Digital transformations

A spotlight is focused firmly on the world’s oil and gas sector. A perfect storm created by western sanctions on Russian oil and gas exports, record-breaking heat waves upping demand for electricity to power air conditioning, alongside a series of unplanned disruptions at LNG plants in the US, Nigeria and Australia, amongst other factors, has created runaway prices.

Domestic, commercial and industrial customers are all feeling the squeeze. As of June 2022, US personal spending on energy goods and services (gasoline, electricity and natural gas) reached an all-time high. While in the UK, having provided support to households, the government is consulting on additional support for energy intensive industries to combat spiraling energy costs. All in all, energy prices were expected to increase by 50% on average in 2022, according to the World Bank, creating a potential threat to growth as well as increases in the price of everything from milk to medicine.

With substantial pressure on the oil and gas industry to maintain, and/or improve on energy security and keep a cap on costs, there is an even greater push to expand capacity. That means planning and executing capital projects must happen quickly and cost-effectively, while ensuring new energy infrastructure is as safe and sustainable as possible. Naturally, this includes pipeline turnarounds and upgrades, where even a short disruption to the transportation and processing of oil and gas can spike wholesale prices.

On time, on schedule?

The pressing question is: can the construction industry meet the increasing demands for on-time project delivery …

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