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Technology, Strategy & People:
Becoming a Digital Oil & Gas
Company
Digital initiatives must deliver short-term results, but they
should also align with a longer-term strategic plan
Riccardo Bertocco, Lodewijk de Graauw, Dmitry Naberezhnev
Bain’s Global Oil & Gas Practice
Although most oil and gas companies 11% earnings growth across the value chain, with
are closely focused on preserving most of the cost savings upstream. One integrated
margins to weather the low-price oil company managed to save about 10% on unit
storm, many are also looking ahead costs by digitizing a remote offshore operations
and thinking about how digital center. Another reduced operating costs per
technologies and data analytics will barrel by about 10% and improved recoverability
transform their industry. of reserves by applying selective applications in
Of course, analytics are not new to oil and gas. intelligent oilfields through collective computing
Unlike other industries that are enjoying a sudden and sharing real-time information at all company
embrace of analytic benefits, energy companies levels.
have long depended on rich pools of data to
discover and better understand the potential in Unlike other industries that are enjoying
their reservoirs and other production opportunities. a sudden embrace of analytic benefits,
Even so, most have yet to capture the full potential energy companies have long depended
of their data because they haven’t been able to on rich pools of data to discover and
generate actionable insights or make better and understand the potential in their reservoirs
faster decisions based on data.
and other production opportunities
That will change as oil and gas companies
upgrade their digital capabilities and improve the Even so, few have undertaken a structured and
way they connect these insights to their operating holistic approach to identifying which digital
model. We expect to see dramatic cost savings technologies can help create long-term sustainable
and significant improvements in productivity and advantage. Most of today’s digital initiatives don’t
revenue. Cisco estimates companies could see seek to disrupt operating or business models.
Instead, companies are making improvements in
technical or operational capabilities. These include
predictive maintenance, completed analysis on
wells and using geological data from similar oilfields
to build geophysical models and choose drilling
patterns.
One reason for this incremental approach is that
there is already a large, untapped potential in
existing data, which companies can use to generate
new insights with advanced analysis techniques.
Another is that most companies aren’t ready for a
big transformation because they lack the people,
processes and capital required to make it happen.
Challenges to going digital
Given the challenging economics of the day, oil
and gas companies need to put their investments
Impiantistica Italiana - Luglio-Agosto 2016 63
