Ready or not, the global oil & gas industry must contend with an ever-changing ‘normal’.

It’s a confluence of trends—not just the new pricing paradigm, but rapid growth in renewables along with accelerating technology advancements—that is reshaping the industry. The energy company of the future is one that has successfully figured out how to cut costs, enhance operational efficiencies through digital and technological transformation, and diversify its portfolio to include alternative energy sources.

Reflecting on this period of turmoil and transition, BDO’s Global Natural Resources team is looking towards the future to help oil & gas companies anticipate and plan for the challenges and opportunities ahead. We believe that to prepare for success in 2020 and beyond, oil & gas companies must strive to become “Lean, Green, Digital” machines.

The global predictions presented in this report are based on research and collective input from BDO’s Natural Resources leaders around the world. In addition, the practice leaders from five countries (Australia, Canada, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) have provided regional predictions for the industry in their markets.

Summarising bdo’s global energy 2020 vision for oil & gas

1. OIL PRICES: By 2020, low oil prices—expected to remain at or below the $60 per barrel mark—will spur Gulf Cooperation Council countries to diversify their energy mix within the power sector using auctions to subsidize renewable energy projects.  
    
2. CYBERSECURITY: By 2020, at least five countries will see foreign hackers take all or part of their national energy grid offline through Permanent Denial of Service (PDoS) attacks.
    
3. GLOBAL ENERGY TRADE: By 2020, the growth of LNG imports and solar power will bring electricity to four in five African people.
    
4. INVESTMENT IN TECH: While overall spending on R&D may decline, most of the spending that does occur will go towards technologies that enhance exploration and production (E&P) efficiencies.
    
5. DATA DEMOCRATISATION: By 2020, the average E&P company will make use of 10 percent of its big data—up significantly from today, but nowhere near full potential.

Country-specific predictions

Interested in BDO's Energy 2020 Vision for your country? Country-specific predictions are available for Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.