The oil and gas industry is slowly by surely shedding its yesteryear image and is progressing towards being a major adopter of new-age digital technologies. Paul Favret points out that various types of companies associated with the oil and gas industry are exploring ways to make their businesses more efficient and effective through modern technology. Paul has been a part of this industry for years, and has witnessed the growth and development in the domain first-hand.
A growing number of oil and gas companies are adopting digital technologies to streamline their operations and improve their existing processes. These technologies allow them to optimize worker safety, ensure regulatory compliance in a dynamic marketplace and improve margins. IoT is among the most technological developments in the oil and gas industry, and is used to granularly monitor machinery, equipment, people and vehicles to ensure smooth operations. The second most popular technology in the industry is data analytics. Data is collected from IoT devices and then analyzed to improve decision making capabilities. Edge computing has also become popular in this industry, and is typically used to detect or predict anomalies.
Drones are now flown by a few early adopter companies to spot leaks in pipelines proactively or have eyes on the scene first in case there is an accident. Drones are highly helpful in monitoring situations where there are risks of leakage, pollution, and even worker safety. It allows weaknesses in the delivery chain to be visualized, without the costs linked with sending maintenance crews out to diagnose them. Crews can always use the footage from the drone to make sure that they are adequately equipped to handle the exact situation before they arrive to fix it.
Paul Favret mentions that data modeling is often used in conjunction with data analysis to construct a virtual picture of the field operations with the use of data points in order to assess the likely outcome of a particular activity may be. For instance, video forage can be used for the purpose of spotting potential safety concerns in drilling before the drill spins. AI can identify areas where mistakes can be made based on visual markers from previous video footage. On the other hand, 3D digital models might be developed for the purpose of visualizing new energy resource that is not developed enough, and hence is under exploration. The model makes use of data from similar sites that have been already exploited in order to predict likely outcomes and put emphasis on putting efforts where it is needed most for new ones.
Augmented Reality (AR) is also becoming an ideal work companion for field workers in the oil and gas industry. This technology allows workers to check inside the equipment and streamline tasks to meet best practices, ultimately reducing the risk of worker injury.