The Oil & Gas Business: IT Integration

In the Oil and Gas industry, businesses working upstream know that every challenge in exploration and production (E&P) operations starts with the word "more." The world needs more energy, an estimated 40% more by 2030, according to Cambridge Energy Research Associates, Inc. (CERA). The so-called "easy oil" has been found, which means more challenges in finding and developing new reserves. The sheer volume of data collected and stored by digital oilfield technologies is overwhelming but highly valuable for future planning. Meanwhile, this mature industry has many senior petro-technical professionals retiring and fewer recruits available to fill the emptying ranks; therefore, there is more work with fewer people to accomplish it. Workflow requirements are also changing dramatically. The fewer skilled professionals and experts must share their expertise across more projects worldwide. Greater data availability enables better insight but increases workflow complexity by changing traditionally linear processes into iterative, collaborative ones. This demanding world of "more" means upstream businesses require more than ever from information technology (IT) solutions. Collaboration is Key IT solutions must deliver greater visibility and enhanced collaboration tools to enable workers to achieve better, faster insights to improve decisions. That means reliably and securely gathering the right data from asset and corporate systems and delivering it to the right person, at the right time. Then, remote team members must have the tools to collaborate reliably and securely in real time, across traditional data and application boundaries as well as corporate, geographical and political boundaries.

More Insight, Faster Partner applications tap the power of Information technologies that enable people to manage workflows, analyze data and leverage volumes of digital information. The result is better insight that helps people make more accurate projections, improve recovery rates, anticipate and resolve problems, and manage the inherent risks of E&P. Leading communication and collaboration technologies bring remote technical experts and asset teams together, boosting productivity and knowledge transfer despite a shortage of qualified workers. Global demand for energy is surging during a critical shortage of skilled E&P workers. Meanwhile, digital oilfield technologies offer volumes of raw data to support real-time decisions. IT deliver tightly integrated E&P solutions that address these changing workflow requirements, helping people reliably and securely manage data, collaborate across boundaries, and achieve faster time to insight. The result is better decision-making throughout the organization, helping to control costs, accelerate time to first flow and improve recovery rates.

Key Benefits IT help businesses:

Accelerate time to first oil Optimize production Improve recovery rates Reduce operating costs Improve safety and environmental performance Increase return on assets Reduce time to insight and decisions Make better decisions Reduce risk