One Service Company's View of Key Requirements for Successful Technology Collaboration
Authors: Lembcke Jeff , Ball Scott 
Published: March 2009

New technology developments in the oil and gas industry can be considered successful only when they have been successfully deployed by the operator. Only by deploying a new technology can the operator-and thus the service company- derive the associated benefit. Collaboration between both companies can vastly improve the chances of success and reduce the time to adoption by the market. This paper details some of the key elements of successful technology collaboration. It is based on each of the authors' more than 20 years of experience and includes input from numerous other senior technical managers in the area of technology development through collaboration with oil companies.

The key elements of the successful collaboration are;a stage-gate type development process that allows review of development, from functional requirements to deployment, at key milestones and has active involvement from the end users of the technology;a framework that facilitates teamwork, cooperation, and collaboration between service company and operator personnel;operator support for managed-risk field trials and analysis of the inevitable improvement opportunities that come with the deployment of new technology.

Introduction

In days past, new product development was a simpler process wherein most companies could be reasonably assured that their new products could be implemented from idea to research and development and carried forward through prototype, production, manufacturing, marketing, and sales. Most product development occurred solely in-house, with little external input. Shorter product life cycles (facilitated by more disciplined approaches to the development process and the use of sophisticated computer-aided design systems not readily available 15 to 20 years ago), more product offerings, increasing product complexity, and increased competition typify today's fast-paced business environment; but one can no longer rely on such methodology. Industry conditions themselves have created a sense of urgency that has resulted in a faster uptake of technology.

Successful Technology Development

There are many methods of measuring the results of technology development efforts. Service companies tend to measure these efforts in terms of time to market, in financial terms relating to revenue or profitability, and/or with product performance measurements such as mean time to failure. Financial metrics are highly dependent on how fast new technology is successfully adopted by the marketplace. For any new technology to be successfully adopted in the marketplace, many functional areas within the service company must adopt the new technology so that it can be produced, marketed, serviced, and deployed for oil companies.

Similarly, oil companies view successful technology developments in terms of how fast these new technologies are successfully implemented by their operations. Only with utilization is the benefit of the new technology realized. This point is important because the end goal is not simply to develop new technology, but to implement it in all the targeted areas within the operator. Only when this is accomplished can a technology development effort be deemed a success.

For purposes of this discussion, technology development success means the successful adoption and implementation of the new technology.