Software-skills gap bites
1 Jul 2011
An industry-wide shortage of software-experienced engineers and over-extended equipment vendors are the two principal reasons why control systems software and hardware integration issues account for 34% of overall NPT (non-productive time) costs in the oil and gas industry.
Control systems software and hardware integration-related NPT is 67-86% higher than the acceptable rate, depending on the age of the asset, says US-based Athens Group’s in its 2010 NPT Metrics and Initiatives Benchmarking report, following its survey of US drilling contractors and operators.
A third major reason for the excessive level of NPT in the industry is the late delivery and testing of software. Efforts to mitigate these problems are, apparently, being hampered, says the Athens Group, “mainly by an under-estimation of control systems software-related NPT”.
The report quotes Dan Rabun, chairman, chief executive officer and president of ENSCO. He says the greatest challenge on new-build projects is that much of the equipment is software driven, and “getting the bugs out of the software is the biggest issue”.
A recent study conducted by Schlumberger Business Consulting estimates that the oil and gas industry will lose approximately 5,000 geoscientists and petroleum engineers to natural attrition by 2014. Most of the new workers entering the industry will have to learn procedures for the operation and maintenance of both hardware and software systems and understand how systems are integrated increasing the need for software-specific training.
