Offshore staff
HOUSTON– A Lloyd’s Register survey of exhibitors at this year’s OTC revealed that more than 43% of respondents consider adoption of new technologies including additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) and the use of unmanned robotics to be the primary issue.
Using new technologies from other industries (17%); better collaboration within the industry (16%); data rationalization and interpretation techniques (13%); and education initiatives for graduates and new industry entrants (11%), were also seen to be important issues.
Lloyd’s Register reports the industry needs to focus on collaborating and increasing the interconnected global network of knowledge across the oil and gas and marine industries.
Teril Smith, senior vice president of Lloyd’s Register Energy, said: “It is widely accepted that excellence through innovation is key to safe and profitable growth across industry – and that collaboration can accelerate the development of innovative new technologies to help support better and cheaper ways of extracting and supplying energy.”
According to its annual 2015-16 Oil & Gas Technology Radar survey, which researches the latest opinion of oil and gas executives across the world, “operational efficiency” is now the top driver for innovation investment.
“Improving access to potential reserves” and “increasing the life span of assets” also rated highly as innovation drivers this year compared to the previous 12 months. This suggests that as well as lowering the bottom line, companies are looking to increase the top line by extracting maximum value from resources.
The company says its role in developing partnerships between industry and academia is important to help nurture collaboration and innovation. Its Global Technology Centre in Singapore is driving research in to how data can be used to improve integrity; the use of unmanned aerial systems for faster and cost-effective inspection; and its joint industry projects such as the role additive manufacturing can have in the manufacture of quality engineered components.
In this low oil price environment, Lloyd’s Register says staying afloat requires a new type of inventiveness and open mindedness; an eager and proactive search for novel technologies, approaches; and ways of working.
05/05/2016
