*6.2. Power Outages*

In Arctic conditions, power outages can occur [62] as a result of extremely low temperatures. This, in turn, will lead to the failure of all digital systems.

The solution to this problem may be the use of smart power distribution systems, which will allow a reconfiguring of network topology depending on the possible occurrence of a failure on the line and the even distribution of the load on power lines. To date, there is a project [63] of a smart grid system designed for the Arctic region, which, in addition to the above-mentioned requirements, makes it possible to increase the reliability of the power supply system by connecting a backup battery in the event of a failure. However, the use of this technology is possible only if there are prediction systems based on digital twins that would allow the battery to be connected shortly before the upcoming failure.

Special attention should be paid to secondary power supply sources intended to supply end users, which include actuators responsible for the operation of individual system nodes. The main requirements for the design of secondary power supply sources are the use of a modular architecture with parallel channels to implement a redundancy system in case of failure, as well as the development of unified mechanisms for the interaction of all segments with a common centralized managemen<sup>t</sup> system [64].

#### **7. Prospects for the Digital Technologies' Introduction in the Oil and Gas Industry within Its Competition with RES**

In the energy sector, despite the rapid growth of RES shares, the oil/gas sector remains the dominant supplier of electricity [65] and will remain such for at least the next 20–30 years [66]. At the same time, in 2020, the share of renewable energy in global energy consumption increased by 9.7% (which is its largest ever increase), while gas and oil consumption fell by 9.3% and 2.3%, respectively [65]. The reason for this is the high environmental friendliness of obtaining energy from renewable sources. It is a good alternative to extracting energy from hydrocarbons, producing up to three quarters of all carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere [67]. RES is also most appropriate technology for use in conditions where centralized managemen<sup>t</sup> is difficult, for example, in the Arctic zone [68].

Thus, one of the main aspects of Industry 4.0 is the direction towards the rational use of natural resources, which implies an energy-efficient production process with the achievement of its maximum environmental friendliness [69].

The main technologies of Industry 4.0 are robotics, modeling (digital twins), system integration, industrial Internet of Things, cyber security, cloud computing, 3D printing, and augmented reality [70,71].

Considering the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies in the oil and gas sector, which competes with RES, a comparative analysis of the above-mentioned use of technologies at each stage of production was carried out.

#### *7.1. Application of Industry 4.0 Technologies in the Oil and Gas Sector*

The oil/gas industry is a complex system that includes a large number of interconnected processes that must control the extraction of raw materials, its processing, productivity and equipment wear, the efficiency of personnel, and be clearly coordinated with each other. The optimization and strict control of each of the above-mentioned items helps to reduce the cost of equipment operation, increase overall productivity, as well as reducing the risks of accidents [72].

Thus, the following problems stand in the way of creating a centralized automatic control system [73]:

• A variety of protocols, as well as a variety of data types. As the number of devices and sensors grows, the number of protocols for data collection increases, which urges the need to create new interfaces for organizing device networks and integrating them with existing data ecosystems. In addition, there is a need for a centralized data managemen<sup>t</sup> system, which should be able to integrate disparate data types to create their single representations.

• Increasing the number of devices and sensors. Hubs, aggregators, gateways and other network equipment are needed to manage the lifecycle of new devices and sensors. At the same time, the amount of data created in the course of work and their dynamic nature may exceed the capabilities of systems used for operational decision support. Sensors, and the data produced by them, must be ordered, combined, matched and transformed.

At the same time, traditional control systems such as PLC, DCS and SCADA can be inherently complex and expensive to upgrade or expand. The solution to this is to use Internet of Things technologies, Big Data, as well as cloud computing, through the use of which it is possible to create a unified system of control, management, as well as support in making operational decisions. For a more detailed analysis of digital technologies' introduction in oil and gas production automation, we shall consider the process of raw materials extraction in the oil and gas industry. The whole process can be divided into three main parts (Figure 3):


**Figure 3.** The production process in the oil and gas industry system [74].

Currently, the process of introducing new technologies for each of the sectors is not regulated due to the complexity of technological processes, as well as their close correlations with each other.

The conceptual model of transition to the concept of Industry 4.0 should focus on the following areas:


Based on the data given in Table 6, it can be concluded that the main focus of the research on Industry 4.0 introduction in the oil and gas sector is on the following technologies: industrial Internet of Things; digital twins; Big Data; and augmented reality.


**Table 6.** The use of Industry 4.0 technologies in the oil and gas sector 1.

1 Compiled by the authors.

#### *7.2. Application of Industry 4.0 Technologies for Renewable Energy*

According to experts [91], in the context of Industry 4.0 technologies' use in renewable energy, the main emphasis should be placed on:


Similar to the oil and gas sector, the process of obtaining energy from renewable sources can be divided into:

• Generation;


Industry 4.0 technologies, presented in Table 7, contribute to the achievement of impressive indicators for each of the designated points.

Thus, the main focus in the renewable energy sector is on the following technologies: industrial Internet of Things, Big Data, digital twins.


**Table 7.** Use of Industry 4.0 technologies for RES 1.

1 Compiled by the authors.

#### *7.3. Competitiveness of Renewable Energy in Russia*

Despite the fact that the bulk of Russian energy consumption is accounted for by hydrocarbon energy sources (the total share of energy consumption from renewable sources does not exceed 0.15%, according to Rosstat data for 2019 [107]), the share of renewable energy is growing rapidly every year (Figure 4). By 2030, the share of renewable energy consumption in Russia will increase by 5% [108]. This is facilitated by the problem of climate change associated with the extraction of energy from fossil energy sources, and, as a result, increased public interest in the use of "green" energy sources [109].

According to the maps of wind and solar energy presented in [110], the greatest intensity of solar and wind energy falls on regions remote from the central part of Russia (Figures 5 and 6). It is also worth noting that, nowadays, the cost of energy extracted

from petroleum products is significantly lower than analogues from renewable energy sources. However, the estimated cost of hydrocarbon fuel, in the case of its delivery to remote parts of the Russian Federation, may significantly exceed the cost of energy supplied by RES [111].

**Figure 5.** Average annual solar radiation intensity map in Russia [110].

**Figure 6.** Average annual wind intensity map in Russia [110].

Therefore, for the regions located on the periphery of the Russian Federation, especially for the Far North region of Russia, which is the most promising region for the development of rich mineral deposits [112–114], the use of renewable energy as the main source of electricity is the most optimal and promising solution.

Based on the above, it can be concluded that the issue of introducing digital technologies into the oil and gas sector is now most difficult, since, despite the increasing demand for renewable energy, the use of which is limited to regions that are remote from the central region of Russia, hydrocarbon energy remains dominant in the market. At the same time, the digitalization of the oil and gas sector is a more time-consuming task due to the

presence of more complex technological processes, as well as the large working personnel's involvement in the production processes. In accordance with this, the use of technologies such as virtual and augmented reality are most relevant for the oil and gas sector, as these technologies contribute to reducing the influence of human factors, as well as increasing the final speed and efficiency of performing the required operations. At the same time, virtual reality, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence are currently the least-used technologies, compared with Big Data and robotics, due to the complexity of developing and implementing the final product for an introduction into the production process [25]. Therefore, research that focuses on the above-mentioned introduction of technologies into the oil and gas industry is the most relevant.
