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Pipeline 2020
Gaining ground in the sands 2015: Pipeline 2020
Pipeline operators in Canada and the oil and gas producers are at a crossroads and the sector is hard pressed to sustain economic growth and improve operations. Can they do it? Yes, but only with investment in four key areas.
These are challenging times for Canada’s midstream oil and gas sector. Thrust increasingly into the public spotlight, regulatory audits posted online and every development the subject of a steady stream of news headlines, oil and gas pipelines – Keystone XL, Northern Gateway and Energy East in particular – have become a prominent fixture in our national daily dialogue. Never before has the movement of oil and gas across North America been such a heated source of debate – between Canada and the U.S., between Canadian provinces, between Canadians themselves.
But there’s good news. Disruptive technologies are ushering in a new era of sensors, intelligent machines and analytics software that hold forth a tantalizing promise – data-driven pipelines that can diagnose problems before they occur.
That’s what Pipeline 2020 is about – the much-needed radical technology transformation that will allow the sector to sustain economic growth while improving operations and strengthening the social license to operate.
The data-driven pipeline will become a competitive imperative. If companies can make one or more of the four strategic “moves” discussed in this paper, they will stand a much better chance of sustaining economic growth.
What moves will you make?