Visualise a drilling engineer on a remote platform, equipped with ‘smart-glasses’. This wearable device is powered by AR technology and provides live alerts about the position of the drill bit throughout the drilling sequence, step by step workflow information and a live link to colleagues and experts around the world through voice command
According to managing director of Accenture Australia’s Resources practice; Christophe Bourdeau, these technologies are real, and present. But the industry needs to move beyond proofs of concepts and pilots to implement and scale quickly, or the golden opportunity for Australia’s oil and gas industry to be world-leading will be lost.
“Australia is now the world’s biggest LNG exporter, but we must leverage the current position and take a bold rethink of business and operating models to ensure a successful and sustainable future,” he said.
Bourdeau stated that the 2019 Australasian Oil and Gas conference and exhibition (AOG) event held in Perth provided the perfect platform for the industry to shape its future, engage with peers and partners to share ideas, innovations and push the boundaries.
“With the industry vital to our economy and our nation’s prosperity, oil and gas operators must implement digital technologies to transform performance from reservoir to market, at scale,” he explained.
He added that the industry is facing a raft of challenges in this digital age which are redefining the industry’s long-held fundamentals. From talent shortages and demographic/skill shifts to workforce safety, environmental protection and community trust; against constant pressures to achieve sustainable growth, whilst running world-class operations.
At the core of this transformation are new advances in digital technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), and robotics. When leveraged at scale, combined and fully integrated, oil and gas operators can achieve increased agility, innovation, efficiencies and speed.
“We believe this will result in a ‘connected workforce’ that is more productive, more engaged and most importantly, achieve an unprecedented level of safety,” he noted.
A connected oil and gas workforce will be enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, analytics and wearable technologies to enable workers to undertake tasks more securely and effectively.
Sensors and digital connectivity will enable the business to have constant situational awareness of where people are, what they’re doing, how well they’re doing it, and what environmental and operational risks they face in the often hazardous working conditions.
“This connected workforce will, in turn, transform maintenance processes, shutdown/turnaround, operations and capital projects, whilst forging a more diverse workforce,” he commented.
