4 EnergyTHE PRESS AND JOURNALOctober 2017

Digitisation – def. The process ofchanging from analog to digital form.Digitalisation – def. The use of

digital technologies to change a busi-ness model and provide new revenueand value producing opportunities.With the effect of this year’s hurri-

cane season still being felt through-out the US, its impact on critical oiland gas infrastructure was immedi-ate; catastrophic in some circum-stances, and it will undoubtedly becostly to repair. While we can’t pre-dict when and where hurricanes willstrike long term, nor can we forecastwind and wave ferocity, we couldhowever combine lots of informationfrom a wide variety of sources andthen incorporate it into a digitalisa-tion programme to better plan forthese extreme yet periodic weatherevents and offer our energy assetinfrastructure greater protection.

As the operational performanceand reliability of production assetscan reduce over time as assets age,often significantly beyond their origi-nal design life, the physical impact oninfrastructure caused not only bydaily weathering butmost notably byheightened natural disasters, canhave a material impact on the viabil-ity of the infrastructure. However, bydigitising collated historic records,then combining the often-disparatedigital datasetswithweather records,Calash are be able to run more accu-rate simulationmodelling, having aneffect on, at the very least, inspection,repair and maintenance workload,insurance premiums, life of fieldmanagement, andHSEmanagement.For example, the digitalisation of

shallowwater subsea pipelines in theGulf of Mexico where we combineinformation on pipelines and theiroperational characteristics withother data provided by our clientsown in house data sets, public datasuch as nearby vessel activity by type(for example, fishing vessels dragginganchors), soil conditions, seabed

topography and wave action on theseabed, would begin to identify pipe-lines thatmay be susceptible to integ-rity damage. The same approachcould be adopted for all other assetsusing appropriate measurements.Rarely is this interpretation of com-bined data carried out unfortunately,resulting in higher costs associatedwith major repairs or replacement.In our often complex oil and gas

supply chain, operators and servicecompanies alike collect key pieces ofthe data puzzle individually, and forfear of competition or unless of directbenefit to them or remuneratedsomehow, are reluctant to share thisinformation. In our experience theyoften don’t recognise the value of theinformation they have within theirorganisation and how it could helpothers and also, help themselves.Having reviewed a large number of

companies, Calash is often requestedto provide help to maximise our cli-

ent’s commercial opportunities. Inorder to achieve this, one of the bestenablers is sourcing informationoften regularly foundwithin the com-panies themselves. Digitalising theinformation allows it to interact withother disparate information sources,and the collation and sharing of thisnewunique datawithin the organisa-tion often leads to significant com-mercial gain.Equally, if companies holding his-

toric and current data on an assetwere to digitise it – allowing it to becollated and interpreted against oth-ers – then the value of each piece ofdata will undoubtedly rise. By havingan open book approach to data, evenif not all parties see an immediatebenefit, then the industry at largemost certainly would. For example,readily accessible, digitalised datacould improve benchmarking, datainterpretation effectiveness, compo-nent standardisation, procurement

efficiency, inventory stock levels, staffshortages, training standards, barri-ers to entry and so on.Management and interpretation of

big data is already here and deliver-ing value across our industry, butthere is a lotmorewe can do through-out the supply chain, so next time youcome across some interesting infor-mation, consider if there is value indigitising it, making it accessible firstthroughout your own organisation,and then with your supply chain. Ifyou’re not sure if there is any value inwhat you have or what to do with it,ask us. It will more likely than notlead to positive change and will ulti-mately help not only your own organ-isation, but our industry overall.

■Calash is an energy and naturalresources commercial and strategicspecialist consultancy, with offices inHouston, Aberdeen, New York, London,and Sydney

Digitalisationandbig datacouldhelptoweatherfuture storms

Majorhurricanessince2005,whichhaveaffected theGulf ofMexicoand its infrastructure, bystrengthandseverityNEW TECHNOLOGY

EwenMacLean

Maersk chief executive to leavefirmafter acquisitionbyTotalMaersk Oil has confirmed that itschief executivewill leave the businessonce its acquisition by Total goesthrough.The company said Gretchen Wat-

kins would stay on until the dealcompletes in the first quarter of 2018,before going on to “pursue othercareer opportunities”.Ms Watkins joined Maersk Oil as

chief operating officer in January

2014 and has been chief executivesince October 2016.She said: “This has been a difficult

decision forme. I couldn’t be prouderof the way Maersk Oil has success-fully navigated what I believe willcome to be judged as historicallychallenging conditions for the indus-try, emerging as a high performingbusiness.“I remain firmly committed to

leading the safe and successful deliv-ery of our business performance untildeal closure, alongside overseeing asmooth pre-integration process, aswe take the business into new owner-ship.”Maersk Oil’s current chief operat-

ing officerMartin Rune Pedersenwillbecome vice-president of Total’s oper-ations in Norway, Denmark and theNetherlands.MaerskOil’sGretchenWatkinswill pursueotheroportunities in thenewyear

SPOTLIGHT

OSCC is the only annual, global event focused entirely on safety and competency in oil and gas.This year’s theme is New Generation, New Thinking

The free to attend event is being held onWednesday November 8th 2017at The Royale Chulan hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Registration is open: www.opito.com/oscc-registration