mobility
European oil & gas
europeanoilandgas.co.uk
Achieving
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Alastair Sorbie discusses why enterprise mobility in oil and gas isn’t just about mobile devices
W
hile it would be facile to suggest that a greater use of mobile devices would have prevented the Deepwater Horizon disaster, mobile working technologies are critical for meeting the far more rigorous regulatory scrutiny of the post-Macondo world. The pressure on oil and gas organisations to provide greater visibility and traceability of all aspects of their work – from planning through execution to documentation – is consequently driving a mobility revolution in the industry. According to research from analysts IQPC, oil and gas companies will spend around £113 billion on enterprise mobile applications by 2015 – and more than £5 billion on oil and gas-specific mobile apps. Yet mobile is about far more than just compliance with Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) regulations – vital though that is in today’s landscape. Mobility can be a powerful tool to combat new problems and pressures that are emerging in the industry. These are as diverse as a lack of project control caused by fragmented, poorly integrated systems, the increasing complexity of exploration and extraction in some of the most remote and hostile regions of the world, and the extensive use of subcontractors and collaboration between vendors. All these issues can only be overcome with the right tools and, crucially, the right mobility strategy.
Missed mobile opportunities? The oil and gas industry is certainly no laggard when it comes to mobility: according to IQPC almost four in five organisations (78 per cent) report that their company has implemented a mobility strategy or project, while tablets, laptops and ruggedised smartphones are being purchased in bulk. This shows a strong commitment to the concept of mobility, as does the fact that almost three quarters of organisations say that mobile devices will ‘greatly enhance’ operations. It does not necessarily mean that the industry is making the best use of the technology though. Take, for example, mobile applications: just one third of the world’s 50 largest oil and gas companies have created their own apps. This is significant because it suggests that even the world’s biggest firms are failing to maximise the utility and functionality of mobility. To be truly effective, mobile must be about so much more than mere connectivity with existing software and systems - it must harness the unique ability of mobile to provide a single tool that enables operatives to complete tasks and share critical information in real time. Oil and gas firms must not fall into the trap of believing that mobility begins and ends with the device. A mobile phone or tablet is merely an endpoint in a complex information infrastructure. The industry will find that mobile will be far more effective if they instead focus on how