Technology and innovation are at the forefront of oil and gas majors’ thinking after years of being paid lip service, industry leaders from BP and Shell said yesterday.
Greg Hickey, a process engineer at BP, said: “Technology used to be seen as an add-on to the business.
“Now if you talk to the chief executive at BP (Bob Dudley), digitalisation is fundamental to the way we operate in order to be successful.”
Johan Atema, vice president, production excellence and producing assets at Shell, said: “All of the hobby-horsing around technology and innovation has gone. It’s way more purposeful now.
“Technology is now being used as a means to an end rather than an end in itself.”
Mr Atema and Mr Hickey were speaking during the plenary session at the SPE Intelligent Energy conference in Aberdeen.
SPE Intelligent Energy is a three-day event held every two years to showcase new and developing technologies and expertise by operators, service companies and technology providers.
Mr Hickey also said BP was not fixated on owning digital technology and was happy to involve other oil and gas companies in its quest for value-creating solutions.
He said: “Before, we were inside a glass box. If we try to retain ownership we end up in a place where there is only so much we can do.
“We do not want to own any of our digital technology. We are committed to cloud computing but we know we’re not a technology company.”
Recommended for you
