CHEVRON’S INFRASTRUCTURE

EVOLUTION

Chevron Corporation (www.chevron.com) is one of the world’s leading

energy companies. Chevron’s headquarters are in San Ramon, California.

The company has more than 62,000 employees and produces more than

700,000 barrels of oil per day. It has 19,500 retail sites in 84 countries. In

2012, Chevron was number three on the Fortune 500 list and had more than

$244 billion in revenue in 2011 [STAT12].

IT infrastructure is very important to Chevron and to better support all

facets of its global operations, the company is always focused on improving

its infrastructure [GALL12]. Chevron faces new challenges from increased

global demand for its traditional hydrocarbon products and the need to

develop IT support for new value chains for liquid natural gas (LNG) and the

extraction of gas and oil from shale. Huge investments are being made

around the world, particularly in Australia and Angola on massive projects of

unprecedented scale. Modeling and analytics are more important than ever

to help Chevron exploit deep water drilling and hydrocarbon extraction in

areas with challenging geographies. For example, advanced seismic imaging

tools are used by Chevron to reveal possible oil or natural gas reservoirs

beneath the earth’s surface. Chevron’s proprietary seismic imaging

http://www.chevron.com/
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technology contributed to it achieving a 69% discovery rate in

2011[CHEV12].

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)

Systems

Chevron refineries are continually collecting data from sensors spread

throughout the facilities to maintain safe operations and to alert operators to

potential safety issues before they ever become safety issues. Data from the

sensors is also used to optimize the way the refineries work and to identify

opportunities of greater efficiency. IT controls 60,000 valves at Chevron’s

Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery; the efficiency and safety of its end-to-end

operations are dependent on advanced sensors, supervisory control and data

acquisition (SCADA) systems, and other digital industrial control systems

[GALL12].Clarity: Are major points clearly presented? Does the writer present a coherent and succinct argument? • Completeness: Are any points missing? Does the writing accomplish each task set forth in the assignment? • Thoroughness: Are all major points illustrated adequately? Are there parts that need more explanation or evidence? • Organization: Are the main points in the right order? Are there any overlapped or repeated points? Are there any irrelevant detail? • Language: Are there problems with grammar, spelling, and punctuation? Are the sentences overly-complex? Choppy? Are the tone and word choice appropriate? • Readability: Does the writer assume too much from the audience? Too little? Is the handwriting legible or font readable?Case study and discussion question.

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