Refiners to hike spending on digital technologies to cut operational costs

Vantage point: Insights from cutting-edge research

Nearly two-thirds of refiners plan to raise investments in digital technologies over the next three to five years, although digital is not one of the top plant investment areas for refiners today, according to research from Accenture. The Accenture Connected Refinery research — based on a survey of over 200 executives, functional leaders and engineers at refiners globally — shows that 57 per cent respondents said their current level of digital investment overall was more or significantly more than 12 months ago.
 
“Oil and gas refiners in India have been facing significant turbulence in recent times due to increased crude price volatility, increased competitive intensity, de-regulation in market pricing and enhanced focus of global majors on India. Resultantly, they are relentless in cutting costs and improving predictability of plant operations,” said Sandeep Dutta, managing director and lead, resources, Accenture in India.
 

Over the next 5 years, retailers to lose $71 bn in card-not-present fraud
 
New data from Juniper Research has found retailers stand to lose $71 billion globally from fraudulent CNP (Card-Not-Present) transactions over the next five years. The research found that a number of factors, such as the USA’s shift to EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) cards, delays in 3DS 2.0 (3D-Secure) and click-and-collect fraud were key drivers behind the rise. Juniper’s latest research, Online Payment Fraud: Emerging Threats, Key Vertical Strategies & Market Forecasts 2017-2022, found many merchants still perceive combating fraud as too expensive. Consequently, they have been ill-prepared to deal with the shift to online fraud after the introduction of EMV (CHIP and signature) payment cards in the US. Juniper’s cost analysis of FDP (fraud detection and prevention) solutions found that in most instances, merchants would receive value from their investment. It therefore urged players across the value chain to increase efforts in educating merchants on the benefits of FDP.
 

Consumers seek in-vehicle technology, but willingness to pay for it varies
 
A new global survey on consumer preferences for automotive technology finds more people desire advanced technology in their next new vehicle. However, their willingness to pay for technology demonstrates a wide variety of viewpoints across leading global markets, says the survey from business information provider IHS Markit. Over 5,000 vehicle owners intending to purchase a new vehicle within the next 36 months were surveyed in the 2017 Automotive Connected Services and Apps Consumer Analysis. Interestingly, creature comforts topped consumers’ interests at the top of the list of technologies those surveyed would be willing to pay for.
 
Consumers in four regions reported the highest propensity to invest in sunroof-moonroof technology in their new vehicle, with consumers in Germany willing to spend an additional $642 to have their next new vehicle equipped with one. Consumers surveyed in China agreed to pay $440 for similar technology.