Tucker Energy Services (TES), based in the twin island nation Trinidad and Tobago, provides specialty services for the Oil and Gas industry. With a focus on enhancing oil well integrity and efficiency, they offer customers:
Well cementing, which involves sealing wellbores and securing casings in oil and gas wells—prevents the migration of fluids between underground formations and supports the well casing, ensuring the structural integrity and isolation of the wellbore.
Coiled tubing, a continuous length of flexible steel tubing that can be wound onto a large reel—helps speed up processes like pumping services and well cleanouts.
High pressure pumping, using pumps to inject fluids at high pressures into oil wells—helps to stimulate production.
TES also offers wireline and mud logging services as well as operates their own Liquid Mud Plant, a specialized facility designed for the preparation, storage, and maintenance of drilling mud—a crucial component in drilling operations. The facility helps TES ensure a consistent supply of customized drilling fluids while their comprehensive services support the operational success of oil and gas customers in the region.
Outdated Equipment and Visibility Voids
In 2019, TES found their operations hindered by outdated equipment and an insufficient ability to manage data. The company identified four critical areas needing improvement:
Aging data acquisition system—The existing setup was over a decade old and could not be adapted to new technologies or integrated with modern data management practices.
Limited visibility and data sharing—The legacy system's lack of Ethernet connectivity restricted data access to local operators only, preventing efficient remote monitoring and decision making.
Dependence on third-party solutions—Previously implemented systems from external providers offered little room for customization or expansion without incurring exorbitant costs.
Inaccurate/nonexistent level sensing in fluid tanks—Only 8 of the 150 tanks had level sensing capabilities, and those in place used mechanical level switches, which were prone to failures that led to unreliable readings and potential costly spills.
Tucker Energy Services well cementing unit
Tech Trek: Costs, Controls, and Learning Curves
Navin Singh, Electrical & Instrumentation Supervisor at Tucker Energy Services, knew that a technology upgrade would increase reliability and improve visibility, so he began researching. The investigation led Singh into quite the dilemma.
Ready-made systems for tank monitoring and data acquisition came with steep price tags, significantly inflating the budget. Furthermore, maintenance and updates for these systems would require TES to rely on third-party integrators, which limited control over their system and further added to their costs—necessitating ongoing expenses for external engineering support.
The other option was for Singh to select commercially available controls equipment to develop a homegrown system. But the team at TES had minimal exposure to Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), so adopting new technology would be a steep learning curve. To pull this off, Singh would need a user-friendly product with learning tools that wouldn't break the bank.
The Move to groov
"We had a supplier who used Opto 22® systems with
PAC Control™ programming software, and we heard they were able to develop their own data acquisition system,” Singh recalled. “We wanted to have full control of the hardware and software development.”
“I heard about this new
groov EPIC® system, and the information on YouTube® excited me—showing what it could potentially do. It was quite reassuring that when I initially made contact, I was able to speak directly to an engineer [Opto 22 Application Engineering Specialist, Selam Shimelash],” said Singh.
Other data acquisition systems that Singh was exploring— from both the U.S. and the UK—didn’t quite fit the mold he was looking for. The
groov EPIC system, an
Edge
Programmable
Industrial
Controller from Opto 22, however, provided real-time control, connectivity, and data visualization all in one platform.
"For making future improvements, with
groov, we are in full control. And with no software development fees or annual licensing fees, we can keep adding and improving while keeping costs down, " Singh said.
Tank levels home screen in groov View
Implementing groov EPIC: Practical Steps and Solutions
TES started by integrating seven
groov EPIC systems—processor, power supply, chassis, and I/O— to monitor tank levels for their 150 tanks. Each
groov EPIC is placed in a strategic location near a group of tanks to avoid long cable runs.
An eighth
groov EPIC system is installed in their main office and displays an aggregated view of all 150 tanks on a single heads-up display.
Using the EPIC’s native HDMI output, Singh paired each EPIC with a cost-effective Winmate® monitor to provide local views for operators. The monitor displays the free
groov™ View visualization software that is preloaded on every EPIC system.
For help building his screens, Singh utilized
Opto 22’s free SVG Image Library.
For additional data acquisition, TES uses a variety of
groov input modules, from traditional analog to specialized frequency input modules, part number
GRV-IDCIFQ-12, for measuring pumping rates and calculating the volume of fluid being moved.
Later in the project, Singh implemented digital output modules to sound the alarm and prevent potential overflows and spillage—a huge savings since drilling mud and other related fluids are expensive, cleanup costs are high, and the environmental impact of spills can be devastating.