Oil and Gas Industry: The Biggest Movements Reshaping The Future

The new decade brought new trends in one of the world’s biggest and most important industries – the oil and gas industry. Despite the rough patches it experienced in 2019, the global oil and gas industry could expect to regain much-needed stability in 2020.

Analysts are still in the process of predicting the driving trends in the oil and gas industry for 2020 and how these trends are going to affect the prices and oil markets. Therefore, it goes without saying that staying on top of these trends is imperative. Below, four trends that are expected to shape the oil and gas industry this year.

Increased focus on sustainability

Wind and solar energy industries are some of the first things that spring to consumers’ minds when talking about sustainability. However, the oil and gas industry has been putting quite some effort into reducing their ecological impact in recent years, which just goes to show how their focus on sustainability has increased.

The oil and gas industry’s shift in focus and move towards sustainability is primarily driven by the expectations of their consumers. This has led to many environmental causes being embraced throughout the oil and gas industry, for instance, investing in renewable, eco-friendly energy companies. The implementation of a more environmental agenda is likely to continue in the future.

A shift to natural gas

Speaking of sustainable practices within the oil and gas industry, we’re also witnessing a shift to natural gas. A more eco-friendly alternative to oil, natural gas acts as a more sustainable source of energy, which is why its resurgence in the last couple of years comes as no surprise.

The driving force behind the trend is the rise in global eco-consciousness on the topic of global warming. With the effects of climate change escalating, big businesses are rethinking their practices and putting efforts into reducing their carbon footprint as much as possible. Because of that, the demand for natural gas is expected to grow in 2020.

Given the United States’ abundant supplies of natural gas, they will be playing a significant role when it comes to international trade of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and will continue to be the leading exporter of natural gas in 2020 just like it was the year before.

Implementation of new technologies

Numerous technological advancements have had an immense impact on many industries in recent years, and the oil and gas industry is no exception. The industry has been implementing new technologies as a way of improving the way it operates, aiming to boost its performance and enhance its efficiency.

The emergence of e-commerce platforms that make it possible for oilfield professionals to purchase essential oilfield equipment is just one of the commercial innovations that are set to modernize the way we approach oilfield optimization. Thanks to the digital oilfield marketplace, pros can easily get connected with industry-leading services and products that can help them maximize their assets and procure them online in a fast, safe, and easy way.

Another good example of new technologies being implemented is the integration of AI into the oil and gas industry. This, again, allows for new approaches to be made, resulting in the reduction of production costs as well as improved operational efficiency.

Prices of oil and gas to remain range-bound

Because prices of these resources are influenced by the geo-political and economical factors, it is difficult to predict just how much the prices of gas and oil in the global market will vary and whether they will be impacted by political turmoil such as the missile strikes on Saudi Arabia’s vital infrastructures.

Fortunately, the analysts are expecting to see the prices remain range-bound in 2020. The reason for this is the increased production of oil by nations such as the U.S., Brazil, Australia, and Norway, all of which are non-OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)nations. 

The growth of supplies should reduce the impact of unexpected oil outages on oil and gas prices, keeping them in check in 2020.

Conclusion

With the oil and gas industry evolving year by year, it’s becoming increasingly important for companies to stay on top of trends and prepare for upcoming changes. By keeping an eye on these projections, oil and gas companies can ensure their competitiveness and relevance in the global market and set the stage for financial gain in 2020.