Data to play an increasingly important role in the oil & gas industry

Experts at the 2021 Gastech exhibition stated that data will prove to be a key factor in unlocking the full potential of the oil and gas industry, especially as it moves towards a more sustainable future.

Running until Thursday, Gastech 2021 will feature three days of influential discussions that will enable the gas, LNG, hydrogen, and energy industry to engage face-to-face with the challenges of environmental agendas, leveraging technology and new ways of working to match changing market requirements.

Christopher Hudson, president of dmg events, the organisers of Gastech, said that the event will address the hard facts about the transition to net-zero carbon emissions and the enormous challenge the industry, regulators and end users will have to embrace to meet the commitments of the Paris Accord on climate change mitigation and in drawing up the roadmap to a carbon neutral and sustainable future.

“At the same time, Gastech’s exhibition will showcase the latest digital technology and solutions that will positively impact gas, LNG, hydrogen, and energy industry operations for years to come.”

Peter Weckesser, chief digital officer at Schneider Electric, said,

“Technology is continuing to play a bigger and bigger role,”

“When we think of technology, there is a lot of talk around data and we often hear the term that data is the new oil. Data will play an increasingly important role in the oil and gas industry, and we at Schneider Electric are committed to that. What will be important in the digital transformation of the industry is the ability to collect data efficiently and then to derive smart decisions out of that data.”

There are multiple technologies which are being used to achieve this, he explained. Chief among these technologies is Artificial Intelligence.

“AI is an emerging technology that takes advantage of all the technologies of data collection and then really creates insights into that collected data at scale. This allows decision makers to make better data-driven decisions. What is really required is a combination of skills to properly utilise AI to its best level of benefits at scale.”

When asked about the shift towards sustainability in the industry, Weckesser said that Schneider Electric embarked on its sustainability journey around 10 years ago.

“We want to utilise the capabilities that we have to help our customers move towards more sustainable solutions in their day to day operations. We all know that we need to be using less energy in the future, and the energy itself needs to be re-consumed more efficiently. One key element will be creating the right level of transparency in our energy production and energy consumption and the whole carbon footprint that is created along the lifecycle of a product or an application.”

He added:

“In many industries, digital transformation is only in its beginning stages. We really believe that sustainability and digital are two sides of the same coin; they have to go hand in hand and digital will be one of the key enablers to drive a more sustainable future, not just in oil and gas, but in other industries as well.”

News Source: Khaleej Times