In the context of the oil and gas industry, the term asset is quite open-ended one. An "asset" typically refers to any valuable resource, facility, or property that is part of the exploration, production, refining, or distribution process. If we look at the term holistically, anything and everything, from oil & gas reserves and refineries to pipelines and storage infrastructure, falls under the term ‘asset.’ From an even broader lens, intellectual property and rights to usage also can also fall under the asset category. 

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The term 'asset' is commonly used in the context of asset management, enterprise asset management (EAM), and asset data. From an operations and maintenance perspective, the term asset can be narrowed down to include:

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1. Exploration and Production (E&P) Assets: Exploration and production assets will typically include drilling rigs, production platforms, pipelines, and other infrastructure used to explore, extract, and produce oil and gas.

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2. Refineries: Each and every Refinery is an asset that converts crude oil into various refined products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and petrochemicals. All the individual stations, assemblies, and equipment that are a part of the refinery are also considered to be assets. 

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3. Transportation Assets: Pipelines, tankers, and other transportation infrastructure that facilitate the movement of crude oil, natural gas, and refined products from production sites to refineries and end-users.

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4. Storage Facilities: The Oil & Gas industry uses tanks and other forms of storage infrastructure where finished goods, as well as goods under processing (crude oil, natural gas, and refined products), are stored before distribution or further processing. These storage facilities are also considered as assets. 

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5. Downstream Assets: Downstream activities like refining and distribution need numerous equipment and infrastructure which are considered assets. 

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Maintainable and non-maintainable assets

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While assets can be categorized in many ways, in operations and maintenance, what matters the most is whether the asset is maintainable. When an asset is designated as non-maintainable, maintenance spares, maintenance plans, or other such documentation are typically not created or stored. For maintainable assets, on the other hand, having maintenance plans and spares in place is a must. 

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