A KPMG survey of 51 global oil and gas CEOs revealed 82% of them expect to see their company grow over the next 12 months, 90% see growth over the next three years, with 86% to focus on physical infrastructure, 71% regulatory compliance and 59% in new products and service innovation.

 

The CEOs believe data and analytics tools will drive bottom-line growth, transform their businesses and create organisational resiliency, though risks and challenges in implementing such new technologies abound.

 

Internet of Things and cognitive automation will also come into play to achieve those ends.

 

Yet the survey also revealed that emerging technology is the top risk oil and gas CEOs are concerned with, followed by operations, changing customer needs, and supply chain.

 

The CEOs pointed to integrating cognitive technology as the biggest technology-related challenge over the next three years, followed by attracting new strategic talent, trusting the quality of data and piloting emerging technology. 

 

KPMG's Russia-based global oil and gas leader Anton Oussov said the industry's digitisation was clearly on the minds of global oil and gas CEOs. 

 

"We're hearing it in all of our client discussions as concepts around digital labour and cognitive are being explored industry-wide … and with such opportunity for disruption comes risk and concern, those companies that embrace the new digital environment will thrive," he said.