The hidden cost of downtime in oil & gas

In the oil & gas and energy sectors, unplanned downtime is one of the greatest threats to operational continuity. Each hour of shutdown can cost millions of dollars in lost revenue, not to mention the indirect costs related to safety, logistics, and compliance with environmental regulations.

For remote facilities, such as offshore platforms, desert environments, or inaccessible regions, the replacement of a critical component often turns into slow and costly operation.

Traditional supply chains, dependent on centralized warehouses and global logistics, come with long lead times, high storage costs, and growing exposure to supply chain disruptions.

On-demand production: from problem to solution

Industrial Additive Manufacturing (AM) introduces a paradigm shift: the ability to produce spare parts and components directly at the operational site.

By turning certified digital files into high-performance parts within hours, operators can drastically reduce downtime and increase overall system resilience.

Practical use cases include:

• Non-standard spare parts: seals, brackets, or supports that would otherwise take weeks to ship.

• Custom components: tailored designs for extreme operating conditions, such as high temperatures or corrosive environments.

• Predictive & corrective maintenance: immediate production of parts flagged by monitoring systems, without relying on advance orders.

Strategic advantages for the energy sector

Reducing downtime in remote plants means not only cutting costs but also ensuring resilience and compliance with safety standards in complex operational environments. With Roboze additive manufacturing, shutdown times can be reduced from weeks to just a few hours, as demonstrated by the SKARV project, where on-demand production revolutionized spare parts management in offshore operations (watch the video here).

Another key advantage is cost optimization. Companies are no longer required to tie up capital in oversized inventories or face the challenges of intercontinental transportation. Additive manufacturing makes it possible to produce exactly what is needed, when it is needed, while also reducing material waste.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly critical. By lowering the number of shipments and minimizing the need for large stockpiles, the carbon footprint of operations is significantly reduced. At the same time, additive manufacturing enables the regeneration of components and supports a more circular supply chain model, as confirmed by recent research published on ScienceDirect.

This is far from a “workshop approach.” On-demand production in the energy sector is now backed by international standards and guidelines that guarantee quality, safety, and regulatory compliance, even for parts destined for extreme environments (DNV, 2024).

In this way, additive manufacturing is not just a technical solution, but a true paradigm shift: transforming downtime from a threat into an opportunity for efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness.

Toward a distributed, digital supply chain

With industrial additive manufacturing, oil & gas and energy companies can evolve toward a distributed and digital supply chain model, where production files travel faster than physical goods.

In this new scenario, downtime is no longer an inevitable threat, but a controllable variable. On-demand production does not replace the entire traditional supply chain, it integrates it with a more agile, local, and responsive approach. For decision-makers, this represents a strategic lever to remain competitive in a market where every lost hour can cost millions.

At Roboze, we help energy leaders transform downtime into resilience with on-demand additive manufacturing solutions.

Contact our experts today to explore how integrating AM into your supply chain can reduce downtime, cut costs, and accelerate your path toward sustainability.