A Digital Journey : The Transformation of the Oil and Gas Industry

It is apparent to everyone within the Industry that significant changes are underway. These changes are being driven by the need to operate more efficiently and with fewer people. Picture a general flow of getting more for less, but on steroids! A catalyst for this change has been the application of digital technology, wherein lies a new focus on data science and analytics. This is starting to result in real and significant improvements to overall business performance for some operators. While big data and analytics get most of the attention, it is only one aspect of a broader movement that is popularly referred to as the Digital Transformation and which we have categorized as the Digital Oilfield 2.0; the next phase of the Digital Transformation. One critical aspect of the Digital Transformation that typically gets overlooked is the need for effective data management across the full Well life-cycle. The result of this lack of focus on the fundamentals is that many big data and analytics projects fail to deliver fully on the promised benefits with the occasional spectacular failure.

In this book, the authors investigate and analyze the industry and technology trends that are driving the next phase of the Digital Transformation. They break this down into the component parts and present a framework for building an effective master data management platform and organization – it is not just about the technology. Combining this framework with best practices gathered over decades in the business, the authors present an approach to building out a Digital Strategy to help companies that are struggling to define their own journey towards a Digital Transformation. Industry professionals will appreciate the authors’ approach to developing a digital strategy from the bottom up, avoiding pitfalls from the tempting short cuts, to deliver data the business needs to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. Best practices are identified from an organization, process, and technology perspective, providing insight into how companies should prepare for and begin the digital journey.