Managing power assets for optimal performance

December 9, 2019

In the coming decade, several aspects—an aging workforce, the growing cost of power generation, and the need to respond to innovative technologies—could reshape the way the energy sector operates. But the burgeoning demand for energy sustainability is likely to be the most imperative factor of all. 

This is because oil and gas (O&G) companies are now facing a daunting reality where energy consumption is constantly eroding profit margins. As rising energy costs continue to take a toll on the operation and maintenance budget, energy asset managers must focus on managing energy usage, as well as growing public and government concerns about carbon emissions and other pollutants. In the pursuit of this, O&G companies across the world are in the midst of a massive transformation as they upgrade their traditional asset management practices to the modern cloud-based digital systems. Leading this endeavor from the front is Advisian, the global consulting business line of the renowned Australian engineering company Worley. Advisian is opening the door to a new realm of asset management through its strategic, practical, and commercially-oriented asset management services.

Backed by a seasoned team of energy consulting professionals, Advisian delivers best-in-class asset management services to a wide spectrum of asset-intensive energy businesses in the infrastructure, hydrocarbon, chemicals, and minerals and metals domains. Taking a collaborative, diagnostic approach to serving clients better, Advisian thoroughly understands its client’s business drivers from multiple perspectives, such as economic, health, safety, and environmental. The team then goes on to determine client’s unique requirements, identify risks, and then perform a detailed analysis of their energy consumption practice, which can be viewed via digital dashboards. Based on the insights, Advisian delivers a strategy that aims to improve the safety, reliability, and efficiency of the company’s energy asset usage.

That being said, what makes Advisian stand apart from the crowd is its innate passion to create a solution that not only meets the requirements of an energy company’s short-term objectives but also makes it future-ready. With years of analytical experience and business know-how, Advisian helps clients to manage their technical, operational, and business risks. “We identify the causes of degradation mechanisms in susceptible areas of our client’s business locations, and then improve their safety performance, enabling them to own the integrity of their assets rather than outsource it,” says Kirsten Oliver, global Asset Advisory Service Line lead of Advisian.

The prowess of Advisian was on full display when an electricity distributor approached it to run an audit trail on their asset management system to check how well it supported the health and safety outcomes. Advisian identified areas of non-conformance against IPART (independent pricing and regulatory tribunal of New South Wales) audit criteria and opportunities for improvement. They further audited the distributor’s current asset management practices against the criteria and presented the findings in their audit report. Advisian’s report not only met the regulatory requirements but also provided the client with several recommendations for the processes and solutions that can be deployed as part of their continual improvement approach.

With several such success stories, Advisian is proving its mettle in the field of energy asset management. Having maintained a stellar reputation since its inception, Advisian continues to spin the wheel of real-world consulting experience, preparing businesses for the future. To add to this success, Oliver says, “The recent merger of WorleyParsons with Jacobs Energy, Chemical & Resources—a global technical services provider across hydrocarbons, chemicals, mining, and minerals—has opened new avenues for Advisian. By bringing together the strengths of all the partners in the upstream as well as downstream sector, we have got a huge opportunity ahead of us.” The next step for the company is to extend its knowledge and acumen into the non-hydrocarbon sector and downstream businesses in the U.S. 

This article was originally published in the Asset Management Top Vendors issue of Energy CIO Insights.