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Refiners and producers are grappling with supply-chain bottlenecks, higher freight costs, and growing signs of demand erosion as sustained high energy prices dampen spending.

The industry is no stranger to complex global supply chains. But this new challenge requires companies to adapt to a market where both supply and demand can pivot quickly.

Unpredictable times

In this operating environment, every piece of information counts across suppliers, logistics providers, operations teams, and customers. By knitting together a comprehensive minuteby-minute operational snapshot of the global energy landscape, companies can predict, analyze and react to volatile energy conditions with optimal precision.

In the five months since the start of the conflict, Brent crude has traded in a range from roughly six percent below its pre-war level to almost 50 percent above it. This geopolitical landscape creates complex challenges for producers and refiners.

Periods of volatility also create significant commercial opportunities for companies ready to move quickly. A sudden spike in crude prices can open a brief window for higher margins. Companies operating with connected data can rapidly adjust production plans and redirect cargoes, turning market turbulence into a competitive advantage. and cost margins. While those objectives still stand, organizations are increasingly finding that resilience and agility are key performance differentiators.

Companies become more resilient when they operate from a common view of data and performance. To use a boating analogy, we’ re all navigating the same storm. Some organizations have cargo ships, others have yachts. The conditions are the same for everyone; what differs is how well-equipped each vessel is to withstand rough seas.

Connected operational systems help organizations build a stronger boat. Increasingly, that means looking beyond any single company and to every entity who touches the barrel.

Seeing the big picture

In what experts describe as the‘ age of permacrisis,’ supply shocks often overlap or occur simultaneously. For example, disruption in Hormuz, renewed Red Sea attacks, or tighter sanctions on Russian exports can affect crude availability and shipping routes within hours, and sometimes all at once.

Refineries process blends and crude slates sourced from multiple regions, each with

Building resilience and agility

Historically, energy companies have been primarily motivated by efficiency

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