With the public urging oil and gas industries to answer the calls for alternative energy, there’s no time like the present to mitigate environmental destruction and prioritize eco-conservation. Today, oil and gas giants are looking to stabilize prices and maximize growth while reworking tired and environmentally ruinous processes. For those rooted in the heart of the oil and gas industry, set your sights high by harnessing the high-tech innovations below.
1. SCADA systems
The oil and gas industry is turning to SCADA systems to monitor their day-to-day operations. SCADA uses hardware and software to configure automated actions, analyze real-time data, and prepare for system failures. For those industry captains looking to invest in detailed reporting and customized alerts, Telstar Instruments, an instrumentation and controls integrator, can make that vision a reality.
Using SCADA systems, gas and oil companies can access information about their assets, even in remote areas. Note that these systems don’t control the operations. Instead, SCADA systems gather, organize, and interpret data to give employees the information they need to make hesitation-free decisions.
It’s no secret that the gas and oil industry is brimming with potential dangers. SCADA monitoring systems alert employees if any dangerous situation arises. Once SCADA systems trigger notifications, employees can take necessary steps to protect themselves, the public, and the environment.
SCADA systems can monitor production data, including physical, chemical, and biological properties, to give information about quality control and energy efficiency. The systems can also help organizations see their impact on the environment by tracking emissions, waste, and pollution.
In the oil and gas industry, SCADA systems offer plenty of benefits. The systems can calculate production to help management make better decisions that impact profits. It can also provide data about pipeline integrity and other environmental impacts.
By effectively using SCADA technologies benefitting the oil and gas industry, companies can reduce their downtimes to keep prices steady. The systems can provide advanced warnings about necessary shutdowns to minimize environmental damage from human error. With SCADA systems, production improves, and costs decrease through automation and long-distance supervision.
2. Analytics and big data
The oil and gas industry is no longer leaning on speculation to find new sites for drilling. Instead, the industry has turned to big data and analytics to pinpoint new drilling sites. With 3D seismic surveys, companies disturb less land to find new oil. Oil and gas industries also look to big data to make well-informed decisions and improve other production standards.
With the help of analytics, prominent oil and gas industry decision-makers also have the power to implement better safety procedures, track production, and make improvements that protect the environment.
3. Drones and robotics
Oil and gas companies often drill for oil in dangerous, remote locations. With drone technology, companies no longer have to subject their employees to high-risk situations to inspect the machinery. Drones can scan towers, carry objects, and monitor facilities. Drones also get work done faster than humans can.
For example, oil and gas companies need to monitor pipelines routinely. Human laborers can do this with the naked eye, but it takes time to look at each square inch. Drones can perform this task in a fraction of the time, and with proper programming, they can send alerts when they detect corrosion or weaknesses.
Along with drones, oil and gas companies can use robotics to pluck human workers from dangerous situations. Robots can clean storage tanks, keeping humans out of confined spaces filled with hazardous fumes. The industry uses robots to connect and disconnect drill pipes, and they can access other confined spaces that drones and humans cannot.
4. Artificial intelligence
Industries all over the world are turning to artificial intelligence to gather and manage data. The oil and gas industry is also using artificial intelligence to predict trends and automate operations to improve the bottom line with less impact on the planet.
With artificial intelligence, oil and gas companies are finding more drilling sites with less disruption. This AI technology relies on real-time data to improve safety conditions. By predicting when and where equipment could fail and when leaks happen.
The oil and gas industry generates impressive data, and AI continues to improve how and where it is stored. Human employees can then find the data they need to make better decisions, even when working in remote locations with minimal access to technology.
5. The Internet of Things
For years, the internet has become more than a place to go shopping and read the news. The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the way businesses communicate and use the web. With IoT, the oil and gas industry communicates through online sensors giving employees all over the world instant information about pipelines, transportation, and machinery.
With the IoT, employees can monitor safety conditions by integrating sensors and machine controls. With IoT on their side, industry leaders can also track oil as it moves across highways, railroad tracks, and shipping lanes to refineries. From there, it’s only a matter of time before industry workers lock eyes on oil as it approaches its final destination: your gas pump.
Using IoT, gas and oil companies can track emissions, monitor production at plants, follow trends, and link to enterprise software. IoT gives the oil and gas industry more access to reach its customers and clients through social media channels while also opening up more business opportunities worldwide.
6. Hazards and expenses
The oil and gas industry is known for putting employees in hazardous conditions. Working in remote locations creates constant safety issues. Maintaining safety standards and expenses creates regular price fluctuations, which adds fuel to the industry’s already questionable reputation.
The industry is constantly looking for ways to reduce accidents that impact people and the environment. By doing so, it is also looking for ways to reduce expenses and keep consumer prices low. With new technology and software, the oil and gas industry can better monitor internal and external conditions to minimize price fluctuations caused by unexpected accidents.
Wrapping it up
Like other industries, oil and gas companies need to keep up with the times. With the latest technologies benefitting the oil and gas industry, companies can reduce costs, improve safety, and increase production. The benefits of innovative technology, like SCADA systems and the Internet of Things, helps the oil and gas sector improve its reputation and protect the environment.
