Fueling Digital Transformation in the MEA Energy Sector
Driven by advancing cloud-centric technologies, the energy sector in the MEA region’s is on the verge of unleashing unprecedented capabilities as operations, profitability, security, and end-consumer experiences are digitally transformed. According to Gartner, digital disruption in the sector can reduce costs by nearly 5 percent within the first year of launch.
Microsoft is so committed to accelerating this change that made Dubai home to its largest center of excellence for oil and gas industries, providing a launchpad for emerging technologies, digital ways of working and, of course, cloud computing. These can boost operational productivity and streamline value chain processes, which means operators can remain competitive, secure and compliant.
Here is how Microsoft cloud solutions are helping the energy sector organizations in the MEA overcome the pressures of digital business transformation.
Developing excellence across the energy value chain
Falling costs and ubiquitous connectivity have wide-reaching impacts for all energy sector stakeholders. Accelerating digital change means hitting every point of the value chain, improving real-time sensorial data, analytics, productivity, and safety across-the-board.
Exploration – Technologies, such as machine learning and AI vision are making exploration safer and far more accurate. For example, Shell’s partnership with Microsoft has yielded AI-driven drilling data with real-time decision making and outcome prediction. A drilling simulator, along with a suite of algorithms allow their workers to visualize layers of oil and gas with higher precision and find wells with greater efficiency.
Production – Predictive maintenance, plant optimization (e.g., heat rate, auxiliary load), fuel and chemical usage optimization are all digital boons to the energy sector. Consider Chevron’s use of Microsoft IoT technology that collects and sends real-time data from their heat exchangers to the cloud, where scientists can track the equipment’s health and plan its future maintenance.
Distribution – Digital transformation in outage prevention, crew-productivity, and line-loss reduction is especially helpful when it comes to solving energy efficiency. Consider the example of Unison Networks. With smart sensors built into transformers connected to the cloud-based data hub, the company can quickly assess needs for preventive maintenance before failure occurs. The sensors also help them save on operational and maintenance costs, as they dispatch support only when it is needed instead of tying up staff on routine checkups.
Sales and Retail – Energy providers must now compete at modern standards of customer satisfaction, journey optimization, and churn-risk prediction. EnBW, for example, uses Azure to power its digital energy marketplace, selling power through the websites where customers find information about the brand, products, new supply options and prices, and ultimately make their purchases online. EnBW then uses these insights to deliver personalized offerings and customer support.
Enterprise Productivity – There is no denying that the energy sector organizations harnessing the power of cloud connectivity and collaboration can see vast improvements in crew productivity, equipment-demand forecasts, energy-demand forecasts or collaboration systems for employees. Take for instance Gulf Petrochem FZC, equipping their international workforce with access to Office 365 to get work done anywhere and at any time, which is particularly important for an organization with thousands of employees and wells across the globe.
Towards more effective digital journey
Enterprise-grade solutions combining technologies, such as AI, blockchain, robotics, IoT, machine learning, deep learning, and edge computing prove to expand opportunities and reduce costs drastically.
Deployment of cloud-enabled solutions in the oil and gas industry is being driven by falling prices, competition from other types of energy resources, and new government policies. By taking advantage of Microsoft tools and services, energy operators in the MEA can quickly implement solutions that tackle new challenges and drive innovation across the value chain.