The Importance of Automation in the Oil and Gas Industry
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OG companies can leverage automation in every aspect of their operations and business, from drilling to setting oil prices. In this short article, we will take a look at some applications and benefits of automation in the Oil and Gas industry.
What is automation?
Automation refers to making operations, systems, or processes run automatically without human input or intervention. In the oil and gas industry, automation is underutilized (compared to other sectors) due to resistance to adopting new technology, regulation compliance, and other issues. For comparison, the automation market size in the banking industry is $64 billion, while for the oil and Gas sector is $17.5 billion as of 2022. Automation works with pre-existing technologies in the Oil and Gas to improve efficiency, save cost and establish proactive protocols for changes or incidents. Here are some automation technologies that O&G companies can take leverage.
IoT: IoT refers to the internet of things. With this system, smart devices with sensors can communicate with each other, sharing relevant field data and keeping you up to date on all your assets. IoT technology can help reduce the occurrence of incidents and improve the pipeline inspection process and ensure compliance.
Robot process automation: Robots can automate basic, time-consuming tasks.- this can reduce the workload on your staff and improve efficiency. RPA combined with AI can further handle more complex tasks that would require human judgment.
Workload automation: workload automation (WL) provides a set of tools that can trigger the execution of a task to reduce downtime and improve efficiency.
Machine learning: Machine learning is a process where software learns like a human through repeated interactions with multiple data sets. Machine learning is indispensable for predictive analysis and can help identify problems in your assets before incidents occur.
Importance or benefits of automation.
Software tools that automate and improve efficiency in Oil and Gas companies no doubt have immense benefits. Let us look at some of them.
Improved data integration.
Automation can improve speed in your pipeline data platforms and efficiency when dealing with data optimization and integration by eliminating human error and downtime.
Saves time.
With technologies like a digital twin to an organization (DTO), companies can duplicate established systems or processes for simulation and performance evaluation.
Streamlined operations and improved efficiency.
Pipeline data automation eliminates redundancy, saves time, and affords companies resources to pursue other productive ventures.
Reduction in maintenance cost.
Predictive analysis ensures that compares are up to date about the status of their assets and implement changes when due before they break down or reduce output.
Increased production.
Automation can boost production, reduce operational and maintenance costs and increase revenue.