Can technology innovation deliver cost reduction in time?

Our Chairman, Alan Minty, cited Alvin Toffler in his profile published in Upstream recently, to highlight the ability of technological innovation to feed on itself and spur further developments.  However, as we launch the Technology thread of our new blog, we would like to focus on how the industry can best use new technology to deliver cost reductions it urgently requires.

When Toffler claims that ‘technology breeds technology’, he is stating that technology is a powerful agent for creating and continuing change, something we certainly believe in. However, it is the value such change can deliver that is important rather than technological advance in and of itself; this requires clear objectives and focus rather than random or isolated results. This is very evident in the plans for the recovery of ageing basins such as the North Sea and elsewhere, where diverse technological improvements are being sought and offered, which have recognisable benefits in the context of their own domain but may not address the major problems which need to be resolved – how to lower costs permanently and do so in the short term, rather than being simply a long term ambition.

When judging the potential impact of proposed technological improvements, the criteria must include appropriateness, suitability and timeliness. Using these criteria it becomes clear that the solutions we need are likely to be created by reconfiguring known and proven technology, rather than seeking new technologies with all the uncertainty regarding implementation. The offshore oil and gas industry has a long history of innovative technology; perhaps the focus should be how to use what is already known to create cost reductions.