IDEAL: A Digital Auditing Platform for Level 2 and Level 3 Audits in Petroleum Development Oman

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents the development, enhancement, and operational deployment of IDEAL—the platform to Identify, Discuss, Enhance, Assure and Learn—Petroleum Development Oman's digital auditing platform for Level 2 and Level 3 audits. Introduced in 2022, IDEAL was developed to transform conventional auditing practices into a centralized and data-driven assurance process that improves audit execution, corrective action management, service-provider collaboration, and organizational learning across drilling and well engineering operations. The platform evolved through continuous user feedback and operational experience, with enhancements focused on workflow simplification, user experience, and centralized action management. Major developments introduced in 2025 included offline mobile functionality for remote field locations, Strength of Controls (SoC) mapping, centralized contractor documentation, and integration of SAIL lists and Corrective Action Requests (CARs). Service providers can participate digitally in audit preparation through document submission and self-assessment and subsequently manage assigned corrective actions and submit supporting evidence for closeout within the same workflow. Implementation of IDEAL has improved the visibility, consistency, and accountability of assurance activities by centralizing historical audit records, standardizing audit execution, strengthening action-closeout governance, and enabling recurring findings and control weaknesses to be identified across audits. The reuse of contractor documentation reduces repetitive submissions, while offline functionality enables field personnel to capture audit information in locations with limited connectivity and synchronize the information when network access becomes available. The IDEAL journey demonstrates how an integrated digital approach can extend auditing beyond individual compliance assessments toward a collaborative operational assurance process supporting continuous improvement and knowledge sharing. The paper also discusses the future expansion of the platform and potential application of artificial intelligence to support trend identification, evidence assessment, and more proactive, data-driven assurance within the petroleum industry.