Digitalization: Leveraging Digital Innovation in Offshore Energy

There is an increasing expectation that oil and gas firms can demonstrate their value and efficiency through more data-centric processes, managing costs and reacting more quickly to changing market conditions. 

While the sector has typically been slow to adopt digital innovations, today’s offshore energy markets are fluid and fast-changing, and the ‘business as usual’ model will not necessarily yield the best future results.

AI, automation and data-driven solutions are helping companies across industries to reduce costs, improve efficiency and cut emissions. Implementing digital innovation and a data-driven approach in the business can enhance an organization's competitive advantage.

Projects can be seamlessly connected with the use of AI, drones, robotics and virtual reality, so organizations can make better decisions about what projects to take on and where to drill. In addition, collecting and analyzing data helps the business better understand production processes and the opportunities to maximize them in the future.

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Operate from an internal ‘nerve center’
Forward-thinking businesses are taking control where they can, and optimizing factors to make them as efficient as possible. By implementing a fully digital central control tower (or nerve center), a firm's resilience can be increased by using AI to connect and improve visibility within all business functions.

What does this mean? It means that daily operational processes are improved, and supply chain issues are detected and communicated early on to allow flexibility. Having a central nerve center for communications and supply chain management also reduces the need to visit sites physically regardless of location. Inspections, project progress and compliance can be monitored within a few clicks, lowering costs and boosting productivity.

Improving safety with 'smart machinery'
Introducing smart machinery and automation will enable risky operations to be automated and reduce the room for mistakes resulting in injury to staff.  For those that still require manpower, nurturing a safety-first system and checks procedure can help minimize risk. Implementing a central, transparent communication system that connects the entire company will allow firms to improve safety by ensuring that teams can monitor and report on conditions and incidents in real-time.

A central location for email and document storage
Implementing a central cloud-based storage solution such as SharePoint into the business provides the flexibility for employees to access data and communications from any location and on any device, which is particularly advantageous for oil and gas firms that operate from various sites.

Email and document management solutions
A central email management system is designed to improve business communications and ensure close collaboration with operators, management, investors and other stakeholders. Much like the internal nerve center, an email management system ensures that everyone is kept up to date with the most recent communications and developments as they happen, regardless of their location.