Future-Proofing Oil and Gas: Aging Assets, AI, and the Human Factor

In this episode of Beyond Built, hosts Kristi Flores and Jason Kraus interview Shane Mare, an Asset Integrity Engineer at West Side Corporation in Brisbane, Australia. They explore the transformative impact of AI and automation in the oil and gas industry, focusing on predictive maintenance, operational efficiency, and safety.

Shane shares real-world insights on how AI is reducing unplanned downtime, optimizing maintenance programs, and helping engineers make sense of massive amounts of data. He also highlights the high stakes and accountability inherent in asset management.

WestSide Corporation Pty Ltd is a Brisbane-based gas producer with gas production, significant reserves and exploration interests in Queensland.

---------

Key Quotes:

“ The consequence of failure in our industry is much higher. This is the risk to human life, almost unfathomable environmental damage. There's a push on us to be the best to not cause failures. So we've got to lead the way. I think that's why oil and gas has sort of always been ahead of the curve in this type of thing.”

“ One thing that I'm praying for is some kind of automated platform where I can feed in all my failure data. you know, fault reports from operators and technicians that pick up a, a failure code from the, the text that they write, the story of how they found the machine, something failed. And, you know, I want it categorized into specific codes… I would love to see a platform that sort of does that automatically, where you can just upload all your data and it just gives you something back with very little in between.”

“ There's a book on my shelf here, Rules of Thumb for Reliability Engineers, and there's a great quote in there. It hit me like a bolt of lightning when I read it the first time as a young engineer. It says, "When it hits the fan, it behooves you to demonstrate a bias for action." Because as engineers, we are so inclined to get stuck in the details. We could discuss details till the cows come home, but ultimately a decision needs to be made. Young engineers are especially susceptible to it. 'Cause they are somewhat afraid of making decisions.”

---------

Time stamps:

00:28 - In the news

06:47 - Shane’s take on the news

12:19 - Shane’s story

16:25 - The industry’s biggest challenges

21:24 - Why oil and gas is ahead of the curve

24:26 - Shane’s best advice

28:03 - Rapid fire

---------

Links:

Find Shane on LinkedIn

Find Kristi on LinkedIn

Find Jason on LinkedIn
More about Accruent

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe on Spotify

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.