How Can Canadian Oil and Gas Companies Adapt to the New Normal?

The recent COVID-19 outbreak has severely impacted organizations across the globe, imposing lockdown measures and dramatically impacting buying behaviors. For oil and gas companies in Canada, this has worsened the impact of overproduction and resulted in serious price tension.

More than ever, it is key for oil and gas companies to seek efficiency in all processes and embrace digital transformations wholeheartedly.

Digitization helps oil and gas companies stay competitive

One of the side effects of most crises is the pressure it puts on people and prices. Individuals are challenged to do more with fewer resources, with the added pressure of a complex work environment. It can be a lot for people to handle at the most critical time. Making sure employees have access to tools that help streamline processes and save time is becoming more important than ever.

A report from the World Economic Forum on Digital Transformation of the oil and gas sector calculates the potential value for the industry at $1 USD trillion. This estimate comes from improved efficiencies as well as new structures enabled by a successful digital transformation that not only replaces paper-based processes with digital ones but inherently challenges industry legacy systems.

While challenged by the crisis, the oil and gas industry remains among the most highly regulated in the world. Compliance is a key aspect for every stakeholder in this industry, whatever their role in the process. Significant financial fines tied to noncompliance violations can add up quickly, reaching tens of thousands of dollars per day.

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?

eSignature is used across countries, industries and departments to digitize the way people form legally binding agreements. From internal validations to sales process or HR contracts, the most commonly paper signed 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 Agreements 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.

Use the Docusign ROI Calculator, created in partnership with Forrester Consulting, to help you evaluate the impact and cost savings e-signatures can have on your organization.

Docusign is the most widely used, trusted and legally binding e-signature solution. More than 500,000 customers across 180 countries are using Docusign eSignatureto streamline business with digitized, lawful agreements. Wherever your team, partners or clients are based, chances are they have already signed a document using Docusign 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 350 popular and familiar applications for a quick return on your investment.

Contact us to schedule a demonstration and see how Docusign can help.