SUSTAINABILITY

6 Process your data

Much like oil, data is useless until its refined. That’s where today’s advanced data analytics and machine learning algorithms come in.

These tools can sift through vast amounts of geological and seismic data. The insights they produce can improve reservoir characterization and optimise drilling operations.

The current boom in AI tools may well prove to be a pivotal moment in the energy sector’s sustainability mission. You’ve probably heard a lot of chatter in recent months about the potentials of ChatGPT to upend fields like media and software development. But this field of technology has similarly transformative ramifications for the energy sector.

AI models can analyse wave action and stress on oil rig assets, seismic data, production history, and reservoir characteristics. This near-immeasurable mass of data points is then moulded into simulations of future output. By inferring the hidden patterns in dense data that humans can’t spot, AI could blaze a trail for sustainable energy.

7 Change the extraction energy mix

No software application will ever turn oil and gas into renewable resources. But digital acceleration programmes can mitigate the environmental stress of their extraction.

Most upstream projects are themselves fuelled by the kind of hydrocarbons they are set up to extract. But advances in battery technology mean that wind, solar and wave power sources are now capable of powering rigs.

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) gets a sceptical hearing from some quarters. Yet few commentators have quite appreciated the efficiency boost that contemporary data analytics frameworks can bring to this crucial prong of decarbonisation. When fed to automation systems, the performance insights generated by machine learning algorithms allow CCUS systems to become self-optimising. As these capabilities are rolled out further, we may see carbon capture rates rise with them.

8 Work on your people’s skills

All this can only happen with the right know-how. Drilling engineers may, quite understandably, not be well-versed in data management best practice. But to pull off a successful digital acceleration programme, the whole organisation should have some familiarity with what’s going on. That requires an institutional mindset of continuous learning.

You can upskill employees in core digital acceleration technologies and principles by collaborating with educational institutions and industry partners. Rather than mandatory tick-box exercises that employees mindlessly click through to get back to what they’re doing, courses should inspire employees to engage with the rationale behind the project.

9 Use digital to stay compliant

More and more national governments are moving towards enshrining Net Zero targets in law This makes complying with a constantly variegating mass of regulation increasingly onerous. One happy byproduct of adopting digital technologies is that they can take much of the hard work out of this obligation.

The data acquisition and analytics capabilities you’ve cultivated along your digital acceleration journey will make environmental monitoring and reporting significantly easier. The environmental standards built into most of the new technologies you’re likely to adopt should also bring down the average environmental impact of your operation as a whole.

10 Find your place in the energy ecosystem

To paraphrase John Donne, no company is an island (even if its rigs are). Every organisation in this space exists alongside and leans on other entities, large and small. These include service providers, technology companies, governments, and, of course, other energy producers.

There’s a lot of knowledge to go around, and your path to Net Zero will only become smoother by tapping into it. Form partnerships and build bridges wherever you can; when it comes to technology adoption, expertise is everything.

Let’s go for green

Digital acceleration is hard, exacting work. But the chance it offers the oil and gas industry to transform its environmental impact is reason enough to start immediately.

This project will require precise technical know-how that not every organisation will have at hand. That’s where Endava can help.

Our teams of engineers, analysts and consultants have joined forces with some of the world’s top energy producers, wholesalers, and retailers. We’ve worked with them to integrate technologies and principles like AI, machine learning, UX, predictive analytics and cloud compute. As a result, they’re not just leaner; they’re greener too.

We’re ready to help you define and execute a technology strategy that will secure your contribution to a more just and sustainable future. Let’s connect.