As society has evolved over the past couple decades to accommodate more technology into our daily lives and routines, automation stands at the forefront of that evolution. Self-driving cars, smart factories, robotic manufacturing, voice assistants, and even computerized doggy doors are examples of how automation has expanded to nearly every sector, including Oil and Gas. Automation has been in the energy industry for a while solving core needs like tank level monitoring and pump control. We expect this to continue as a recent study estimates a $100 billion in E&P upstream budget savings through automation and digitalization initiatives in the coming decade. A key facet of these technology initiatives is data science and analytics.
Across all industries, access to business analytics is readily available due to the amount of data that is produced from technology and automation solutions. In Oil and Gas, data indicates the health of the asset. Technology companies produce new devices and sensors designed for integration with automation platforms, like SitePro. These devices offer increased functionality and visibility that produce new data sets for analysis. From engine performance, market trends, drilling efficiency, to well production, professionals rely heavily on data to drive business decisions.
In this recent wave, the energy industry has made significant changes in processes across all sectors to adopt more and more technology and automation in hopes to achieve improved environmental, social and corporate governance outcomes as well as operational efficiencies. Greater efficiency translates to a faster ROI, which is everyone’s goal: Drilling, production, water sourcing, water midstream, disposal, etc. The ability to economically deploy technology is one of the core reasons for the United States’ surge in oil production and energy independence.
One thing that is still unique to individuals in the work place is human judgement. So far technology hasn’t been able to effectively replicate that internal process that goes on inside our head. For that reason, it becomes important to promote continued education, trainings, and the continuous adoption of skills to make your judgement processes more valuable and effective. Moving forward, automation will continue to influence our professional and personal lives. With aspirations of self-driving cars, drones, and telemedicine the world will be a very different place in ten years.We’re aiming to apply these advancements to augment, not replace, the role of our essential workers.