Despite the collapse in oil prices, energy companies could still benefit from the downward trend by collaborating with partners, restructuring managing methods and optimising internal capacity, says Dublin-based Accenture Inc, a management and technology services consultancy.
"The drop in oil prices over the last couple of months has created an element of uncertainty about how long this will last," said Remash Nair, managing director of Accenture's office in Singapore and head of the Asean resources group.
He said the consensus was prices would eventually hover around US$60-70 a barrel.
Therefore, energy companies should adapt their strategy to be more agile and resilient in the face of future uncertainty.
"The energy sector has been a high-margin industry for a long time, but it has become a commodity-based business that requires a different set of business strategies," Mr Nair said.
Although cost-cutting is the right strategy in the short term, agility and sustainability can help companies to deal with sudden changes.
Accenture has proposed a sustainable model under which a company shifts from a process-driven organisation to an insight-driven one.
To achieve this, companies must focus on industrial partnerships in terms of parts standardisation and procurement pooling in order to save time and costs.
Companies also need to reassess their portfolios to optimise existing assets and create cost transparency.
"Most energy companies are being challenged on how to deal with change, but being more agile allows companies to better deal with uncertainty," Mr Nair said.
"Thailand is moving into a more international business model and has made some good investments overseas. But the workforce, for example, is inadequately geared towards an international structure."
Integrating the business using technology lets companies become effective and efficient.
"Thai energy companies are doing a lot of internal and not a lot of operational optimisation," Mr Nair said.
The major trend in the utility sector is in incorporating smarter technology for better grid optimisation, he added.