Supply-Chain Characteristic Vectors for Emissions Tracking Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
The oil and gas supply-chain faces challenges in maintaining transparency and integrity due to gaps in visibility across the network, leading to missed or unreported emissions and data anomalies, which affect the tracking and transmission of commodities.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a supply-chain characteristic-vectors system that includes air quality monitors and supervisory-control-and-data-acquisition systems at upstream and downstream amenities to sense environmental and operational parameters, transmit data to a remote server, and calculate characteristic-vectors to confirm energy presence and associate them with energy amounts, while also using encryption and machine-learning models to secure and minimize data anomalies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If air quality monitors and supervisory-control-and-data-acquisition systems are implemented at upstream and downstream amenities, then transparency and integrity of supply-chain tracking are improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the supply-chain monitoring into discrete segments: upstream air quality monitors, downstream air quality monitors, upstream SCADA systems, and downstream SCADA systems. Each segment independently collects and transmits data, allowing modular deployment and reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive coverage
Solution Approach 2:
A remote server acts as an intermediary that receives data from multiple SCADA systems, performs centralized processing of characteristic-vectors, and coordinates the matching between upstream and downstream data. This mediator simplifies the architecture by consolidating complex processing functions in a single location
2Measurement precision
If characteristic-vectors are calculated and associated with energy amounts to confirm presence, then tracking precision is improved, but measurement and calculation complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual tracking methods with automated electronic sensing and computational processing. Air quality monitors and SCADA systems automatically collect data, and remote servers computationally calculate characteristic-vectors, substituting mechanical/manual processes with electronic and algorithmic systems that improve precision while managing complexity through automation
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms raw environmental and operational parameters into derived characteristic-vectors that represent supply-chain state. By changing parameters from raw sensor readings to processed vectors associated with energy amounts, the system achieves higher tracking precision while the remote server handles the computational complexity centrally
3Loss of information
If data is transmitted from multiple SCADA systems to a remote server, then information completeness is improved, but data transmission and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system establishes continuous data transmission from upstream and downstream SCADA systems to the remote server, ensuring uninterrupted flow of information. This continuous action maintains information completeness by constantly updating the supply-chain state without gaps, while the automated nature of the transmission minimizes delays
Solution Approach 2:
The remote server processes incoming data and generates feedback by calculating characteristic-vectors and confirming energy presence. This feedback mechanism validates received information and enables real-time decision-making, improving information completeness while the automated feedback loop efficiently manages processing time
Data Source
AI summary
In some configurations, a supply-chain characteristic-vectors merchandising system and a method for an environmental characteristic-vectors of a gas communicating from an upstream amenity to a downstream amenity in a supply-chain may be disclosed. The system may be configured to track oil and/or gas throughout the supply-chain by associating characteristic-vectors (e.g., environmental, operational, physical etc.) of the upstream amenity and the downstream amenity with the energy units of the gas transmitted through the supply-chain.