ABSTRACT
Oil and Gas industry provides the lifeblood and the most important source of energy to the world and has had historically been at the epicentre of industrial attention. Being the backbone of major economies ($2 trillion annual revenue worldwide), it plays a major role in the world of technological breakthroughs, state affairs, warfare, scientific research and environmental science. It is also termed as petroleum industry and relies on the production of petroleum (made of different hydrocarbons) to quench the needs of different industries. It consists of three streams: upstream (consisting of exploration and production), midstream (consisting of transportation) and downstream (comprising refining, marketing and retailing) segments. Furthermore, one of the noticeable changes in the industry has been the digitization and humongous amount of data generated every single day. This is where the concept of big data comes in and provides capabilities to understand the data to help making effective decisions based on comprehensive analysis results while optimizing the operations and maximizing profit margins of each and every aspect. This chapter provides a systematic explanation of Oil and Gas industry as well as all the aforementioned streams, along with their introduction, classification, various fields of application (wherever required) and associated advancements. This is followed by the introduction of big data, along with its importance and application in the petroleum industry. Upon full completion of the chapter, the reader will be meticulously equipped with an all-inclusive knowledge of the concepts mentioned in the chapter while being able to apply these topics in the future real-world cases.
