1. Company and SCADA Project Overview
Company Overview
Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation operates approximately 2,300 wells across its Giddings and Karnes assets in Texas, utilizing multiple artificial lift methods including rod lift, gas lift, and plunger lift systems throughout the lifecycle of each well.
Artificial lift monitoring and optimization are central to Magnolia’s daily production operations, supporting collaboration between engineers, operators, and optimization technicians responsible for maintaining performance across a large and diverse producing asset base. While all wells are monitored daily, engineering teams focus detailed optimization efforts on priority wells requiring active performance management.
The Challenge
Aligning Artificial Lift with Modern Operations
Magnolia had already standardized on an enterprise deployment of the Ignition platform to centralize operational visibility across production systems.
However, artificial lift optimization remained managed through a standalone lift optimization environment operating alongside — rather than within — the organization’s SCADA architecture.
As Magnolia continued advancing its operational infrastructure, several challenges emerged:
- Competing polling between lift software and enterprise SCADA
- Limited interoperability with existing communications infrastructure
- Client-based workflows difficult to integrate operationally
- Disconnected databases and engineering workflows
- Increasing complexity supporting parallel operational systems
- Native integration with enterprise SCADA communications and polling
- Modern web-based user experience
- Vendor-agnostic controller support
- Mobile accessibility
- Platform scalability and ease of deployment
- Responsiveness from the development and support team
- Unified communications architecture
- Elimination of competing polling systems
- Improved stability between lift controllers and SCADA
- Simplified troubleshooting and system support
- Reduced reliance on disconnected platforms
- Manage lift operations within existing infrastructure
- Simplify long-term platform support
- Reduce operational overhead associated with parallel systems
- Accelerate onboarding of new pump-off controllers
- Maintain flexibility across multiple controller vendors
With portions of the legacy lift platform approaching end-of-life, Magnolia initiated an evaluation focused not simply on replacement software, but on aligning artificial lift optimization with its long-term operational architecture.
Evaluation Approach
Bringing Lift Optimization Into the Operational Platform
In December 2025, Magnolia launched a pilot deployment of iPOC to evaluate whether artificial lift optimization could operate natively within its existing SCADA environment.
Key evaluation criteria included:
Wells were onboarded rapidly in bulk shortly after pilot initiation, allowing operational validation to begin almost immediately.
Rapid Validation & Organizational Alignment
Following successful pilot testing, Magnolia validated core operational capabilities including dynamometer card polling, well control integration, and historical configuration migration with minimal disruption to field operations.
After internal technical and operational alignment, Magnolia announced plans in early 2026 to transition away from its standalone lift environment and formally executed a commercial agreement shortly thereafter.
The evaluation-to-adoption cycle was completed in approximately eight weeks, demonstrating strong organizational confidence in the platform’s operational fit.
Deployment at Scale
Initial deployment included 684 licensed wells, implemented through a staged development-to-production rollout aligned with Magnolia’s internal deployment practices.
Implementation required minimal internal IT or engineering effort beyond standard onboarding activities. Operational teams reported seamless transition following cutover, with strong early user acceptance across engineering and field personnel.
The onboarding experience was summarized internally as:
“10/10 — would do again.”
Operational Impact
Eliminating System Conflict
Operating natively within Ignition enabled Magnolia to standardize artificial lift communications using OPC UA across both SCADA and lift optimization workflows.
Key operational improvements included:
Operational teams described the outcome succinctly:
“No more fighting connections.”
Artificial lift optimization transitioned from a standalone engineering system into Magnolia’s operational environment, enabling teams to manage lift performance within familiar infrastructure already used across production operations.
Business & Strategic Value
By consolidating artificial lift optimization within its enterprise SCADA architecture, Magnolia reduced platform complexity while improving long-term operational efficiency and total cost of ownership.
Standardizing on an Ignition-native solution allowed Magnolia to:
Because iPOC operates within the same server and application ecosystem as Magnolia’s SCADA platform, adoption required minimal workflow change for end users.
Looking Ahead
Magnolia plans to integrate future pump-off controllers directly into iPOC as part of ongoing operational standardization efforts.
Additional workflows under evaluation include expanded plunger lift visibility and broader lift analytics as operational standards continue to evolve.
Recommendation
Magnolia has already recommended iPOC to peer operators pursuing modernization initiatives, particularly organizations operating or transitioning toward Ignition-based SCADA environments.
“If they’re on Ignition, it will just simplify their workflow.”
Conclusion
From Standalone Optimization to Integrated Operations
Magnolia Oil & Gas’s transition illustrates a broader industry shift: artificial lift optimization is increasingly moving from isolated engineering applications into integrated operational platforms.
By bringing lift optimization natively into its Ignition architecture, Magnolia unified production monitoring, control, and optimization within a single environment — improving operational alignment while establishing a scalable foundation for future digital oilfield initiatives.
