An Australian case study in identifying perceived barriers to innovation and technology transfer among drilling assets in CSG infrastructures

An Australian case study in identifying perceived
barriers to innovation and technology transfer
among drilling assets in CSG infrastructures

The drilling industry supply chain consists of global procurement, contract management, transport, storage, control measures and information flow. Factors that restrict the supply chain in the Australian drilling industry include internal (company-related and micro-economical) and external (geopolitical and macro-economical) drivers or barriers.

Through this research, a number of perceived barriers to innovation and technology transfer within the Australian drilling industry’s supply chain network were identified. The causes of these barriers include internal forces,
external forces and natural causes. The research has explored how and to what extent these barriers influence the Australian drilling industry.

The initial studies of the literature review indicated research gaps about the key barriers in Australian drilling. The first question was, Is Australia utilising
the latest oil and gas technologies? This hypothesis was developed through the researcher’s observation during ten years of oil and gas industry experience, that Australian drilling is not utilising the latest technologies. The
results of the initial research were taken to local and international industry professionals for evaluation of the findings. The discrepancy in answers indicated a blind spot in the gathered data and statistics. Afterwards,
interviewing over eighty participants globally illustrated that Australia is neither utilising nor innovating the latest technologies.

In order to address the barriers, the researcher has utilised supply chain models to evaluate the level of local and international collaboration between
the different levels of the Australian drilling sector. Therefore, the next hypothesis on the lack of collaboration on the local and international level, in Australian drilling, was shaped. Evaluating the local collaboration has raised another hypothesis the government does not provide sufficient support to allow the industry to innovate.

The concept of innovation and technology transfer can be confused with invention or the technology itself. The literature review considers both invention and innovation for research purposes. Although the analysis of innovation and technology transfer can provide exceptional benefits to the industry and firms by providing solutions to have a more efficient industry, the analysis does not deliver an in-depth view of the causes, effects and exact benefits of innovation in the industry.

This research was conducted through a case study approach using a chain of detailed qualitative data, data analysis and interviews to address the barriers to innovation in the drilling industry in Australia. Essentially, the research
intends to deliver a deeper understanding of what exactly is happening, why it is happening, and to address the elements affecting innovation and technology transfer in the Australian oil and gas industry.

It has also been identified that although this research area is undertaken by private research institutions and R&D departments, only a small portion of the findings are being shared with the public. This is why the current literature
lacks an in-depth understanding of the concept of innovation and technology transfer and motives for innovation in on-shore drilling assets. Consequently,
the main research questions were designed and developed as below:

 To what extent does the Australian on-shore drilling industry utilise the latest technological innovations?

What are the key influencing factors for innovation and technology transfer within the Australian on-shore drilling industry in terms of the supply chain and its operating environment?

How do the key influencing factors create barriers to innovation and technology transfer?

 To what extent do the barriers influence innovation and technology transfer?

The current research aims to explore the innovation and technology transfer experience within the Australian oil and gas industry, specifically the on-shore drilling industry. The research initially focuses on gaining a deeper
understanding of the supply chain and its drivers and then it flows into the supply chain of oil and gas. The research has identified a number of barriers to technology transfer, which have been shown to be the main influencing
factors on technology transfer and innovation.

The research provides a number of significant findings and a holistic overview of the supply chain of Australian drilling in different levels. The multilevel
analysis identifies the gaps, which have been developed into a number of hypotheses on the current barriers to innovation and technology transfer. The result of this research should help to identify and rectify barriers to have a more innovative drilling industry in Australia. By comparison of the Australian oil and gas industry with more innovative nations’ oil and gas industries, possibilities
for advancing the Australian drilling industry are suggested. The ultimate goal is to have an Australian drilling industry that is an exporter of the most advanced drilling technology to the global energy industry.

Further research should aim at developing this qualitative research to compare the Australian oil and gas industry and companies with other advanced oil and gas nations and firms. In addition, an in-depth comparative analysis can be
done across the five top-performing countries in terms of innovation in order to identify the gaps and compare the Australian industry and the role of the government in dictating policies for the top performers.