Minsait, an Indra company, has worked closely with the Newsweek Vantage team to produce a thorough report on the state-of-the-art of the Oil & Gas Industry in terms of digital transformation. In the face of lower prices, increased cost pressures, and tighter environmental standards, the industry is adopting powerful new technologies to ensure its future relevance. In this challenging environment, the digital transformation emerges as a disruptive force that can change the status quo.
These findings confirm that the sector is embracing digital change and the opportunities it offers to improve efficiency and decision-making. Luis Abril is Head of Energy, Industry, Mass Market and Business Management Solutions at Minsait, an Indra Company, a global technology and consulting company and a leader in Spain and Latin America, argues that “IoT, AI and robotics will leverage the development of intelligent and more automatic infrastructures; thanks to the growing use of remote sensors, enormous amounts of operational data are available to analyze in real time, enabling enterprises to improve”.
Digital technologies, according to Minsait, enable companies to extract more value from data, using new platforms to share data with the entire organization, as well as with suppliers, contractors and partners. The real-time visualization of the data helps optimize decision-making. It can also automate and simplify the value chain to obtain higher levels of efficiency and to optimize production and logistics, while achieving greater autonomy, efficiency and flexibility through intelligent infrastructures, as well as improving safety and security levels during operation.
The study is based on a global survey of 263 energy professionals at senior executive and management level, all working in enterprises that have strategic interests in the oil and gas industry. Among a range of transformative technologies, respondents most frequently said they were investing in the Internet of Things (IoT) and mobility/cloud technologies. These are expected to remain the top-two choices for the next five years. Oil and gas companies, whether private or public, are more likely to invest in green energy, whereas service providers are much more focused on investing in tight/unconventional reservoirs. The chief barriers to investing in technology are perceived uncertainty over oil & gas prices and over investment returns, which are linked to output prices. In the area of transformative technologies, a higher proportion of leaders are choosing to invest in automation, robotics and smart machines.
Minsait’s energy solutions have been deployed at over 140 electricity, water, oil and gas companies in more than 45 countries. Today, over 100 million customers worldwide are managed using the systems developed by the consulting and technology firm.
Other contributors to the study were Aspen Technology, AP-Networks and the Energy Council.