Global pandemic has provided businesses with valuable proof of the benefits of digitization. As a result of the digital transformation in the way businesses operate, workers across a wide range of technical industries can continue working remotely.
Many players within the Oil & Gas industry have not changed their ways of working despite digitalisation’s benefits. As recently noted on the Digital Oil and Gas Solutions failure to keep scoring highly on Deloutte’s digital maturity index, which displayed the industry lagging behind other industries such as Power & Utilities, Aerospace & Defense, Consumer Goods, Telecoms, and Automotive in quantifiable measurements of digitalisation progressions.
The implementation of such systems has clear long-term benefits. However, it requires significant upfront investments to develop digitalisation processes, integrate them into current workflows, and train employees.
Following the dramatic drop in oil prices in 2015, many operators have re-evaluated the potential of Industry 4.0 as part of their operational processes. Businesses were more willing to test new ways to work once they had already been disrupted.
- About 40% of companies in the oil and gas sector said they felt threatened by losing their competitive edge if they did not invest in digital transformation, with 70% planning to increase investments in new digital areas over the next three to five years.
Digital transformation programmes have seen greater investments in integrating new technologies and retraining workers in recent years. But those views and those investments are coming from industry leaders – company heads, analysts, academics. Is it fair to consider the reality of the day-to-day elements of a changing workstream for people who actually work on Oil & Gas projects? Does digitalisation matter to them as well?
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How will the impact of Covid-19 affect the adoption of technology in the oil and gas industry?
Business leaders around the world are exploring digital solutions that will allow them to continue operations despite social distancing measures. Throughout the last two months, priorities have changed dramatically as well as investments. In order to carry out new projects, newer working methods are now in place that will enable the continuation of existing operations.
Nonetheless, there’s a high probability that digitalization efforts won’t be enough to tide the country over during the “lockdown” period. It is essential to maintain continuity during this time, but investments that are made to keep things moving will still pay dividends later on.
Using digitalisation and automation properly, oil fields can increase production and efficiency by gathering and processing data more efficiently, solving problems faster, reducing downtime, and increasing production.
By implementing smarter technologies, AI, imaging technology and advanced sensors for data gathering, apart from the savings, more productivity can also be achieved.
Digitalization in oil and gas: how does it work?
There are three main ways to support Oil & Gas companies,They are:
Optimizing processes with a digital twin
Any element in a project can be examined as a digital twin – from the entire infrastructure to individual parts such as motors, turbines, pumps, and so on. By having an accurate digital replica, operators can test and analyze operational data in real time, allowing them to identify improvements and efficiency. AI software can also optimize company operations by analyzing and calculating complex variables in order to maximize results, as well as suggest operational adaptations based on changing legislation and market demands.
Process design using the cloud
By leveraging the cloud, users gain access to huge amounts of processing power and storage without spending large sums of money on capital. Digital modeling allows you to model very specific elements of a project that might otherwise be cost-prohibitive because it doesn’t require new infrastructure or training.
It can also enhance digital connectivity between different regions of a project, allowing acquired data from multiple sources to be rapidly and effectively integrated for better digital planning and efficiency.
Digital planning and operations
In order to provide a complete 360-degree view of the value chain, a digital overview of the entire supply chain model connects complex networks of silos. Through monitoring production level and status information from a centralized, unified reference point, it allows accurate planning of each stage.
The other advantages of digitalisation
In addition to modernizing workforce management, digitalisation permits employers to adopt more flexible employment structures and implement new, smarter ways of managing their workforce. Furthermore, intelligent sensors and artificial intelligence reduce the possibility of human error, enhancing safety.
Furthermore, automation of repetitive tasks significantly increases the ability of specialists to concentrate on complex analyses, helping them detect problems earlier or develop creative solutions.
In the current market, there is no doubt that the Oil and Gas industry will be more reliant on digital technology.
With a number of projects being shut down or canceled, digitalisation’s efficiency and rapid implementation could be a key to fostering efficient industry operations in the future.