The oil and gas market slump of 2015 brought extra pressure to bear on majors to reduce their breakeven barrel price. The quest for deeper efficiencies included a tidal shift toward digitalisation. According to Gaurav Sharma, vulnerable systems are in urgent need of upgrading and require constant protection at an estimated cost of $40 billion plus per annum. With existential external factors already putting the squeeze on investment, the growing … [Read more...]
70% of oil and gas companies have been hacked – and the threat is growing
A survey from Siemens with the Ponemon Institute shows that most oil and gas companies were hacked last year, writes Judy Marks, CEO of Siemens USA. Data is being compromised and supplies are getting stolen, but most companies are still not taking adequate action. Marks explains how companies may protect themselves. … [Read more...]
Dean Oskvig, CEO Black & Veatch: physics not policy will dictate energy future
“We can make all kinds of policies and laws and regulations, but no legal system is powerful enough to violate the laws of physics,” says Dean Oskvig, President and CEO Black & Veatch Energy, part of Black & Veatch, the US-based global engineering and consulting company. In this exclusive interview, he urges policymakers to focus on infrastructure resilience, cybersecurity and responding to distributed and off-grid electricity generation. … [Read more...]
The vulnerability of our electric utility system to cyber attacks
As our electric utility system is moving from dumb and centralized to smart and decentralized, it is becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks. Are utility executives paying sufficient attention to these serious new risks? Energy expert Allan Hoffman, a former senior official at the U.S. Department of Energy, says the SONY hacking case should serve as a wake-up call to the energy industry. … [Read more...]
