Digitization, Cybersecurity and Risk Management in the Oil and Gas Sector in the post COVID world: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Digitization and cybersecurity are intertwined. The surge in digitization has made the cyber threat landscape complex and real, allowing cybercriminals to target nations' critical infrastructure, especially oil and gas. Recent high-profile incidents demonstrate the quickly evolving and intensifying threat landscape. Oil and gas producers must protect themselves from these stealthy adversaries, which necessitates a thorough understanding of the relationship between digitization, risk management, and cybersecurity. Academics and industry practitioners have been digitizing the oil and gas industry for decades to make it more cost-effective and resilient. However, managerial progress is slow and traditional methods are still used. Cybersecurity was largely neglected during digitization. This paper chronicles the growth of smart factories and cyber risk management practices through different digitization strategies, and identifies gaps in digitization and risk management. A systematic literature review of the petroleum industry was conducted using four databases (AAPG, SCOPUS, ProQuest and Web of Science). 56 papers were shortlisted after a comprehensive research. The paper examines the publication, source and goal of digitization models and their use in the oil and gas industry. It also integrates digitization, cybersecurity and risk management in the petroleum sector. In the past, cyber-attacks were responded to after they occurred, and digitization has outpaced cybersecurity management. . This poses a real challenge in the world of oil and gas sector, where billions of dollars are at stake due to this knowledge gap. With the passage of time cyber security has become an integral part of the digitization programs, and recently, the proposed models have integrated cybersecurity as an essential element of digitization frameworks, however much needs to be explored and studied at project level as these models require further validation and updating.

Keywords: Digitization, cybersecurity, risk management, oil and gas

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1004253