Oil and gas companies not ready for big data

Major oil and gas companies risk missing out on the performance potential data and big data offer unless they better manage their information, according to Molten research. The oil and gas management consultancy state that many oil and gas companies are ‘borderline irresponsible’ in how they maintain their existing data, despite the billions they spend on it. Better valued and managed data will afford executives and investors greater certainty on strategically important measurements crucial to executive decision making, such as the Reserve Replacement Ratio (RRR).

The scale of the issue is considerable given that each year typical major oil and gas companies will invest between one and three billion dollars in data acquisition – a significant sum even for a sector where big numbers are commonplace. Yet the annual spend on maintaining this asset is low – often significantly lower than one per cent of the acquisition cost. 

Colin Frost, partner at Molten Group, said: “Companies within the oil and gas sector face increasing pressure to make quick, effective decisions if they are to maintain production momentum and high levels of performance. As a consequence, they are becoming highly dependent on data, and more recently big data, to support these critical decisions. Paradoxically, recognising the value of this data and the need to manage it as a valuable asset is not so widely accepted at an executive level. Unchecked, the relationship is one that could possibly lack reward and, at worst, prove unsustainable.”

With technology driving data growth at an exponential rate, oil and gas companies need to be prepared to receive and manage big data alongside considerable existing pools of information, if they are to harness its potential to fuel superior performance. 

With the Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) that promote projects into production leaning on critical data and high level metrics, it is vital the information that underpins these decisions is well maintained. The report advocates that to be better prepared for the growth in data companies must formalise data governance and adopt better data management processes.

By Shané Schutte

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