Digital technology has had a huge impact in the oilfield. But could a digital strategy drive even greater efficiencies?

1. HOW TO
BUILD A DIGITAL
OILFIELD STRATEGY
IN FOUR STEPS
GEreports

2. Oil companies today operate in a volatile environment.
Low prices are driving down revenue, and operators
are working on the narrowest of margins. Greater
productivity holds the key to survival, GE Chief
Economist Marco Annunziata argues in a recent paper.
But how to get there?

3. Annunziata says the digital oilfield — combining sensor
technology and cloud-based big-data analytics —
can meet the challenges. It delivers on the ability to
reduce unplanned downtime, increase asset
optimization and improve overall operational efficiency.

4. Past efforts with digitization in the oil industry have
not delivered on their full potential. One of the key
reasons has been a “siloed” approach to deployment
rather than a comprehensive strategy.
THE CHALLENGE?

5. A clear strategy is key to realizing the value of the
digital oilfield. We asked Ope Amosu, GE’s Senior
Commercial Development Leader for Upstream Oil and
Gas (North America), about the basic steps required
to create one. Here’s what he said:

6. STEP 1
Get Input From
Operational Staff

7. Senior leaders need to consider more than high-level
issues, such as financial benefits, when developing
digital strategy that will scale across an enterprise.
Amosu says they must also understand what new
technology means from a user point of view.

8. You need a lot of input from the
actual users of this technology to
get a true understanding of how
a business is being operated…
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9. …I think their line of sight
is the most valuable line
of sight when you are creating
a high-level strategy.
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10. STEP 2
Identify Common
Themes

11. Operations can be highly diversified within an oil
company. Developing a comprehensive strategy
should begin with identifying issues shared across
the enterprise, Amosu says.

12. It’s all about identifying common
themes. That’s where you can
really get things to resonate…
You want to build a unified baseline.
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13. Once that baseline is in place, it becomes easier
to adapt new technologies to the unique needs of
individual business units and operating environments.

14. STEP 3
Build Cross-Functional
Relationships

15. When deploying new technologies, it is vital that
technology and operations leaders share priorities,
Amosu says. Creating cross-functional teams can
foster a unified approach.

16. You need to have that cohesive
relationship between technology and
operations. They all need to have a
similar motive, something that they
are all trying to accomplish.
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17. STEP 4
Standardize
Technology

18. Standardization is becoming a strategic initiative in
many areas, Amosu says. It helps drive
greater efficiencies and operational similarities
across an enterprise.

19. This is more of a solution-based
approach versus a simple
technology-based approach
to drive an [outcome]
you’re looking for.
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20. Technological standardization also helps develop
a level of knowledge transfer and collaboration
between operators, service companies and technology
providers to improve operations.

21. GEreports