Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 16): Oil and gas (O&G) firms face a myriad of operational, commercial, and existential threats and are turning to digitalisation to combat these threats and will spend US$15.6 billion (RM65.97 billion) on digital technologies in 2030.

In a report titled “Digital Transformation in the Oil and Gas Markets” released Wednesday (Dec 15), technology intelligence firm ABI Research said investments in digitalisation can help to analyse a pipeline's condition, prepare for fluctuations in the changing prices for O&G, as well as aid action plans to create more sustainable operations and transfer to producing renewable energy sources.

ABI Research industrial and manufacturing principal analyst Michael Larner said safety and security are top priorities for O&G operators.

“Data analytics allied with IoT platforms have become essential to identifying issues ahead of time such as pipeline degradation, wellhead performance, and pollution from gas flares.

“Increasingly, however, network security is rapidly becoming a concern for both the C-suite and governments," he said.

Larner said the effect of the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline put the subject of securing O&G operations in sharp relief.

He said the problem for firms is that even spending unlimited amounts to secure networks and assets will not provide 100% security as attackers only need one error to cause havoc.

ABI Research said spend on security services are forecast to increase by CAGR 8.1% from 2021 to 2030 and reach an annual spend of US$640 million at the end of the decade.

It said away from security, spending by O&G firms in 2030 on IoT devices and application platforms are forecast to top US$5 billion with data analytics spend approaching US$2 billion.

The technology supplier ecosystem looking to help operators meet the challenges includes O&G-focused suppliers such as Schlumberger, Petro.ai, Kongsberg, Earth Science Analytics, and technology specialists such as ABB, AVEVA, AspenTech, Seeq, and Siemens, all of whom offer software to support operators' subject matter experts.

"The role of technology is evolving from helping O&G firms monitor their large, complex, and dangerous operations to helping them optimise their facilities to handle the volatility in their operating environments," said Larner.

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