In 2023, Salam Al-Rbeawi published ‘A review of modern approaches to digitalisation in the oil and gas industry’. Three years on, it remains highly relevant.
In this blog, we look at the key takeaways from the paper and explore how platforms like EnergySys can support the petroleum industry in managing data more effectively.
What digitalisation really means.
Digitalisation is now widely defined as the use of modern digital technologies to drive meaningful business improvement. This includes:
- Improving customer experience.
- Streamlining operations.
- Enabling new business models.
In the petroleum industry, digitalisation focuses on using technology to manage data across upstream, midstream, and downstream operations in a more connected way.
When done well, digitalisation helps organisations:
- Improve efficiency.
- Reduce losses and costs.
- Increase workforce productivity.
- Support better, faster decision-making.
Rather than being a future ambition, digitalisation is increasingly a priority for companies looking to optimise performance and remain competitive.
The benefits of digitalisation in practice.
Introducing digital tools and platforms can significantly improve operational efficiency while reducing cost, risk, and environmental impact.
Many organisations still rely heavily on traditional tools such as Excel to collect and analyse large volumes of data. While spreadsheets can act as a single source of truth, they are often fragile, difficult to scale, and hard to govern.
This is where modern computing technologies, such as cloud platforms, add value. They enable real-time processing, advanced analytics, and robust data models that help teams:
- Calibrate production environments.
- Optimise asset performance.
- Maximise field output.
By collecting, analysing, and using large datasets more effectively, digital solutions can create accurate digital representations of physical assets and processes.
Data transfer and data sharing are also critical. Integrated data platforms improve collaboration across the oil and gas ecosystem, helping teams work from the same information and make more confident decisions.
What digitalisation looks like in oil and gas.
The petroleum industry is facing significant change, including geopolitical conflicts, changing trade and pricing policies, supply and demand shifts, and AI adoption. As a result, digitalisation is no longer optional. For many organisations, the challenge is not whether to digitalise, but how.
Digitalisation initiatives are often described using different terms, including:
- Digital Field (DF).
- Digital Oilfield (DOF).
- Integrated Operations (IO).
- Asset Optimisation (AO).
- Smart Field.
- i-Field.
- Asset Integrated Management.
While the terminology varies, the underlying goal is the same: better use of data to improve performance.
Configurable cloud platforms, like EnergySys, work with your existing data, spreadsheets, and processes. It removes the fragility of Excel and avoids the rigidity of black-box software, without forcing you into a completely new way of working.
The next step.
Digital transformation is becoming a necessity for the oil and gas industry, not a choice.
By adopting the right digital platform, organisations can improve control, increase resilience, and unlock more value from their data.
Discover how EnergySys can support your digitalisation journey and help you build solutions that fit your business today and adapt for the future.
