The Energy Technology Committee, led by Benoit Chambert-Loir, Vallourec, and Ed Whitnell, NOV, held a seminar on “Digital Innovations in Energy Services,” sponsored by Vallourec. Hosted by NOV, the seminar speakers included energy service company Chief Information Officers and leaders from cloud computing software companies sharing insights on how the increasing digitalization of the sector is impacting and enabling performance.
The CIO panel with Sebastien Lenherr, Schlumberger; Graham Dey, NOV; and Leandro Barroso, Vallourec, covered how the industry collaborates to use innovative technologies like artificial intelligence, data and analytics, and other breakthroughs to drive efficiencies, lower emissions and lead times. Moderated by Accenture’s Aaron Vakneen, the conversation focused on how each company is building a “success story” for itself and its customers.
The panelists also discussed the need for the sector to find and build partnerships, especially with cloud and digital providers. This includes building partnerships with peers in cybersecurity, for example, through the Oil and Natural Gas Information Sharing and Analysis Center. As leaders in the energy services sector, the panelists outlined how and why peers need to be digitalizing and further integrating such systems into their energy technology companies.
Scott Sanderson, AWS; and Ed Leggott, Siemens, each gave presentations on their perspectives of how the energy industry tackles complex challenges and the role of digital innovations. Sanderson discussed how applying digitalization to physical assets improves performance at the margins. At scale, those marginal improvements can make a difference when considering the oil production needed to fill voids in the current geopolitical environment.
Leggott outlined several challenges to digitalization and described how a “digital backbone” enables agility and innovation. The digital backbone allows work to smoothly hand over between organizational silos to the next stakeholder with fewer manual processes. For Member Companies, finding the right digitalization partners to help improve margins and break down silos can be a differentiator worth exploring.
Concluding the seminar, Scott Gale, Halliburton Labs; Juliana Garaizar, Greentown Labs; and Amanda Edwards, The Community Based Solutions Firm, discussed how Houston, through its innovation ecosystem, has become a hub for energy technology startups. Moderated by Brad Rossacci, Accenture, the panel looked at challenges Houston faced, how the city overcame and is cementing its place as the long-term capital of energy.
Edwards reviewed how the city established its innovation district and attracted a growing incubator community, while Garaizar talked about the change in attitude towards green energy from a threat to a growth opportunity. Gale focused on how energy services companies are perfectly positioned to support startups with the experience of taking hardware to scale and being outcome driven.
Houston and its many organizations offer a variety of platforms, groups, and events for the energy services sector to engage with the startup community.
If you are interested in joining the Energy Technology Committee, contact Director of Government Affairs Maria Suarez-Simmons.
Energy Workforce thanks its Title Sponsor Vallourec, Event Sponsor Accenture and Strategic Sponsors Chevron and Schlumberger for supporting the seminar.
THANK YOU SPONSORS
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Maria Suarez-Simmons, Director Government Affairs, writes about industry-specific policies for the Energy Workforce & Technology Council. Click here to subscribe to the Energy Workforce newsletter, which highlights sector-specific issues, best practices, activities and more.
