We have automated drilling technology. This also includes the surveillance of rigs and fields, and operations such as measuring pressure and oil flow. In the near future, the whole industry will have fully automated oil rigs, oil and gas fields. It’s also possible every aspect of exploration and the production value chain will be automated. Automated systems through rugged mobile technologies will detect hazards, make repairs. Even daily operational decisions could be automated, leaving people to take strategic decisions.

The recent uptake of automation owes much to lower oil and gas prices. It is also due to the increasing competition from renewable energy and LNG. This necessitated industry-wide cost-cutting and higher efficiency drives.