Emerging more efficient – separating the rhetoric from reality

Our team in the US asked regional industry leaders yesterday to remain focused on the lasting value created during the downturn.

Speaking at the Operational Excellence (OPEX) Summit in Houston, Cameron Boyd, Director of Engineering for EPS in the US, shared his views on the importance of digitalisation in oil and gas.

“It’s the collective willpower and innovation of our industry that will heighten the improved efficiencies and operational excellence that emerged during the downturn, but some of the cost reductions made won’t be sustainable”, explains Cameron. “History has taught us that we can’t simply defer or reduce spending. What will deliver long-term value are the technologies that enhance safety whilst reducing costs, and those which increase asset uptime whilst improving asset integrity.”

Speaking alongside Paul Danos, Executive Vice President of our Joint Venture partner Danos, Cameron provided the delegation with an overview of the smart operations and maintenance strategies we’re deploying to optimise asset performance.

“For decades we’ve been pushing the boundaries of asset optimisation. We’ve integrated services, optimised maintenance programmes, multi-skilled personnel, or developed central support teams – the list goes on”, continues Cameron.

“These well-established practices have created some big wins, like reducing OPEX as much as 20 percent while producing uptimes greater than 90 percent on ageing assets. Now we have an exciting opportunity for new digital technologies to revolutionise asset operations providing a step change to already efficient operations.”

The DanosPetrofac duo also demonstrated the wearable technologies we’re trialling, to connect our on-site teams with media-rich inputs and subject matter experts.

Cameron added: “The event was beneficial for everyone in attendance, as we all had the chance to assess the technology on offer, take stock, and separate the rhetoric from the reality.”