Digitisation is a hot topic within the oil and gas sector. It is the topic at every conference and briefing but it is hard to judge how well it is being adopted and whether the sector is deriving the promised benefits. Seeking some insider knowledge, I caught up with two experts – Scott Lehmann, vice president of product management and marketing at Petrotechnics and Richard Ward, senior manager for data science and digital in oil and gas at McKinsey Energy Insights – to gauge their opinions. Don’t believe the hype There has been so much hype, publicity, and promise around digitization but is it justified? According to Ward if you judge it by the amount of marketing going on, yes. “Nearly every oil major, plus many independents are looking at the technology stack and evaluating their options,” he says. “The financial sector has gone over to the cloud – that’s pretty much convinced everyone.”

Lehmann is in firm agreement with that sentiment, although he did add a caveat. “New technology is a tool, it’s not the solution in itself,” he explains. “For example, just expecting analytics to magically provide insight and connect the dots is a first-class ticket to disillusionment. “Any time there’s hype like this, you have to keep a level head. Digitalisation is not a sure-fire salvation. You can’t just spend money, plug it in and expect results. It isn’t going to change your business fundamentals by itself.” MORE FROM FORBES Digitisation is not an overnight project, but Ward is convinced the time is right. “Organisations are ready for it, they haven’t done any real technology projects for a long time, they’re tired of cost-cutting, and this could dramatically transform their business,” he adds. Impacting business models Digitisation is already having an impact on operating models […]