IT Trends Fueling the Oil and Gas Industry in 2017

The oil and gas industry has nothing to lose and everything to gain by investing and collaborating with more advanced IT. Every industry that leans on technology to enhance their products, services, operations, mechanical processes, etc., has found that it is a huge benefit and can often be a huge cost and time saver. In 2017, there have been four main trends that have fueled the oil and gas industry:

Smarter Operations and Financial Models

By integrating information technology into operational processes, it will be possible for both larger and smaller companies to increase their uptime by transforming their asset management systems.

For one, these systems can predict the amount of earnings a company may receive during the quarter. They can even make recommendations in regard to what can be done differently when it comes to how companies manage finances. Investing in a software like this can result in more savings.

Aging Assets

There is a certain level of unpredictability in the oil and gas industry market, which means that there has been a trend toward the practice of reducing the amount of money spent on large-scale maintenance and on asset modification. For example, the software will alert businesses if any systems are malfunctioning so that the problem can be taken care of right away. By using a modern approach that uses software for crew rotation, scheduling, and operations planning, it can greatly increase a company’s efficiency.

Extracting from Existing Resources

For some larger projects, particularly projects that are in the offshore environment, it can be a challenge to balance the need for manpower with the cost of maintenance and overseeing operations. This is where technology comes into play. Drone technology can be used for harder to reach equipment or environments. AR technology, also known as augmented reality technology, can be used to help engineers and specialists get a better view of an environment that is thousands of miles away.

Renewable Energy Market

Throughout the last couple of years, the oil and gas industry have worked toward adapting to wind energy by applying it to their offshore expertise. With the combines expertise of the two industries, more solutions and strategies can be developed in order to continue growing the renewable energy market.

Where the Industry Goes from Here…

In the last handful of years, there have been huge surges in technology and how it can relate to any industry. Organizations that have invested in utilizing technology to streamline their operations have found that it has reduced cost and increased the overall efficiency of the business. A huge way to increase efficiency and effectiveness is to utilize the “cloud.” The “cloud” is a server-based technology that allows companies to have wider access across locations and crews (particularly for oil and gas companies with offshore operations), that allow for easy sharing of technology and assets.

Moving forward? Expect to see increases between service providers and operators that are looking to move towards being more environmentally friendly as well as create new revenue streams and opportunities for their businesses and the oil and gas industry as a whole.