How Oil And Gas Engineering and Surveying Companies Are Evolving

From drone data collection to SaaS solutions, the way that surveying companies are collecting, storing, and distributing data is changing. Oil and gas surveying companies are changing the way they do business to reduce overhead, improve safety, and produce better results overall. Here are just a few ways these companies that offer surveying and engineering support are evolving with the times.

Hybrid Cloud Solutions – Interfacing with key parties

Surveying companies are collecting more data than ever before. Rather than providing two-dimensional reporting, surveying companies are now providing detailed three-dimensional point clouds, models and simulations. For the oil and gas industry, in particular, this is incredibly important; the improved accuracy and quantity of the data can make the project both faster and safer, as there will be fewer unexpected discoveries and delays.

This data has to be stored somewhere. By storing data on hybrid cloud infrastructure, surveying companies can improve the accessibility of data, reduce the possibility of it being lost, and store large volumes of data without any personal investment of data space.

Utilizing Software-as-a-Service

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) moves computational power and data to a remote server, rather than having to perform complex calculations or data modeling on-premise. Surveying and engineering companies utilizing SaaS can provide more detailed results faster, and often at a lower overall cost to the customer. These SaaS suites are highly competitive and make it easier for businesses to scale, as they no longer need to invest in physical infrastructure and hardware. For instance, you can view billions of survey grade points in a web browser or on a mobile device.

Implementing Machine Learning and Automation

The more an oil and gas field project can be automated, the better. In recent years, the oil and gas industry has embraced the Internet of Things, adding sensors onto their construction projects and automating many of the routine maintenance processes. In engineering and surveying, oil and gas companies are looking to improve the amount of automation they do and add machine learning improvements, such as areas where 3D printing can be utilized.

Drones or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) are another area in which robotics and automation are being used to improve the consistency and cost of surveying. Through drones, detailed surveys can be completed in a fraction of the time.

Investigating AR and VR

Many engineering and construction companies are looking into augmented reality and virtual reality systems. Augmented reality allows construction companies and engineers to view aspects of their surroundings through a digital overlay, while virtual reality lets engineers, developers, and planners enter into a virtual simulation of the world. Both of these can be combined with the appropriate surveying data to run simulations and explore projects before they are completed.

These are only a few of the new trends that are emerging. With advanced technology, engineering and surveying companies can collect the data they need faster, more accurately modeling their projects and ensuring that they come in under budget and on deadline. Technology is constantly changing and improving, and oil and gas companies are going to need to be aware of these new advancements if they want to remain competitive.