of locations, including day and night HD and thermal imaging cameras, radar systems and more. Whether providing intrusion detection, assisting with theft investigations or providing health, safety and environment (HSE) liability protection, the Twenty20 system has delivered value numerous times over its cost. In one specific incident, real-time video stream monitoring by Twenty20’s 24/7 manned-monitoring center and coordination with local law enforcement led to the apprehension and prosecution of an intruder, thus ensuring the safety and retention of tens of thousands of dollars in sensitive equipment stored at the location.
Access Control
Twenty20’s access control solutions give customers peace of mind when it comes to managing their remote locations, providing customers with the ability to control who enters and exits their remote facilities. The web-based platform and proprietary technology allows users to open, close, lock and monitor remote entry points from any web-enabled device.
Through the Twenty20 dashboard, customers can see who is at their remote locations and take action, without an expensive on-site guard. Using this technology, Twenty20 was able to update an access point at a Fortune 1000 exploration and production company’s remote site. The entry point went from a simple dirt road and barbed wire fence to an automated, pulley-driven gate. Twenty20’s combination of video with access control allowed users to monitor and audit the comings and goings of employees, contractors, landowners and visitors from any web-enabled device.
Today, this access gate manages the flow of 35,000 vehicles per year. Each crossing is captured by the gate controller logs and video surveillance records covering the gate. Furthermore, the deployment of these systems has recorded numerous negligent vehicle impacts to the gate, including from the customer’s own employees. This evidence has offset the liability and costs for any equipment damage or injury to personnel, as well as costs incurred from delays due to an inoperable gate, saving the customer money in repairs, liability and lost revenue.
Combining Solutions
While some operators chose to integrate only one of the applications described above, Twenty20’s customers significantly benefit from the company’s combined offerings and turnkey deployments. A great example of this comes from Twenty20’s recent work with a large, private energy exploration and production (E&P) company in the Permian Basin of West Texas. The company selected Twenty20 to assist in increasing its overall site security at nearly two dozen locations throughout the region.
With Twenty20’s ability to deliver turnkey solutions at scale, while maintaining organizational and user-specific customization, it was able to improve the customer’s safety and security visibility with 196 HD surveillance cameras, 16 automated and monitored vehicle gates and five controlled pedestrian gates at 21 separate locations. The technology and engineering experts at Twenty20 built the solution on an underlying platform and network framework designed to scale into the future.
Integrating the cameras, gate controllers and door access systems at each location into a single platform allows managers to view, regulate, audit and control every aspect of their security system. With more than 1,300 employees registered and credentialed, the company is able to better manage and control permissions by employee, location and group hierarchies. Additionally, because Twenty20’s solutions come with unlimited users, this organization-wide adoption occurred at no additional cost to the customer.
Integrating Twenty20’s rapidly deployed security solutions, such as video surveillance and access control, enables energy professionals to detect intrusion and theft in real time, often before a loss occurs, and quickly provide the necessary information to deter or apprehend perpetrators. By mitigating risks and providing solutions designed to fit customers’ needs, Twenty20’s solutions save operators time and money. This enables them to reallocate funds previously designated for repairs and/or equipment replacement to build new locations and retain or hire more employees.
Ron Wagnon has more than two decades of experience in the energy and telecommunications industries. Previously, Wagnon served as President of Greenwell Energy Solutions and also Vice President and General Manager of the Americas for Harris CapRock. During his tenure at Harris CapRock, he grew client business primarily from the Gulf of Mexico region to worldwide locations. Wagnon holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University.