As budgets tighten and oil revenues fall, where should companies be focusing their investment dollars?

In the current issue of Next Generation Oil & Gas, BP’s Andy Inglis writes:

“Our industry needs the smartest engineers and geoscientists. Increased computing power and better technology will also make a huge contribution, but they are not a magic bullet. State-of-the-art software programs and seabed monitors are fantastic – but I’m not expecting them to walk into my office with a solution to the problem. Technology is only as good as the people who design and operate it.”

Now we all know that the big strategic issue for all oil and gas companies is matching the earth’s abundant natural resources on the one hand, with the capability – the technology, skills, know-how and willpower – required to bring those resources to market on the other.

But it’s a tough task. Oil and gas reserves are increasingly found in some of the most inhospitable operating environments on the planet; environmental concerns are placing additional pressures on production teams; and falling prices are making profitable returns harder to come by.

As it has done countless times before, the industry is rising to the challenge and addressing the issues of capability and access in very different ways – through people, processes, policies and, yes, technology. But in an economic environment of tightening budgets and lower oil revenues, resources are increasingly becoming stretched.

So where should companies be focusing their investment dollars as a matter of priority? And what are the most pressing needs facing the industry?