Can information management help prevent offshore gas leaks?

One of the biggest risks of running an offshore oil or natural gas facility is the potential for leaks or ruptures. However, according to OilVoice, an unusual resource may help reduce the risk of these events significantly – information management.

According to the source, a crisis such as a gas leak is further complicated by a lack of easy access to data and emergency process information. As such, information management (IM) is becoming a hot topic in the energy industry. Investing in IM may become critical for any company in the gas or oil business in the near future, and help reduce the effects of a leak, or even the chances of the event occurring in the first place.

IM and business process management can help energy companies make disaster response more efficient and less risky, speeding up the process and mitigating many of the negative effects of such an event. This not only reduces the impact on the environment but helps the company save money as well.

"In my view, IM has two ultimate goals," Fionnuala Cousins, an IM business analyst with Amor Energy, told the news source. "These are legal and regulatory compliance, and conferring competitive advantage."

Ultimately, implementing IM and related tools can help any business run more efficiently, but for a company that is at risk for major natural catastrophe, this adds another level of disaster preparedness. Simply by being better organized and being able to make information more readily available, an oil company can not only speed up its response to a leak, but be better informed about the maintenance and integrity of its pipelines and equipment as well, which could reduce the risk of an issue developing in the first place.