Information Management for Offshore Projects Market

Global Information Management for Offshore Projects Market: Snapshot

Information comprising real-time data on a range of oil and gas productions is a crucial asset across the supply chain of offshore projects. Virtually, there has been explosion of data in offshore oil production facilities. These data hold a wealth of information about production platforms, subsea pumps, and critical data on downhole environments. A range of technologies are being adopted by different offshore exploration and production companies to extract this information. A significant momentum has come from the increased deployment of big data technologies. In recent years, the market has seen a slew of cutting-edge information management systems. Modern systems have the potential to help engineers and managers not only extract data but also gain insights from them, mainly operational and strategic ones.

Focus of stakeholders in oil and gas exploration and production on standardization of reporting procedures will keep evolution of the information management for offshore projects market increasingly dynamic. Varied regulations across countries have made the initiatives toward standardization an increasingly challenging pursuit. One key technology trend has been the growing application of embedded computers in offshore projects, which help facility managers filter useful information from vast volume of data. On the other hand, vendors are striving to improve the accuracy of the data system. Developed regions have benefitted substantially from the increasing trend of automation of data and information management systems. Several players in the market are focusing ceaselessly to improve data management systems for offshore oil production applications. The adoption of better procedures and clear protocols by oil and gas companies has helped them in the process. A new trend that has massive potential is digital twin strategy. The drive to do so underlies the trend toward digital transformation. Advances in cloud computing, will catalyze the adoption of digital twin strategy.

In recent years, some of the largest hydrocarbon discoveries have been announced in deepwater offshore areas. The offshore projects are capital intensive and complex in nature. Capital expenditure and operating costs can escalate substantially if the projects are not managed efficiently. An information management system is an essential part of offshore installations which is a combination of a host of software tools and related services. These management systems analyze and report project related information in an efficient manner to improve project performance. Offshore installations are usually located in complex environments where various specialized teams work together in various project phases. Information management systems are installed to analyze and store the information collected from various project phases in an offshore project. These systems are installed to share and store both technical and commercial information. Information management systems are a computerized monitoring tool which is primarily designed to satisfy project requirements and specifications. The market for information management in offshore projects is anticipated to grow at a substantial rate owing to requirement of efficient systems in offshore installations.

The increasing investment in offshore hydrocarbon projects and requirement of cost effective systems in offshore facilities are the major drivers attracting investment in information management market. To support the increasing investment on offshore installations, the project developers should have access to information management services. Information management systems assist the offshore project developers to anticipate and avert project related risks. The information management systems can track the energy consumption and mechanical commissioning in an offshore project. As a result of this the capital costs and operational costs related to the project can be organized in an effective manner. The productivity of the end user industry also increases after installing these technological systems. However, lack of the additional capital costs incurred in this capital intensive technology is a major factor impacting the growth of the information management systems in the offshore market. The lack of skilled professionals is also another major factor which affects further growth of the market. 

The market for information management for offshore projects can be segmented on the basis of services offered in this market. The information management service providers offer various services to the offshore industry. The market can be broadly segmented into four categories as project information system, contract management system, HSE and completion management system. The market can be further sub-pided into various other services such as quality management and project dashboards offerings.

With increasing drilling activities in deepwater areas, the market for information management in offshore projects continues to grow at an increasing pace. The increasing offshore production activities in the Latin American region will provide the major market for this market in the coming future. Planned expansion projects and the large offshore reserves of West Africa is one of the prospective regions for the growth of the information management systems in offshore projects. The exploration companies in Asia Pacific are also increasing investment in offshore locations of China and Australia which are anticipated be major economies for this market in coming years. The stringent working parameters in offshore areas of North Sea have attracted several information management providing companies in this region.

Some of the major players which provide information management for offshore projects are Omega AS, Aveva Solutions Ltd and Audubon Companies.