Skip to main content

Editorial comment

Back in 2016, key findings from the World Economic Forum research suggested a revenue growth of US$2.5 trillion due to digitalisation in the oil and gas sector by 2025.1 Similarly, in this year alone, Industry 4.0 spend is predicted to reach US$300 billion.2 The Fourth Industrial Revolution is said to be in full swing – but is this growth enough to support midstream operators in the long-term?


Register for free »
Get started now for absolutely FREE, no credit card required.


One mistake oil and gas companies often make is to short-cut their digital transformation by investing in new technologies without understanding the processes or data involved. Perhaps they haven’t fully quantified their goals, considered all cost-cutting options, or tested existing options on a regular basis. After all, I will always look in my wardrobe before purchasing a new item of clothing; the key is deriving value from any and all assets at one’s disposal, not just those that are new, different, or currently trending.

Since digital tools are not a magic solution to our current energy crisis, improved asset utilisation will certainly help derive more value from projects. Every pipeline, for example, has a lifecycle that begins with its construction and ends with its decommissioning – from start to finish, those who work on the project add value gradually, creating a vast and intricate volume of data. Adopting digital tools should not, therefore, mean abandoning the knowledge gleaned from manually trawling through data logs, or lessons learnt from digging trenches onsite; having this information at your disposal will save time and ultimately increase efficiency. Put simply – every bit of blood, sweat and tears is an investment.

Despite this, the importance of digitalisation alone should not be underestimated. In 2016, GE and Accenture announced that Columbia Pipeline Group (CPG) was the first company to deploy the Intelligent Pipeline Solution, a breakthrough software solution that helps operators make informed decisions around pipeline safety and integrity.3 CPG continues to maintain an enterprise-wide, near real-time view of their more than 15 000 miles of interstate pipelines, including monitoring of threats, improving risk management, and providing situational awareness. As of 2022, a digital-twin-design tool is being developed to eradicate the need for manual costing, and the same effects can be seen in predictive maintenance and pipeline monitoring. In this issue of World Pipelines, Marek Lukaszczyk, WEG, argues accordingly that whilst effective monitoring and rapid response to failure is crucial for those managing assets, it is only through digitalisation that these capabilities can be improved. You can read more about how WEG has been developing its own digital portfolio on p.16.

Whilst, for some, the biggest benefit of digitalising operations will always be the chance to increase revenue (wouldn’t we all like a slice of the AI pie), I would implore a more holistic approach; digitalisation has made work environments safer through automation, survived growing competition through diversification, decreased capital expenditure through optimisation, and so much more. The Industry 4.0 is clearly a growing market, but whilst digitalisation is driving this expansion, we cannot expect to achieve our goals (environmental, financial, or otherwise) without greater communication and collaboration with existing resources. As stated on p.14 “at a time of record high energy prices, stakeholders from across the supply chain must act creatively and collaboratively to ensure that every dollar and hour spent on capital projects and turnarounds returns best value”. You can learn more about worthwhile technology investments on p.12.

  1. www.weforum.org/reports/digital-transformation-of-industries
  2. iot-analytics.com/product/industry-4-0-smart-manufacturing-market-report-2018-2023
  3. www.ge.com/news/press-releases/ge-and-accenture-announce-columbia-pipeline-group-first-deploy-break-through