Technology trends in the oil & gas industry

From rapidly-changing regulations to fluctuations in commodity prices, oil and gas businesses know the importance of staying agile and ahead of the competition. One way to combat industry changes is to stay up-to-date with the latest technology trends and evaluate if any could benefit your organization.

This post details four emerging technology trends in the oil and gas industry that have been identified by our team of industry experts that could make a positive impact on your operations.

Oil and gas companies know the importance of keeping their assets running at their best to deliver strong performance and results. A growing trend is the use of IoT connected sensors to build a predictive maintenance strategy, which goes beyond preventative maintenance to predict issues before they even occur. Predictive maintenance uses a combination of sensors, artificial intelligence, and data science to optimize equipment maintenance by monitoring data collected from assets to identify patterns that lead to potential problems or failures. With this data about your equipment, you can address issues before they even happen. This ability to predict when equipment or assets need maintenance allows you to optimize equipment lifetime and minimize downtime, rather than waiting for a problem to fix or only scheduling maintenance on a fixed schedule.

Technology was transforming the industry long before the global pandemic, and now more than ever, team members need the ability to do their job from any location with an internet connection. Cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions are becoming increasingly popular where the software, databases, and associated data are delivered through the internet and can be accessed on any device with a web browser. This allows team members to access the software from any location, including while in the field, which is key for many oil and gas team members. Other benefits of a cloud-based ERP versus an on-premise ERP is cost savings from IT, access to real-time data, and automatic system updates. Learn more about cloud-based ERP solutions for oil and gas businesses in this whitepaper.

Mixed reality tools, which blend physical and digital worlds together in real-time, are growing in popularity with businesses that operate complex machinery and conduct field service, such as oil and gas businesses. Mixed reality can improve your training processes by providing instructors with better tools, and it offers trainees an enhanced and engaging learning experience through 3D visualizations and interactivity to learn the machinery faster. With step-by-step holographic instructions right where the work happens when wearing a mixed reality headset, employees can learn and execute complex tasks in context while on the shop floor or in the field. Additionally, mixed reality tools promote collaboration by creating augmented workplace that allows users in different locations to collaborate, search, brainstorm, and share content. This can be especially helpful when you have a technician in the field who has a question and needs assistance from another team member in a different location.

Digital twins are virtual replicas of physical assets that are updated from real-time data. They tell the story of an asset all the way through its life cycle, and can give oil and gas companies an unprecedented view into how their products and machinery perform. Digital twins, becoming more extensively used by manufacturers, are an exact counterpart of an object built by combining various data including bill of materials, simulation models, IoT sensors, time-series data, maintenance records, and others. The data is then managed, unified, and modeled to build a high-fidelity digital representation of the physical reality, which can be used optimizing configuration management, process control, asset and performance management, and simulation modeling. With better insight into your asset performance, oil and gas machinery producers can improve the quality of their products and speed time to market. Learn more about uses cases for digital twins here.

If you’re looking to change your technology strategy or adopt a new software, Rand Group is your trusted technology partner. We have been serving clients since 2003 and have deep experience working with organizations in the oil and gas industry – including oilfield services, oilfield equipment manufacturers, and oilfield drilling organizations. Rand Group will help you define your technology strategy, find the best solutions for your business, then deliver a customized system to address industry challenges and set your business up for success.

For more information, contact one of our highly experienced professionals today.