S06 ORA 4 2020 Storage_ORA Master Template - 2016 New 21/08/2020 13:43 Page 20
DIG ITAL TECH NOLOGY
ISSUE 4 2020 • WWW.OILREVIEWAFRICA.COM
GOING DIGITAL FOR
EFFECTIVE OPERATIONS As oil and gas operators across the world seek to reopen for business, there is a strong commitment among many companies to double down on investment in digital technology. Georgia Lewis reports.
I
NVESTING IN DIGITAL technology is a sound move for oil and gas companies looking to move ahead as industries attempt to emerge from lockdown as cost-effectively as possible. Choosing the right digital technology can help operators become more efficient, reduce staff costs and improve safety when tasks can be performed remotely rather than in hazardous locations. In a July edition of the weekly ADIPEC Energy Dialogue series, Morag Watson, BP senior vice president of digital science and engineering, said the oil and gas industry has been slower than other industries to open up to the possibilities of leveraging digital technologies to compete and succeed in the ongoing energy transition process. “For me it is not just about the technology,” Ms Watson observed. “Many of the technologies have been on a reasonably fast trajectory for a while. The industry has to be open to thinking, how can we do things differently?” “It doesn’t just happen by saying here are 10 robots that are going to do your work for you. It just doesn’t work that way. You have to have the right business mindset to make it possible for the technology to radically change how you do things,” she added. Advances in Internet of
Image Credit: Adobe Stock
20
Digital technology helps make remote operations safer and can help reduce staff costs.
Things (IoT) technology, for example, have been helping operators restart effectively but the oil and gas IoT sector has been growing since before the pandemic struck. The “Digital Transformation Market in the Oil and Gas Industry Market”
research report by MarketWatch, which covers the sector between now and 2023 has forecast a CAGR of almost 16 per cent, with a year-on-year growth rate 17.58 per cent during that period. The MarketWatch report focuses on the growing need for
The industry has to be open to thinking, how can we do things differently? It doesn’t just happen by saying here are 10 robots to do your work for you.”
advanced technologies in exploration activities, as well as the importance of implementing mobility solutions in the oil and gas industry. The report forecasts a CAGR of almost 16 per cent between now and 2023 for the digital technology market in the exploration sector. In regard to mobility solutions, the report says that these innovations can “help enterprises to reduce the time spent on routine activities and provides them with information to address issues and queries.” Deloitte is similarly upbeat about the potential of
