How Oil and Gas Companies Can More Effectively Utilize Technologies

The energy landscape is shifting amid soaring oil prices and a looming recession, coupled with a growing demand for clean energy. A recently-released Ernst and Young report noted that most industry leaders are responding to such challenges by placing greater emphasis on new technologies that optimize costs while improving revenues. As the industry pivots to tech-enabled solutions, we’ll explore how doing so can give energy companies a leading edge.

Digitization helps oil and gas companies stay competitive

While security, compliance and traceability are top-of-mind for industry executives, the oil and gas sector continues to trail behind other industries when it comes to utilizing the right technologies. More than 60 percent of respondents in a recent study considered adopting such tools to be a major challenge.

Yet, research shows that it’s a challenge worth undertaking. Successful digital transformation initiatives can drive improved efficiencies by replacing paper-based processes with digital ones.

Electronic signature is an easy way for companies to embrace digital transformation, gain productivity and ensure compliance obligations. Often the question is where to start.

Where to start digital transformation in oil and gas?

Docusign eSignature is used across countries, industries and departments to digitize the way people form legally admissible agreements. From internal validations to sales contracts or HR forms, the most commonly used forms and agreements are now signed electronically.

The oil and gas industry is no different. We have seen use cases in almost every type of agreement in the industry. Specifically, customers are using Docusign eSignature for:

• Land Owner & Operator Agreements. Contracts are the foundation of extracting oil from the land. Operators need uninterrupted land access for drilling and the agility to continue operations amidst changes. Landowners' rights must be honored and they need to be compensated as agreed.

• Field Tickets. Processing field tickets like work orders, change orders, and service agreements signed by the operator’s representative can be onerous. Docusign digitizes the signoff process, allowing you to route contracts directly to the people with signing authority, saving time and money.

• Shutdown Processes. Delays are costly when refineries shut down for maintenance–especially if there is a forced shutdown. When issues are flagged, the plant can't restart until all outstanding items are resolved and authorized signatures are obtained to resume operations.

• Service Provider Management. Over half of the oil and gas workforce are contractors who provide services to the industry. Contractor and subcontractor agreements are required throughout the supply chain and are not limited to engineering, procurement, and construction. Every contractor who provides services presents paperwork that needs one or more signatures to proceed.

Why choose Docusign?

Doing business offline has a cost. Paper agreements are more expensive than electronically signed ones because they cannot move at the pace of business. They also leave the door open to errors in completion that can expose companies to compliance and legal risks.

Today, over a million customers and more than a billion users in over 180 countries use Docusign eSignature to accelerate the process of doing business and simplify people's lives. Wherever your team, partners or clients are based, chances are they have already signed a document using Docusign eSignature and will see your adopting it as a sign of modern business practice.

Docusign is easy to deploy, with limited training required for your team. Easily integrate Docusign eSignature with more than 400 prebuilt integrations to popular and familiar applications for a quick return on your investment.

Learn more about how Docusign eSignature can help.