At the 2024 AWS Energy Symposium, Dylan Payne, Predictive Maintenance Supervisor at Phillips 66, and Kishore Manghnani, CEO of Shoreline AI, shared how their collaboration is helping midstream operations through artificial intelligence (AI). Their discussion underlined the unique challenges of remote assets and how AI is delivering enhanced reliability and efficiency.

Payne explained the central challenge in midstream operations: remote equipment that requires extensive travel for routine maintenance.

“Some of our equipment is so far away that it can take hours just to get there,” he said. “When someone goes out for routine vibration analysis, they might spend an entire day traveling, only to return without analyzing the data until later.” This inefficiency, Payne noted, was a key motivator for exploring new technologies.

Shoreline AI’s asset performance monitoring system, built on AWS, provided Phillips 66 with an innovative solution. Manghnani explained: “We built a completely affordable, scalable solution that could be self-installed.” He pointed out that many midstream operations had previously relied on manual monitoring due to the high cost and complexity of existing solutions. Phillips 66 was one of Shoreline AI’s early adopters, and the results have been transformative.

Payne discussed the impact of Shoreline AI’s platform on Phillips 66’s operations.

“Having a solution out there pulling data several times a day, without needing someone to physically be on-site, is a game-changer,” he said. This real-time data allows for proactive maintenance, reducing the risk of equipment failure and improving operational efficiency. Payne noted that the shift to AI-based predictive maintenance has significantly improved the company’s ability to monitor conditions and increase reliability.

Manghnani further elaborated on the critical elements of their solution, stressing the importance of simplicity and speed.

“We had to make the platform easy to connect, even for a field technician with no IT expertise,” he said. He explained that once the data was gathered, the challenge was to provide value quickly, noting that Phillips 66 can now deploy new assets “in 15 minutes — what used to take months.”

The integration of AI into midstream operations has not only improved reliability but also introduced new possibilities for data-driven decision-making. Manghnani remarked: “With Phillips 66, we’re not just solving one problem. Our platform is built as an end-to-end solution, capturing a complete picture of what’s happening with these machines.” He emphasized that AI allows companies to predict failures and optimize performance in ways that were previously not possible.

Looking forward, Payne and Manghnani see the potential for further growth. Payne described the ongoing collaboration between Phillips 66 and Shoreline AI as one of continuous improvement, with weekly meetings to explore new ways of leveraging the platform. Manghnani added that the integration of AI with AWS services has opened doors for future innovations, particularly in reducing carbon footprints and increasing safety.

By tackling the challenges of remote operations with AI, Phillips 66 and Shoreline AI are transforming how midstream companies manage their assets, setting a new standard for efficiency and reliability in the industry.