Downstream oil & gas outlook
Downstream oil & gas companies are facing major regulatory issues on the renewable fuel standards front and the phase-in to 2022. Refiners will work towards complying with increasingly stringent air and water quality regulations and will continue to supply tighter fuel quality specifications. At the same time, they will have to juggle continued and increasing feedstock variability and potential impact to the equipment life cycle and turnaround considerations. Equipment reliability is a critical ongoing priority for refiners. Mechanical underperformance can lead to decreased efficiencies, and system failures can result in unplanned downtime and lost production which stand in the way of achieving repeatable and predictable results.
Impact of Industry 4.0 technologies
To improve refinery equipment reliability, manage uncertainty and effectively minimize risks, refiners are looking for better, more frequent system monitoring, including predictive analytics, that can anticipate potential upsets while performing diagnostics on the course of action required to eliminate the issue. By applying mobility technology (i.e., drones) and adopting IoT applications, the downstream sector can improve safety and amplify profits simultaneously, with asset tracking and predictive maintenance solutions having the greatest impact. IoT applications may even become necessary for a competitive edge among rising geopolitical and climate change tensions.
