PTQ Q3 2022 Issue

time, and they know all too well that just bringing it back up again is likely to have a significant cost impact. In other words, refiners tend to be very sensitive to lost opportunity and margin. For oil and gas companies, including downstream refin - ers, it remains difficult today to get this kind of overview from the data they have at their disposal. They need to have all the information there, but they also need to have it avail- able in a timely way to make fast decisions. The speed and accuracy at which information is relayed is critically important, but there are several other factors to consider. If, for example, an asset holds its own information in the form of telemetry and the structure of that data is not in line with the structure of the maintenance information collected, then it may be a challenge for the business con- cerned to reconcile those disparate pieces of data to make one decision. The single phrase resonating more than any other in the industry now is energy security: the ability to keep operations up and running and secure the supply of energy They also need to ask themselves whether all the infor - mation they require is in the same or disparate systems, and reconciliation between each of these is therefore needed. Furthermore, a large refinery that operates on a global scale often finds it very difficult to clearly structure all the information it has at its disposal. Often, various sites will have different processes in place, disparate data structures, siloed information sources, and different ways of perform- ing maintenance and operating their assets. Reconciling across the organisation to better understand supplier efficiency or contract management, for example, is likely to be difficult. It is going to be challenging indeed to aggregate all this information to ensure the refinery has a clear view of the performance of any asset across cost, reliability, efficiency, and operations to then decide whether to spend more money on it or decommission it, for example. Multiple factors playing into the choice Many large organisations have reached the stage where they are aware of the problem they face, but they are strug- gling to put in place a solution. It is difficult, not least because of the sheer range of factors playing into the choice. It is a very turbulent time within the energy sector now. Prices are volatile, and there is regular merger and acquisition activity. If you divest an organisation and then bring another in, it is difficult to do that quickly. The business is dealing with a lot of dynamic activity while at the same time trying to turn large transformation programmes around. The current geopolitics we are seeing around the world also play into this situation. Less than a year ago, for exam - ple, many oil and gas companies were decommissioning assets in the North Sea. Now they are reconsidering this

and looking at options to extend. The single phrase reso - nating more than any other in the industry now is energy security: the ability to keep operations up and running and secure the supply of energy. Governments are increasingly putting pressure on national companies to help secure energy for the country for the next ten years. They will then put them in a position where they need to say that they must invest their assets in the right way to make sure production is staying on stream. They will have to be thinking ahead in terms of keeping the current assets running or expanding and investing in them to get the most from them and drive efficiencies. That is especially key in this new environment, where we are seeing a move away from decommissioning and a move towards extending the life of refineries. Previously, refineries were being shut down because fewer were needed for supply. Today, that is no longer the case. Organisations are looking for security of supply and to extend the life of assets. It is critically important that refineries can focus on this and keep their operations up and running. Any refinery downtime because of poor asset performance is likely to have significant negative impacts. There are very slim mar - gins for error here. But again, it raises the ongoing question: how does the refinery know where to invest and what to do? Technology is key Technology will undoubtedly play a critical role in delivering this. Having one view of the truth across not only the asset but multiple dimensions, including cost, reliability, perfor- mance, and resource efficiency, is key. Overlaying all these areas, safety, compliance, and environmental performance are highly important too. Each of these activities must be done safely and in a way that does not adversely impact the environment. All the large oil and gas companies are looking to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption. Together, these pres - sures put even more emphasis on the quality of information and highlight just how important a goal it is for oil and gas companies to achieve. Ultimately, the technological solution that is delivered needs to be simple. There is a need to land on one digi - tal core, one enterprise solution, and to use one supply chain that supports resource management and finance, for example. All these different aspects are interlinked, and when it comes to looking at asset performance, they must be har- monised. The only way businesses will be able to do that is to simplify the technology that supports these processes. Many large organisations still have disparate technolo- gies or processes in place. These need to be rationalised. Otherwise, they will struggle to have that quality of infor - mation or the ability to drive efficiencies. Of course, that becomes even more difficult for compa - nies if they are going through mergers and acquisitions, for example, bringing in different technology sets from various organisations and subsequently having to harmonise them. But oil and gas companies, including refiners, increasingly

PTQ Q3 2022