Reliability engineering in oil and gas has become a board-level topic again, but the industry’s operating model remains predominantly maintenance-led. Across upstream, LNG, midstream and downstream assets, many organisations still manage performance through work order volume, turnaround execution and short-cycle cost controls—rather than through a disciplined system of failure-mode governance. The result is familiar: periods of stability punctuated by forced interventions, deferment decisions made under time pressure, and recurring “bad actors” that survive multiple budget cycles.
