Oil and Gas Industry to Fast Track IoT Adoption, Report Finds

The oil and gas industry might not immediately seem like a domain suited to the adoption of IoT, but the market is expected to reach $39.40 billion by 2023, and it’s in dire need of technical solutions.

The Internet of Things is an umbrella that covers all devices with an Internet connection. They are widely used by regular consumers, medical professionals, and experts in many other industries. The oil and gas industry is also rapidly adopting these technologies, and the ongoing pandemic and economic crisis will only serve as another catalyst for IoT adoption.

The biggest problem for oil and gas is actually generated by the COVID-19 epidemic, with large, rapid fluctuations in demand and prices, as the world shuts down to wait out the virus. Now, companies are exploring technological solutions to deal with the demand issues, and the IoT field might be able to provide them.

“Though oil and gas companies have been slow to adopt new technologies, they also recognize that to compete in the digital era they should transform their business models, processes, and IT operations,” reads the Global IoT in Oil and Gas Market report from BIS Research.

“IoT is helping the oil and gas companies in attaining global presence. Embedded sensors, automation and connectivity with data communications can gather and provide operational data from remote locations, which helps the sensor manufacturers understand the operations in an accurate and detailed manner.”

The price of sensors has been decreasing over time, and comprehensive adoption is now possible. Plus, wireless Internet networks are now readily available pretty much everywhere. The only thing missing is the needed infrastructure to link the two, which will be primed for future investments.

Domains that could easily be covered by the IoT ecosystem include fleet and asset management, preventive maintenance, pipeline monitoring, security management, and many others. And since the oil and gas industry is expected to grow even more in coming years, investment in IoT is likely to follow suit.