Diving into the topic of IT in the oil and gas sector; there are several interesting perspectives to consider. Sarah Gillet, the British Ambassador to Norway, recently spoke at an event in Aberdeen about opportunities in the Norwegian Sea. She gave an insight into the current environment, and her viewpoint is extremely interesting.

• Production costs are down,
• Oil price is more stable,
• Global energy demand is increasing,
• Plentiful reserves left on the Norwegian shelf,
• 80 fields are currently producing – (most in North Sea, 16 in Norwegian Sea, and 2 in Barents Sea),
• 7 new field developments are underway (worth approximately 23 billion pounds),
• There are 5 new plans for Operation and Development.

While the above is always good to hear, what I found most interesting about Sarah’s talk, was her reference to the Darwinian Theory; stating “it’s not the strongest that survive, but those most susceptible to change”.

She went on to say, in order for oil and gas companies to thrive, they need to take a “pragmatic and innovative approach” to an industry that “constantly adapts”. This means reevaluating the role of IT within organisations.

There are many opinions revolving around the role of IT in the oil and gas sector, and what it boils down to is that companies need to get better at understanding and utilising IT effectively.

I went through Incremental Improvement (Lesson One) in my previous blog post, but this time I look at why oil and gas companies need to “Free the Porcupine” in order to adapt to change more effectively.

You might well be wondering what porcupines have to do with IT! Watch the video clip below for a brief introduction.

You can read more of Peter’s thoughts on freeing the porcupine here, but the main point is that the oil and gas industry changes rapidly, and your IT needs to be able to keep up. Traditional IT solutions, and attitudes, are no longer fit for purpose.

The role of IT in the oil and gas sector is evolving, breaking free from associations of red tape, and becoming an integral function of the business that should empower users and allow them the flexibility to do their job, and do it really well (you can read more about this in Dr Peter Black’s recent whitepaper ‘The End of Corporate Computing: Revisited)