Oil and Gas Solutions Series

This article is part of a series on satellite-based solutions that are intended to help oil and gas companies improve their bottom line by highlighting opportunities to leverage data in an effort to improve efficiency and operational safety. To view other OGSS articles, please see the links in the "Looking Ahead" section of the introductory article.

Real World Scenarios

Over the years, I worked for a number of oil and gas companies ranging in size and operational focus. Although each company had a different niche and set of issues that came with that niche, they all seemed to struggle with many of the same issues. Operational costs seemed to be a common struggle with each company I worked with especially when faced with a recession in the oil and gas industry. When things were going well it was like these companies were throwing money in every direction as lavishly as possible. However, on the other side of a boom it was the exact opposite. Executive officers were being laid off alongside field hands, smaller companies were going bankrupt or getting bought out, and larger companies were doing everything they could to trim mounting operational costs. I often wondered what could help companies improve accountability and reduce spending during the booms so that they were not having to lay off so many individuals during recessions.

Client Obstacles

Operational costs seem to affect the bottom line of every company within the oil and gas industry in the same way from one degree to another. Every company I worked for struggled with keeping track of equipment, keeping up with maintenance, maintaining operational efficiency, job safety, and so on. All of these issues play into the operational cost, which ultimately reduces ROI for the company. The only reason for-profit companies exist is to make money. Sure, there are companies that also have additional causes that they support, but the bottom line is to make a profit. Increasing operational costs strangle the profit margin, reducing the ROI, and causing companies to spend more money examining strategies to reduce overhead and operational costs. This pushes away investors with deep pockets, and makes it more difficult to keep smaller operations afloat when the industry is struggling.

The Solution

Maximizing ROI

It might sound like a foreign concept to say incorporating GSatTrack within a company’s technology infrastructure actually reduces operational costs and increases ROI, but that is exactly what the platform is designed to do aside from everyday tracking services. GSatTrack allows companies and organizations to automate operational data with reports, alerts, and additional automation tools. This allows managers to be notified when a certain event triggers an alert. Companies can set up a clear path or set of procedures for handling a situation, which can actually decrease the response time when an alert is triggered.

GSatTrack helps managers identify ways to save resources through a number of features. This includes monitoring fuel consumption in fleet management or identifying idle machinery so managers can equally utilize equipment across the board. Another way GSatTrack leverages data to improve a company's efficiency is through generating reports. Reports can be automated to generate within specific intervals providing stakeholders with important data regarding operational efficiency within the company on a regular basis. All of these features allow managers to make well informed decisions which individually might increase efficiency in small ways but collectively improve efficiency for the entire company drastically.

The Result

GSatTrack might seem as an additional operational cost, however, the platform helps companies identify ways to reduce operational costs, which ultimately increases ROI. So in reality, GSatTrack can be viewed as an investment, which will increasingly pay for itself over time. Oil and gas companies are constantly spending money on new tools and technology. Companies in the industry often struggle with managing operations and equipment efficiently, especially as they grow. GSatTrack is such a versatile platform that it is designed for companies of every size, and meant to adjust to the needs of each organization. When managers utilize GSatTrack’s features correctly, they are able to monitor assets, manage operations, and maximize efficiency through a single platform.