Digital Transformation is the process of using digital technologies or smart devices such as transmitters and sensors that sense and collect data, which then send this data to the internet or cloud, be it private (on-premises) or public cloud, to create new or modify existing business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements. Thus, the reimagining of business in the digital age is simply digital transformation.

Given the present hype around digital technologies, such as Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Cloud Computing, Edge Analytic (EA), Digital Twin, Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0), etc., it might be easy to imagine them as a ready fix for managing evolving business challenges. For instance, the industrial IoT, a part of the broad digital opportunity, is projected to add US$15 trillion of value to the global economy by 2030.

As a key driver of digital transformation, IoT plays an important role in provisioning huge reforms in companies to slash downtime, improve safety, increase productivity, improve quality of services, enhance customer experience, make operations more profitable, and ultimately disrupt business models in the enterprise. Therefore, the IoT can drive change in an organization, provisioning data into a wide range of operational activities for well-informed business decisions and optimizing efficiencies gains across the ecosystem.

Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT has brought about many benefits to the energy industry, including:

  • Impact of Digitalization Technology improves every stage of a project lifecycle by optimising concept design and operations;
  • Digitalization attracts young talents for the future, improve risk mitigation, and reduce cost of developments;
  • Digitalization accelerate growth and maximize opportunities in the Oil & Gas and Renewable Energy sector.

Use Cases

The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming the oil and gas industry at a rapid pace. Some of Greater Offshore use cases includes:

Operational Optimization
Internal data generated by large integrated oil and gas companies is estimated to exceed 1.5 terabytes a day. Being able to harness and use that data increases the efficiency of workflow, supply chain and people management. Sensors from Operational Technology (OT) devices relay data to the cloud, where it can be stored and sent to analysts who can assess current operations. Increased visibility and insights from these data allow oil and gas companies to seamlessly connect massive operations for efficiency gain and optimizations.
Equipment Maintenance
Not only does IoT offer the opportunity to automate thousands of wells spread across regions, it can monitor multiple components of equipment per production well. Also, Fuel leaks and oil theft on pipelines cost the industry millions in losses each year. Monitoring equipment with sensors and video cameras results in data that can precisely pinpoint anomalies in the production supply chain process. Efficient maintenance as discussed earlier can help avoid unscheduled shutdowns, which cost producers and refiners billions per year in operating costs.
Predicting Production
Engineers can use IoT to map changes in reservoirs over time to determine whether alterations are needed in lifting methods, to improve pump performance, and to better predict a field’s production capacity. IoT can also influence where and how companies deploy their expensive infrastructures and improve their ability to find maximum outputs. By spending smarter on IoT technologies, O&G companies are able to reap bottom-line results in global productivity and competitiveness and drilling into new forms of value they never imagined.
Increase Long-term Revenue
Oil and Gas is extremely competitive, which means companies will need to find areas to cut costs to remain in business. For example, using IoT sensors, organizations can monitor their levels of inventory in different geographic areas to improve supply chain management. Internet-connected sensors can also help identify optimal drilling areas, which for companies such as ExxonMobil, is predicted to increase production by nearly 50,000 barrels-per-day by 2025.

Greater Offshore is well-positioned with digital expertise to develop, deploy, and scale critical infrastructural projects elastically with technology efficiencies, digital transformation, cloud computing, automated cloud governance, cybersecurity vulnerability and threat intelligence.