Oil and gas: back to the future

According to the Managing Director of Accenture (Australia’s Resources practice), Christophe Bourdeau, these technologies are real, and present. But industry needs to move beyond proofs of concepts and pilots to implement and scale quickly, or the golden opportunity for Australia’s oil and gas industry to be world-leading, will be lost.

“Australia is now the world’s biggest LNG exporter, but we must leverage the current position and take a bold rethink of business and operating models to ensure a successful and sustainable future,” said Bourdeau.

“With workers now connected and digitally empowered, there will be a shift in traditional, physical roles, opening up oil and gas jobs to a wider demographic. A more diverse workforce has further benefits – a smarter, more creative, more innovative and more relevant organisation.”

“With the industry key to our economy and our nation’s prosperity, oil and gas operators must implement digital technologies to transform performance from reservoir to market, at scale.”

Bourdeau said the 2019 Australasian Oil and Gas conference and exhibition (AOG) event held in Perth provides the perfect platform for industry to shape its future, engaging with our peers and partners to share ideas, innovations and push the boundaries.

“We are undoubtedly facing a raft of challenges in this digital age which are redefining the industry’s long held fundamentals; from talent shortages and demographic/skill shifts to workforce safety, environmental protection and community trust; against constant pressures to achieve sustainable growth, whilst running world class operations.”

“In tackling these complex and ever evolving challenges, energy companies in Australia must tap into the full power of these disruptive digital technologies.

“The future is now. It’s time for transformation, or industry will lose the golden opportunity we are currently presented with,” he said.

At the core of this transformation are new advances in digital technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), and robotics. When leveraged at scale, combined and fully integrated, oil and gas operators can achieve increased agility, innovation, efficiencies and speed.

“We believe this will result in a ‘connected workforce’ that is more productive, more engaged and most importantly, achieve an unprecedented level of safety.”

For Accenture, a connected oil and gas workforce will be enabled by Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, analytics and wearable technologies to enable workers to undertake tasks more securely and effectively.

Sensors and digital connectivity will enable the business to have constant situational awareness of where people are, what they’re doing, how well they’re doing it, and what environmental and operational risks they face in the often hazardous working conditions.

“This connected workforce will in turn transform maintenance processes, shutdown/turnaround, operations and capital projects, whilst forging a more diverse workforce.”

Australia’s Minister for Mines and Petroleum, the Hon. Bill Johnston, MLA, will open the 37^th annual Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition & Conference (AOG) on 13 March 2019 in Perth. This year’s event showcases industry leaders such as Woodside, Chevron, Shell, JTSI, NERA and Deloitte.

The conference will see more than 8000 industry leaders, policy makers, technical experts, innovators and educators, from 20 different countries, descend on the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre (PCEC). For three days, global decision makers will discuss the key topics facing the oil and gas industry today; including new horizons, future jobs, new energies and emerging technologies; while also enhancing the opportunities for collaboration between operators, contractors and the supply chain.

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/12032019/oil-and-gas-back-to-the-future/