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In the past few years, the oil and gas sector has seen a massive transformation in terms of adopting digital and innovative technology solutions to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs. Today, we’ve seen many oil and gas companies implanting various software solutions (in their upstream to downstream operations) in a bid to streamline operations and maximize profits.
Oil and gas companies can integrate this software with GPS and innovative IoT devices, among other navigation solutions for cargo and shipment tracking. These new capabilities will help improve visibility in supply chain by allowing businesses to monitor their assets and resources in real-time from anywhere in the world.
Some companies have even gone a step further to leverage cutting-edge technologies like cloud computing, data analytics, robotics, digital twins, predictive maintenance, and Artificial Intelligence to improve their operations. A survey conducted by Accenture in 2019 revealed that 91% of downstream and 97% of upstream managers in the oil and gas industry agree that technology has revolutionized the industry.
This shows how important it is for companies in this industry to implement different solutions in order to improve their operations. With that, let’s look at the top software solutions for the oil and gas industry.
Downstream management system
This is an integrated system used in the management of downstream activities like transport management, acquisition & supply chain management, customer management, reporting & analysis, as well as contract and deal management, among other activities in the oil and gas industry. This management system ensures speedy collaboration and deployment in oil and gas plants.
Besides, the system helps to increase transparency in the acquisition to distribution lifecycle, thus improving the overall customer experience.
Refinery scheduling solutions
These solutions play an essential role in the oil and gas industry. They allow businesses to manage different operational activities such as product distribution, product blending, dock scheduling, as well as the distribution of final products. Refinery scheduling software helps oil and gas businesses to significantly reduce the costs related to refinery scheduling.
Besides, the solutions help to improve decision-making and responsiveness in the oil and gas sector by allowing companies to schedule essential refinery tasks from one platform. This software comes with numerous benefits, like faster simulation, optimal refinery planning, automated workflow, and round-the-clock support for threading and balancing.
Retail management system
Trellis Energy, natural gas software developer says that retail management solutions allow oil and gas companies to automate sales tasks, as well as payment processing. These solutions help to increase the profitability of retailers by enhancing their payment processing activities.
Having a retail management system also helps to protect the revenue of businesses in this industry from inventory loss. Moreover, the system helps to reduce downtime that is common in companies not using such a system. Lastly, since a retail management system promotes a faster payment experience, it leads to improved customer satisfaction.
A retail management system comes with several benefits, like cost-effective operations, improved customer experience, better fuel inventory management, POS technical support, and a customer satisfaction survey, as well as unified integration with various payment options.
Transport management software
Transport management software in the oil and gas industry helps in streaming transport and logistics operations, from route optimization, dispatching, to product delivery. Oil and gas companies can integrate this software with GPS and innovative IoT devices, among other navigation solutions for cargo and shipment tracking.
Besides, the transport and management software provides detailed analytics and reporting, to improve logistics network performance. For instance, businesses in this industry can use a transport management solution to plan, change, or optimize a shipment route in case a transportation problem occurs. This solution can also be used for LNG management, pipeline operations, customer management, and crude transportation & management, among other tasks.
Pipeline Performance Tracking System
Also known as PPTS, this is an essential tool that helps in pipeline tracking and management, thus ensuring that oil companies comply with the industry’s safety and environmental standards. The Pipeline Performance Tracking System allows companies to monitor and analyze the performance of pipelines in real-time. Besides, the system allows companies to get insights into other areas like pressure and metering, environmental stability, and remediation, among others. Moreover, companies can get condition-based notifications or alerts if they opt to use a cloud-based PTTS.
Accounting software
Accounting solutions used in the oil and gas industry allow companies to record, track, and manage any financial transactions in the industry. Besides, these solutions make it easier for oil and gas companies to benefit from their compound assets. Also, tracking owner lease agreements, complex contracts, as well as capital expenditure becomes much easier if you have accounting software in place.
Please note that there are different accounting tools that you can use depending on your needs, like fixed asset accounting software or financial reporting software. Some of the key features of accounting software for the oil and gas industry include budgeting or forecasting, payroll management, financial reporting, billing and invoicing, and inventory management.
Contract management software
This software helps oil and gas businesses to manage contract lifecycle. Besides, it ensures that oil and gas companies comply with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) standards. Failing to comply with EPA and EHS regulations can lead to costly financial penalties. Therefore, having contract management software in place is essential for oil and gas businesses. It helps to avoid any legal issues and to uphold contract management practices.
Notable benefits of contract management software include better visibility to contract sections, consistent contract formation workflows, smooth tracking of contracts, as well as unlimited access to contracts from different cloud computing services.
