Oil & gas industry is making a rapid advancement towards the adoption of business intelligence tools powered by data analytics and artificial intelligence. The primary reason behind the rapid adoption of such business intelligence solutions and advanced analytics is the weakening economy and current slowdown in the market. The entire industry is struggling to maintain its momentum while various macro- and microeconomic factors are disrupting the business analytics worldwide.

Though the concepts like advanced analytics and business intelligence are not entirely alien to the oil & gas industry, the popularity of big data analytics and predictive maintenance tools will grow more rapidly in the near future. Leading oil & gas companies with a strong presence worldwide have already realised the value of data in consolidating their position in the market, irrespective of the declining economic health of the world.

This article discusses why advanced data analytics tools are becoming an indispensable asset for the oil & gas industry, and how the adoption of such business intelligence tools will contribute to the positive growth of stakeholders in this landscape.

Oil & Gas Industry: Entering New Decade for Growth

The global outlook of the oil & gas industry has always looked positive, despite the major price fluctuations. Risks, opportunities, headwinds and tailwinds are changing with time for the diverse oil & gas industry. The last decade of the industry was full of bullish opportunities and increasing investments, however the start of this decade does not translate into an equally optimistic scenario.

Disturbing socio-economic conditions and weakening economic growth across the entire world are giving rise to macro- and microeconomic and business-related risks in the oil & gas industry. Mainly with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, global markets are highly challenged even though the demand for oil & gas has remained steady.

Nevertheless, despite this downturn being significantly worrisome, the industry can be led towards a healthy consolidation, and capitalise on the upcoming opportunities that will be triggered when the economic problems will begin to ebb.

Data is becoming the Most Valuable Resource for the Oil & Gas Industry

Oil was considered the most valuable asset for the entire world, until the beginning of the digital era. In the Information Age, where most of the business operations take place digitally, data is emerging to replace oil as the most precious resource for most industrial areas.

“Data is the new oil” – a mathematician and architect from the United Kingdom, Clive Humby, coined the term for the first time, anticipating the rise of digitalization across all industries. Like oil is a vital natural resource, data is becoming the new inevitable natural resource – just like oil, even for the oil industry. This signifies a rapid shift in approach of businesses towards business intelligence and data analytics in the recent years.

While a majority of other industries have already commenced their digital transformation, business intelligence and digital technologies have made a foray into the oil & gas industry as well. Leading stakeholders are complementing the traditional methods of operations in the oil & gas industry with digital tools that are driven by next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The entire industry is becoming increasingly aware of the advancements in technology, especially in the field of data science. Data analytics and its tools are gaining immense adoption in the oil & gas industry, defining its journey towards growth through digital transformation. A majority of leading companies in the oil & gas industry are realising the benefits of business intelligence and data analytics in sustaining unpredictable circumstances and maintaining an edge in the market.

Not only artificial intelligence or business intelligence, but advanced data analytics is also gaining special attention from leading stakeholders of the industry. Recent discoveries and innovations in the technology of advanced data analytics for the oil & gas industry are indicating positive growth prospects through the new data analytics tools.

Advanced Data Analytics Empowering Oil & Gas Industry towards Positive Growth

Business intelligence tools and advanced analytics are enabling the oil & gas industry to capitalize completely on data – the new natural resource for the industry’s advancements into the future of artificial intelligence. However, the new predictive analytics and predictive maintenance technologies are witnessing a notably high adoption among leading market players.

Though data science has been a mature concept for the oil & gas industry, the adoption of advanced analytics and predictive maintenance tools began to witness significant adoption in the recent years. A mounting number of oil & gas companies are making a rapid shift towards the adoption of predictive analytics tools in their upstream, midstream, as well as downstream business processes. This makes it imperative for other stakeholders to understand the value and importance of operational analytics through predictive maintenance.

How Predictive Analytics and Predictive Maintenance are Boosting Oil & Gas industry

Predictive analytics and predictive maintenance are popular concepts that are used in business intelligence solutions to understand and process the information about operational conditions of various business assets including machineries and infrastructures.

In the oil and gas industry, where operational environments are usually harsh and sensitive, business intelligence tools are being used widely to catch the potential for breakdowns well in advance and optimize the operational productivity of organizations. 

Various types of advanced analytics and predictive maintenance tools enable oil & gas companies to anticipate the potential roadblocks in the growth of the industry. The adoption of advanced data analytics and predictive maintenance tools is rising significantly in the area of material handling and management across a mounting number of oil & gas companies.

With the help of predictive analytics, stakeholders can plan and schedule maintenance operations in order to avoid the disturbance in routine and disruptions due to operational shutdowns. Predictive analytics can also provide decision makers important insights on which machineries or infrastructure require major repairs and special attention.

Predictive maintenance tools make use of advanced data analytics to define automated conditions for monitoring operations and acquiring important operational statistics related to temperature, moisture, noise, vibration, and electric current among many other parameters. Predictive analytics compare these records with the pre-defined criteria and ultimately, it identifies the potential errors that may occur during the operation of machineries.

Consequently, predictive maintenance tools are witnessing incremental demand due to their contribution in identifying the capital expenditure required for new projects or upgrading of the current production capacities of the organization.