Big data in oil and gas operations and other tech advancements

As digital disruption continues to permeate all industries, offshore operations are among those set to benefit. From predictive analytics and Big Data in oil and gas, to the blockchain and AI, seven industry experts give their opinion on how technology is leading to greater efficiency in the oil and gas industry.
Speeding up data analysis offshore

“By switching to digital work instructions, oil and gas companies can build a huge bank of data for audits and simultaneously use the information to predict when failure will occur. That, perhaps, over-simplifies the enormity of the situation but it is such a critical solution to a vast array of issues. There is the famous study by MIT Technology Review, which found that only 0.5% of all data is ever analysed. This was published in 2013 so is certain to have gone up, but not by a huge amount and there is a long way to go in terms of adoption in the oil and gas sector.
“Historically, this would have taken a day to find the information and prove the claim. Today, it takes the team three clicks and less than 10 seconds.”

“The nature of the oil and gas industry means health and safety, compliance and audit checks are frequent and detailed. Unless it is done digitally, each of these processes creates a huge volume of paper, which is difficult to track and practically impossible to measure with any degree of value or accuracy. Done digitally, anybody from the worker, to the supervisor or the auditor can see the characteristics of a check in real time, the impact it has, and provide digital evidence, such as pictures or data, to know it is done correctly. All in a fraction of the time.


“For example, one of our clients was asked in a recent audit, ‘how many times was filter X changed last year?’ Historically, this would have taken a day to find the information and prove the claim. Today, it takes the team three clicks and less than 10 seconds.”

Big Data in oil and gas is fuelling productivity

“Like most industries today, the oil and gas industry has been disrupted by technology and has taken steps to ensure it adapts to the new reality. With most offshore platforms running at 77% of their production potential, businesses are looking to Big Data and analytics as a new way to improve processes and productivity.

“The large amounts of data that are constantly generated from oil and natural gas upstream, midstream and downstream processes can be quickly processed and analysed to reveal new insights to prevent equipment malfunctioning and improve operational efficiency. For example, by integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) into offshore equipment, employees can track and monitor lifespan and other elements that can affect production, such as wave heights, temperature, and humidity.

“With this knowledge, employees can effectively maintain an offshore platform through predictive maintenance, helping detect equipment breakdown before it occurs. This leads not only to enhanced productivity but also improved results in an improvement to the bottom line.”

(Offshore Technology )