Implementing Remote Data Monitoring Technology in Times of Economic Crisis

Understanding the value that remote data monitoring technology can bring to an oil and gas company is fundamental to justifying a financial investment, and critical to the successful adoption of the technology. A basic dynamic that is inherent with selling any technology is the “value-point”. The value point essentially assumes that the technology delivering value to an organization is unimportant in the eyes of the buyer, and the benefits the technology delivers is the true selling point.

If the value point delivered by remote data monitoring outweighs the return on investment timeline set by the corporate and operations staff (typically 12-18 months) and the value point benefit is considered important by that organization, then the investment should be seriously considered.

A rather short-sighted argument is to not invest in remote data monitoring during an economic downturn in the oil and gas industry. An economic downturn is typically associated with the requirement of the prospective buyer to limit future spending, cut current field operating costs, and diversify offerings to mitigate losses.

Although the critical value-points are now typically shifted to cost savings, all of the value-points for remote data monitoring still exist. As such, a company evaluating remote data monitoring to address these value-points should, under the same pretext of return-on-investment and corporate prioritization, invest in the underlying system that best supports their needs.

Suffice to say, some companies looking to address economic downturns with an investment in remote data monitoring have accelerated the ROI cycle times and limited their capital budgets. These same companies have an adoption acceptance curve that has shifted to represent their new needs; however, they still have value points that demand remote data monitoring solutions.

In times of economic crisis, vendors must be conscious of the changing corporate and operational priorities of their clients, while buyers must be conscious of not losing sight of the value that remote data monitoring can bring, regardless of their current economic situation.

If the buyer has any hope the industry will eventually rebound, the best time to implement remote data monitoring is when other projects are postponed and more attention can be focused on cost-saving tools. While the breakeven point of an investment in remote data monitoring is usually months, the largest benefits will be realized when the industry returns to a robust state. By increasing production, remote data monitoring is even more valuable when commodity prices are higher. By reducing operating costs, such as spills, pumper fuel costs, pumper truck maintenance and oilfield equipment maintenance, remote data monitoring delivers an even larger impact on profitability when the costs for these things are higher.

In short, the time to invest in remote data monitoring is now. By utilizing remote data monitoring to streamline and better manage field operations today, oil and gas companies set themselves up to cash in on the benefits for years to come.

Critical Value Points for Remote Data Monitoring

There are several critical value points inherent to oil and gas field operations that are addressable through adoption of remote data monitoring technology.

Greater Quality Control to Reduce Wellsite Spills
Faster Quality Control to Reduce Wellsite Spills
Optimized Production Scheduling
Increased Production Throughput
Increase Production Yields
Reduced Production Overhead
Optimized Information Flow to and from Field Worker
Quicker Response to Field Workers
Reduced Need for Routine Wellsite Inspections
Reduced Human Errors during Daily Production Reporting
Enhanced Corporate Decision Making
Scalability to Expand Operations
Scalability to Reduce Operations
Reduced Overhead for Product Storage
Accelerated Auditing
Minimize Shrinkage
Access Real Time Inventory