Oil and gas industry threats to drive $15.6bn digital transformation

Companies within the oil and gas sector will spend $15.6 billion on digital tools to address industry challenges and align operations with changing business models, according to a new report released by ABI Research.

The report, Digital Transformation in the Oil and Gas Markets, states that companies will through 2030 increase investments in digital transformation to address commercial, operational, and existential threats, as well as align business models with changing climate action regulation.

With digital tools, oil and gas companies can analyse the condition of transmission and distribution pipes, prepare for changes in oil and gas prices, plan sustainability strategies and ensure an increasing amount of renewables capacity is integrated into grids and provided to consumers.

Michael Larner, industrial and manufacturing principal analyst at ABI Research said: “Safety and Security are top priorities for Oil & Gas operators. Data analytics allied with IoT platforms have become essential to identifying issues ahead of time such as pipeline degradation, wellhead performance, and pollution from gas flares. Increasingly, however, network security is rapidly becoming a concern for both the C-suite and Governments.”

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The study states that spending on security services within the sector will increase by 8.1% between 2021 and 2030 to reach $5640 million per annum.

Spending on IoT devices and applications is expected to reach over $5 billion whilst spending on data analytics approaches $2 billion.

Larner commented on the effect of the cyber-attack on the Colonial Pipeline: “The problem for firms is that even spending unlimited amounts to secure networks and assets will not provide 100 percent security as attackers only need one error to cause havoc.

“The role of technology is evolving from helping Oil and Gas firms monitor their large, complex, and dangerous operations to helping them optimize their facilities to handle the volatility in their operating environments.”

Find out more about the study.