Mobility In Oil & Gas: The Mobilized Oil Fields

The Oil and gas industry knows better than most to leverage technologies to make major breakthroughs. Sugar Loaf Field in Brazil, Ghawar Oil Field in Saudi Arabia and all other big and small oil field discoveries have been possible thanks to significant progresses in technology. With sites in remotest of locations, assets spread over hundreds of miles, and people working across geographies, the industry is always in look for technology that can best cater to their requirements. Moreover, ever-increasing data gathering and analysis, real-time collaboration and operability needs constantly push companies to explore newer technology options. In the last few years or so companies engaged in oil & gas industry is increasingly banking on mobile technology to manage its complex system, smoothen information flow from remotest location and be connected all the time. Mobile devices and apps are becoming a big enabler in the industry.

Mobility adds value to the industry by

One of the major drivers behind mobility adoption in Oil & Gas industry is necessity of data and information flow. The field personnel can capture and send data from remote locations using their handheld devices, enable analysis at workstations and ensure regular information flow across the chain. Mobile also supports real-time operability thereby providing greater visibility across the processes and infrastructure and helping decision makers react to an evolving situation. Mobile technology also enables location based information which is a prime necessity in an asset intensive industry stretched over large areas. Smartphones and apps also help collaboration between a large numbers of people dispersed across geographies.

Areas where mobile apps are making an impact

• Production Control: Oil and Gas are using mobile apps for well-testing work flows. From identification of oil-wells, capturing & analyzing data for drilling and pulling to helping personnel conduct physical measurements and production analysis, mobile applications are enabling on-the spot decision making for field personnel.
• Asset Management: Mobile apps for asset management in oil & gas industry are helping companies in better tracking and scheduling of deployed assets. The store asset information is accessible to employees on the move on their mobile device. The application also allows employees to update inventory records, view locations of items and plan maintenance for it.
• Field Maintenance: Mobile apps for field maintenance are easing the jobs of inspection and maintenance. With the application on their device, the maintenance team gets access to maintenance tasks and work order, raises alerts, report defects and problems and register completion of work.
• Security and Compliance: The industry requires stringent, regular security & compliance audits to conduct. Oil & Gas companies are using mobile apps to quicken-up and well-coordinate the audit process. From checklists, planning schedules to assigning work-orders, incident reporting and preparing reports, mobile is considerably easing the entire process
• Retail Operations: Mobile applications are not only used in explorations and productions but also in retail and distribution. Oil & gas companies are building apps for dealer engagement and management. On the customer-facing side, most companies are using mobile apps for meter reading, bill generation & payment and outage reporting.

In future, with the more pronounced usage of other mobile enabling technologies like M2M and Augmented Reality, the industry will have more to do with mobility. The miniature devices are set to play a crucial role in the industry in times to come.