The development and implementation of “smart” technologies has been underway for well over a decade in the upstream sector.

But it emerged as the commonest thread in opinions expressed by experts exclusively canvassed in this month’s cover feature on what they see as the technology solutions that represent the best potential for overcoming the challenges facing the E&P sector today.

The digital oilfield and intelligent energy solutions are now part of our day-to-day business. But although it’s increasingly being applied throughout the value chain, several of the experts E&P polled—and others E&P quotes from relevant studies also recently released—feel the industry has barely scratched the surface in terms of what can be done.

BP’s head of upstream technology, Ahmed Hashmi, refers to digitization as an “emerging field” that can safely reduce costs and help achieve maximum performance. But he stresses that we need to look beyond our own business to learn about and put in place systems that can better tell us what is going on downhole and in the reservoir.

Chris Rittler, CEO of ABB Wireless, flags up the overall lack of modern network connectivity in the field. Leading players have begun to treat data as company assets, he said, adding that if companies are truly planning to do more with less by using timely data to operate and reduce downtime, the infrastructure that delivers access to those data become even more valuable and need to be up to the job if operators are to achieve “leaner, meaner upstream operations.”

Better use of Big Data to achieve improved efficiency and performance is a challenge also highlighted by Dr. Chris Freeman, director of field development at io Oil & Gas Consulting. Despite capturing more data, the ability of most companies to effectively implement learnings from it is less advanced, he said, and more needs to be done to build teams with the necessary skills to develop systems that can properly interrogate data.

Mark Linton, technology and innovation director at Wood Group Kenny, agreed. Focusing on better standardization and simplification of subsea production systems, he pointed out that “recently the amount of data has increased exponentially, and companies must further develop systems to provide robust analytic tools to make appropriate decisions.”

These insights back up an illuminating figure in one survey by Lloyd’s Register Energy, which revealed that 61% of its respondents agreed that their ability to collect and analyze data will be critical to the overall performance of the business over the next two years.

Seems to me the writing is on the wall for all upstream companies—embrace the digital world fully or get left behind by your rivals in the evolutionary race while natural selection takes its course.

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