Industry must focus on cyber security, integration and analytics to reduce extraction costs and plug systemic skills crisis

Strategy firm releases white paper on data driven oil fields

Abu Dhabi, April 27, 2015 -- Oil and gas companies in the Middle East are being urged to utilize the competitive advantage of big data to create operational efficiencies and increase oil well production by up to eight percent. According to the findings of a white paper released by Booz Allen Hamilton in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) this week, the GCC region's hydrocarbon industry must develop more sophisticated data strategies as it looks to mitigate an extended period of low oil prices.

Entitled 'Securing and Enabling Data Driven Oil Fields: A look at the Key Drivers and Critical Success Factors of Operationalizing Digital Oil Fields' the study - designed to support and inform the transition to data driven model - suggests that rapid advancements in processes have until now supported reliable and complex, if expensive extraction, but in an age of increasingly volatile oil prices the capture and analysis of big data will offer tangible benefits across the value chain. The paper cites Chevron's i-fields project as successful model for a data driven oil field. The project is set to save the company over USD$1 billion annually.

In addition, the research found that data driven oil fields can help defend the industry from a looming skills gap by automating processes and socializing institutional knowledge through management systems. The paper references a study, which found that 75 percent of international oil companies felt staffing challenges were responsible for project development delays, and 59 percent of companies said the skills gap was a reason for greater industry risk taking.

In the Middle East, 50 percent of the region's skilled oil and gas professionals are expected to retire within the next five to seven years.

"The oil and gas industry is a pillar of economic development in the Middle East region - particularly the GCC, and a primary source of employment and state spending," said Atif Kureishy, Principal at Booz Allen Hamilton MENA. "Securing the industry's viability in a way that is sustainable and resilient to external factors such as falling prices and a shortfall in human capital will rely on technology and analytics.

"Less than one percent of the data currently available on a modern oil rig is currently being captured and analyzed," continued Kureishy, "meaning extractors and producers are leaving themselves increasingly vulnerable to low oil prices and a skills shortage. It's important that we are not only capturing as much data as we can, but that the industry is able to identify the people and systems equipped to make sense of that data to inform better decision making."

Whilst the capture and analysis of data offers tremendous cost and resourcing opportunities to the region's hydrocarbon industry, digitization does present a growing security challenge - solutions to which must be integrated into a holistic data driven approach to oil field management, says Booz Allen.

The paper describes the oil and gas industry as being 'particularly at risk to cyber-attack' given its critical nature to economic and social security, and as companies look to migrate to more integrated, digital systems the attack area 'increases together with the organization's vulnerability'.

Dr. Mahir Nayfeh, Senior Vice President - Technology and Analytics at Booz Allen Hamilton MENA, said: "The industry finds itself at the intersection of a crisis in which a glut in global supply and a systemic shortfall in talent have intercepted each other - threatening the short term success of operations. But greater yet, is the sustained and evolving cyber threat from hacktivist criminals motivated by high stakes and low defenses.

"Devising strategies that allow organizations to maximize operations without compromising intellectual property will be about finding a defense in depth cyber security model that balances technology deployment to support data capture, with the analytical intelligence to interpret and understand what the data is telling you," continued Dr. Nayfeh.

"That is why every data driven oil field must get three key components right - cyber security, integration and analytics - in order to realize its disruptive capabilities."

For further information on the competitive advantage offered by a data driven approach to oil and gas production in the Middle East, download the full white paper from the Booz Allen Hamilton MENA website - mena.boozallenhamilton.com.

About Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton is a leading provider of management consulting, technology, and engineering services to the US and international governments in defense, intelligence, and civil markets, and to major corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Booz Allen is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, employs nearly 23,000 people, and had revenue of $5.48 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2014.

In the MENA region, Booz Allen Hamilton is building on four decades of strategy and management consulting services to private and public sector clients by cohesively blending expertise in core industries with the leading pedigree of the firm in technology, digital innovation, data analytics, operations, human capital and learning, engineering, and life-cycle project management. Booz Allen Hamilton has five regional MENA offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, and Beirut. In 2014, Booz Allen celebrates its 100th anniversary year.  To learn more, visit www.boozallen.com. (NYSE: BAH).

Media Contacts
Damian Brandy, Associate Director,
Fleishman Hillard MENA Region
damian.brandy@fleishman.com
O +971-44502612,
M +971-50-8049036

James Fisher,
Booz Allen Senior Associate, Media Relations
Fisher_james_w@bah.com,
O: 1-703-377-7595,
M: 1-202-487-5101

© Press Release 2015