Big data will transform the oil industry and have a disruptive effect on consumer habits, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.
"Big data with regard to energy can not only sharply reduce the cost of energy, potentially removing excess costs from producers, but also have a disruptive effect on the production and logical chains, on consumer habits," TASS cited the ministry as saying.
Sberbank CIB analyst Valery Nesterov, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that the oil industry has yet to master big data as an effective tool. "At the same time, the future is becoming increasingly uncertain, since it is impossible to predict technological progress," he said.
"So many mens so many minds. In the 1970s, American studies showed that the Soviet oil industry would be depleted by 2000, a study by the Club of Rome in the 1980s indicated depletion of lead and copper resources - but it did not happen. If we take big data statistics, we will see that we have surplus oil and gas resources, while a race is taking place between competing producers. This concerns both Saudi Arabia and Russia," Valery Nesterov stressed.
Big data is an opportunity for modern oil producers to take a fresh look at what is happening in the industry. "Big data as processing large volumes of data allows trying to get a fresh look at historical trends. 40 years ago it was said that we are approaching the peak of oil production. Then the peak of gas production was projected for 2015, then for 2025, and the latest data - for 2035," he said.
"We should not consider that tomorrow we will get a clear perspective for 10 years thanks to big data, because de facto everything depends largely on macroeconomics and politics," Sberbank CIB analyst warned.
Digital technologies have radically changed the oil and gas industry. "Most recently, there has been no modeling of geological exploration deposits, and now all self-respecting companies have projector rooms. It's worth mentioning the drilling of intelligent wells that can be corrected. Modern seismic works on digital technologies, that is, informatization captures all spheres," Valery Nesterov concluded.
