根据行业的说法报告.
Published by digital manufacturing providerProtolabs，“决策时间”调查揭示了石油服务部门的企业打算通过从事制造业服务（MAAS）来适应可持续性挑战。该报告说，该行业旨在降低成本，降低其CO2排放并适应“绿色能源过渡”。
“The sector’s appetite to secure a long-term future means that companies are branching out into other industries and extending their capabilities,” explains Bjoern Klaas, VP and MD of Protolabs Europe. “With the energy transition revolutionizing the sector, combined with a much lower profit environment, it is imperative that companies continue to innovate and embrace renewable markets.”
“Innovation and technology are hallmarks of oilfield services, which is encouraging given the extraordinary pressures on the sector.”
Decision time for fossil fuels?
Signed in 2015, the巴黎气候协议引入了合法结合的排放目标，这些目标旨在尽可能减慢全球变暖。尽管这些毫无疑问将对环境产生积极的影响，但它们也对石油和天然气行业施加了重大压力，并适应了对绿色能源的需求。
To find out how those in the oil services sector plan to achieve this, Protolabs spoke to over 180 of the industry’s leaders, including management atwelltecandSwire Energy Services，在2021年夏天。在公司的决策时间报告中结晶，调查的结果表明，绝大多数石油和天然气公司都认为他们的贸易需要创新，以确保其长期未来。
除了采用3D打印和“ MAA”外，87％的英国受访者表示，他们现在计划实施机器人技术和自动化，以简化其备件生产。在接下来的12个月中，有76％的参与者还透露，他们打算将组件制造外包给“专业供应商”，而80％的参与者表示，他们的目标是缩短供应链以避免不稳定。
有趣的是，大约74％的参加活动的人得出结论，绿色的能源过渡也使他们也重新定义了业务，他们预计到2026年，他们的项目中有64％会离开化石燃料。研究结果表明，石油和天然气部门正在认真对待“环境信誉”，并在全球市场上变得“可持续”。
“That the oilfield services sector, and the wider energy sector, will transition to renewable energy is well understood,” concluded Klaas. “But this report makes it clear that the transition is already being undertaken along the supply chain.”
AM’s oil and gas opportunity
As the world begins to turn away from fossil fuels, and the oil and gas sector becomes ever-more competitive, firms are increasingly seeking out ways to cut their costs. To achieve this, many are weighing up outsourcing part production to 3D printing bureaus, in the hope of reducing their rig downtime, while others have adopted the technology in-house with the aim of avoiding supply chain volatility.
我n the past, one of the barriers to oil and gas 3D printing has been establishing a parameter set for producing parts with the corrosion resistance and thermal stability needed for end-use application. However, progress is being made in this area, with certification firmDNV GLrecently releasing a服务规范文档, that’s designed to support 3D printing’s take-up within oil and gas.
The industry itself has also shown a keen interest in additive manufacturing, through its strong participation in DNV GL’s ‘Joint Innovation Projects’ last year. Organized to establish guidelines for the production and qualification of marine, oil and gas WAAM and PBF 3D printed parts, the initiative attracted the likes ofBP,壳andTotal, as well as the expertise ofSandvik,西门子andAdditive Industries.
我n more practical applications, Energy services providerHunting PLCrecently announced that it had bought 27% of坎伯兰添加剂，标记它的first move into 3D printing. While the company hasn’t outlined exactly how it intends to market the technology to its oil and gas clientele, it says its investment will provide it with “new market opportunities,” in “sectors complementary to its core competencies.”
protolabs的缩放野心
With its latest survey, Protolabs has effectively identified an opportunity for 3D printing as a means of distributed manufacturing in the oil and gas sector, an industry that it has shown a growing interest in. In May 2021, for instance, the firm gained ‘制造商的资格DNV GL的认证，此举显示其DML印刷零件满足了石油行业的严格要求。
从那以后，公司有发表了另一项研究, investigating the challenges facing Europe’s battery industry. Again, Protolabs’ survey revealed that some 82% of respondents either plan to, or are either currently, developing AM capabilities over the next 12 months, essentially creating opportunities to address the needs of those that choose to outsource, with its services.
More broadly, Protolabs’ continued expansion, including its$280 million Hubs acquisition, saw itsrevenue reach record levelsduring Q2 2021. Once it has fully-integrated its subsidiary, the company expects to leverage its acquired 3D printing capabilities to increase sales from its existing base, and grow into new areas.
The full report can be found in the study titled: “Decision time: Oilfield services is at a crossroads, what does net zero mean for Europe’s oilfield services companies?,” published by Protolabs.
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Featured image shows an off-shore wind farm in the North Sea. Photo via Protolabs.
