Published in EPT by Wilhelm Sicking, April 14, 2016

DNV GL initiates 43 new collaboration projects for 2016
to help safely reduce costs

April 13, 2016 + + + In a period of cost constraint and increasingly complex oil & gas production, finding solutions that increase efficiency and production has never been more important. To address the industry’s need for smart solutions that reduce complexity, DNV GL is funding 43 new joint industry projects in 2016 in addition to launching a new Step Change innovation programme to help customers leverage opportunities from digitalization.

Both initiatives are based on closed interaction and collaboration with industry partners. Key focus areas for DNV GL in 2016 will be to address challenges on standardization, operations (OPEX services), safety, environment, regulations and performance.

“DNV GL led JIPs aim to provide insights into future trends and technologies. Many of the projects result in new industry standards and practices that support innovation and flexibility in design while managing costs and maintain safety levels,” says Rolf Benjamin Johansen, Technology Manager, DNV GL – Oil & Gas.

The value of standardization is recognized by the industry with 61% of senior oil & gas professionals agreeing that operators will increasingly push to standardize their delivery globally1. The most common strategy for maintaining innovation with lower budgets is to increase collaboration with other industry players (45%) and nearly one in three (30%) plans greater involvement in joint industry projects in the year ahead.

DNV GL’s new Step Change innovation programme is focused on digitalization. Only one in five oil and gas companies see themselves as highly digitalized today. However, close to half of senior oil & gas professionals (45%) already see solid or high potential for big data and analytics to transform the operating efficiency of the industry in 2016. DNV GL’s programme involves the end-users, e.g. oil companies, drilling contractors and suppliers, in the innovation process. The first pilot projects have already created significant value for these end-users from using new forms of data analytics in combination with domain knowledge and technical insight.

“Step change is exactly what it says – a paradigm shift in how we drive innovation to quickly test out data smart solutions and new business models with strong customer involvement at an early stage. In the current price environment, innovation is even more critical. It can both help the industry to reduce complexity short term by standardizing parts and processes and enable new technological developments long-term that will drive efficiencies. At DNV GL, we are continuing to invest 5% of our revenue in R&D because it enables us to provide long-term foresight for our customers,” says Kjell Eriksson, Regional Manager Norway, DNV GL - Oil & Gas.

Currently in the initial phase, DNV GL welcomes industry players to join the JIP projects or contact us if they are interested to be involved in our Step Change programme.

For further information about joint industry projects contact Evelin.Garnaas@dnvgl.com ... and for digitalization contact Nada.Ahmed@dnvgl.com

More information on joint industry projects is available here