Rigs Often Cache Oil, Offloading When Convenient

As we continue to dig in on exactly how data is the new oil, one point that often gets overlooked is what happens when oil starts coming.

You’ll recall our discussions about how medical devices are like drilling rigs, and how the real prize is not the oil itself, but the products that can be refined from oil.

The data/oil metaphor continues, and the next consideration in the process is where to store it. That’s because rigs can’t hold oil forever. They have to offload it, and the process for offloading has to be seamless so the oil stays pure while being transported.

How does it work?

Offshore rigs can temporarily store oil in floating vessels that are often converted from oil tankers or other large supertankers. These vessels can store extremely large caches of oil until they can be loaded onto a tanker or transported through a pipeline. Some of these vessels act only as temporary storage, while others also begin processing the crude at the same time.

With each type of vessel, the sheer volume of the storage space is staggering to the average person. We’re talking storage capacity in the millions of barrels.

There are several advantages to having temporary storage. Say, for instance, that your rig is positioned in a smaller oil field that will be depleted in just a few years. A field of that size doesn’t justify the expense of building a pipeline, so a temporary storage vessel can fill that gap and make the process easier. Also consider how temporary storage allows you to keep the rig producing without shutting it down to empty it out.

All this is before the oil makes it to land, let alone before it becomes anything close to a usable finished product.

Let me guess, data is the same way?

Nailed it!

Here are a few ways that transporting data is similar:

• Data doesn’t stop coming while you’re transporting it
• Data has to stay pure while being moved
• Sometimes the volume of data doesn’t justify the expense of building a whole pipeline
• Temporary storage can expedite the process

These are all considerations when choosing how to structure your process for collecting, cleaning, and refining data. It’s easy to forget about the complexities of the process when we’re focused on the excitement of finding data in the first place. But understanding the entire system helps to avoid some of the common mistakes that prevent data collection and storage processes from being successful.