Executive viewpoint

Our industry is adapting constantly to change, as we find new ways to do things better and more efficiently. Many industries outside of oil and gas are doing things that we need to be aware of, and we must better understand how they affect our future, especially in manufacturing.

As an industry, we are normally later than others to adopt a new way of thinking or doing things, but this needs to change. For example, it took us a while to become comfortable with automation, even though other industries had been using it for decades. We are now making headway on automation within our industry, and it is important that we continue to look at other advanced technologies being used elsewhere that we can benefit from. Three specific things are going on that I believe will change the future of our industry: 1) additive manufacturing; 2) nanomaterials; and 3) Big Data.

Additive manufacturing. Within our industry, 3D printing/additive manufacturing (AM) is used mostly to quickly, and cost-effectively, make prototypes. Due to AM’s rapid development, however, we believe it will be used more and more to make “real parts.” Several industries, including aerospace, automotive and medical, are already pushing the development of AM, and oil and gas will follow quickly. As we continue to use AM, we are learning that it not only enables us to design prototypes faster, but that it also can help us design parts differently than we were able to do before, with the typical manufacturing process. This is poised to change our whole industry. The increased adoption of AM means that we must prepare ourselves, and learn how to design for AM, to take full advantage of the technology’s potential.

One specific way that AM is going to make a large impact is in spare parts. Not only does AM produce spare parts faster and cheaper, but it allows us to print the part where we need it, meaning AM will change the value chain. In the future, we will not produce objects in low-cost countries and ship them across the world to warehouses and stores—we will be able to print things ourselves with domestic printers. It is expected that as AM becomes more common, the technology will increase, due to material prices decreasing and machines becoming more efficient. While there are many uses for AM, it cannot be used in every scenario. It is important that its use makes business sense. At NOV, we are looking at how we can use this technology to benefit us, and our customers, in the future.

Nanomaterials. Another technology that is up and coming is nanotechnology, which allows us to design and engineer materials at an atomic level. Hence, the use of nanotechnology makes it possible to tailor the “perfect” structures of materials to obtain fantastic properties. This makes it possible to make materials so that they are harder/stronger, more wear-resistant, can transfer electricity and much more.

As for the use of nanomaterials, graphene has emerged as one of the most promising, because of its unique properties. Its combination of properties makes it appealing to those wanting to use it for a wide variety of applications, such as composites, coatings, electronics and more. Graphene is also very strong—200 times stronger than steel—and is found to have the highest thermal conductivity known to man. Nanotechnology is already gaining ground in the aerospace, medical and electrical industries. It is only a matter of time before our industry starts to utilize nanotechnology to further improve our product and technology offerings.

Big Data is changing the face of our industry, and large-scale collection, aggregation and analytics of real-time equipment and performance data allows us to significantly improve performance and reduce maintenance costs across a variety of products and systems. Building out cloud technologies, infrastructure, and analytics capability, as well as getting a data pipeline in place, is critical for organizations that want to embrace the digitization of the oil field. Additionally, continued development of “edge” devices—which refers to the device at the “edge of the network” that is connected to the actual equipment or sensor network—will allow us to collect equipment data, store it, analyze it in real time in the field and forward the data to a cloud infrastructure.

Modern edge technology is more cost-effective and capable than traditional solutions, has increased storage capacity, requires significantly less power and connects securely to a cloud infrastructure. Additionally, the technology allows secure remote management—updates will be made over the air and completed within minutes on thousands of devices. NOV already has taken steps to launch an industrial data platform, called MAX, as well as a related suite of MAX technologies that connect to the cloud and the edge, positioning us to drive meaningful change in the industry as an OEM drilling technology enabler.

As we continue to digitize the oil field, it is increasingly important that we develop and deploy the most suitable technology. Digitizing the oil field means deploying thousands of devices and being able to manage them efficiently. Big Data is a key focus for us at NOV, and we continue to invest in, and use, digital technologies to provide better, more efficient and more cost-effective products for our customers. Innovation drives our company culture, and our people are encouraged to challenge convention. This will drive the industry forward.