Leveraging IoT Benefits in Multiple O&G Segments
According to McKinsey, IoT provides a total economic impact of $11.1 trillion by the end of the year 2025. Also, with the total economic impact of $930 billion from the O&G sector in the coming 10 years, the industry is on the move to transform itself with IoT technology.
All thanks to the Internet of Things and digital innovation that enable the oil and gas sector to undergo huge changes. In the oil and gas industry, the advantages of implementing IoT applications lie in integrating well-structured deployment strategies for value-based results. The Internet of Things technology allows the industry to potentially increase efficiency and amplify profits.
The technological advances like IoT applications and concepts help the managers to supervise and carry out complex supply chain processes smoothly. Moreover, these tech solutions are innated with automation and smart techniques when it comes to enhancing communications and addressing the industrial challenges. The oil and gas companies are significantly utilizing digital advancements to gain a competitive edge over other rival firms. O&G industry constitutes a wide segmented area where you can implement IoT applications and gain the most profitability. Let’s discuss some of those areas.
IoT Applications in Multiple O&G Segments
· Fleet Management
Leveraging a fleet monitoring solution to track the supply chain activities offers better safety and favorable conditions while transporting oil and gas products. With an IoT-powered fleet monitoring solution, the authorities can avail crucial data assistance. The solution comprises sensors that are installed on the fleet vehicle, which capture accurate data like tire pressure, vehicle’s working condition, fuel efficiency, and requirements, etc. IoT technology, when added with the fleet segment of your oil and gas industry, streamlines the entire supply chain functioning with a data-driven approach and instant alerts on mishaps. This involves maximum safety conditions for the driver as well as the transited products.
· Pipeline Monitoring
The use of pipelines is the major means of supplying petroleum products like fossil fuels, chemicals, gases, and other hydrocarbon fluids. However, the main challenge arises when it comes to monitoring this widespread distribution network. Thus, the experts are now using technical concepts to conduct periodic checks and maintenance. Also, statistically, 7.1% growth is estimated in the pipeline monitoring system market from 2019 to 2024. IoT solutions like oil/fuel theft, gas monitoring, level monitoring are some of the essential methods to implement with your O&G business. These solutions are equipped with advanced sensors that are installed on the pipelines to extract real-time pressure data, liquid or gas flow information, identify leakage areas, and many more. This helps in analyzing the potential pipeline defects that require immediate repairs.
· Machine Monitoring
Huge machines in the oil and gas sector are the main assets for production. Drill collars, connectors, different kinds of tubes, hang off collars, and other exploration tools are some of the few examples of machinery used in the O&G sector. However, just installing the machines is not enough to gain desirable production; the managers need to perform regular monitoring to stay aware of the machine’s performance. IoT technology is programmed to perform analysis for these gigantic types of machinery. Using advanced sensors to interconnect the equipment and fetching regular data that helps in detecting repairable areas is one of the major jobs of IoT as a machine monitoring application. Fetching data through these sensors and processing it for future analysis helps the authorities to make better decisions.
Some Other IoT Benefits in the Oil and Gas Industry
The plummeting prices of petroleum products increase the need for implementing new-gen IoT technology for optimizing industrial operations and generate ROI. Since the global IoT market in the oil and gas sector is expected to reach $39.4 billion by the end of the year 2023, IoT applications are carrying out regular operations and resulting in better productivity. Rising at a CAGR of 24.17% from 2018 to 2023, IoT technology is facilitating the O&G industry with unique and innovative concepts like real-time system tracking, bettering supply chain operations, etc. Therefore, leveraging these benefits in multiple O&G segments offers improvement in the machinery functioning, enhancing the plant’s efficiency, and much more.
Here are some other benefits that you can avail by IoTizing the oil and gas sector.
· Asset Tracking
Combining the abilities of sensor devices and the existing O&G infrastructure simplifies the tasks of authorities and gives them potential managerial roles to boost the plant’s productivity. IoT facilitates the industry with real-time asset tracking, no matter if the equipment is remotely located. The Internet of Things technology applications comprises a versatile one-platform dashboard for the managers to keep a consistent check on the plant’s performance. This allows better management of the assets and offers huge benefits to the plant managers.
· Predictive Maintenance
The majority of the industrial dollars are spent on maintaining and repairing the malfunctioned equipment and other assets. IoT technology incorporates advanced analytics methods that significantly helps in huge cost savings. For instance, BP is utilizing the predictive maintenance strategy to potentially increase the equipment uptime and maximize productivity. This clearly helps in anticipating all the possibilities of equipment failure and generates alert for the authorities to perform periodic inspections. Hence, predictive maintenance involves forecastable alerts that enable improved decision-making for the industry.
The advancing sensor technology is enabling stronger asset interconnectivity in the oil and gas industry to increase the management potential with real-time monitoring on a large scale. Also, the development of IoT technology is facilitating advanced data analytics, better visualization tools, convenient dashboards that help the managers to track operations easily on their smart gadgets. IoT is thus empowering all the segments of the O&G industry with its high-end applications and making it easier for the employees to supervise huge types of machinery through a single platform.
