Guest Editorial: Industry Ingenuity and Care in a Crisis
Authors: Mainguy Joanna , Nayagam Sak 
Published: June 2020

Just a few months into a new decade and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with oil market turmoil, is causing undeniable concern for the wellbeing of the workforce and future oil and gas operations. Now, more than ever, safely managing the role of digitalization and demand for decarbonization, while efficiently balancing the books, will be critical for companies to survive and thrive.

At the core of such an evolution are the people who drive the industry forward to deliver safer, cleaner, and more efficient energy to the world. The industry’s economics have shifted significantly, and we will be grappling with challenges for some time. New ways of working that leverage the right mix of talent and technologies will be more important than ever as we look toward the future.

Traditionally, many companies have worked in silo on their own solutions, services, technologies, and capabilities. Such a mentality can have an impact on operations and employee morale. A new mindset is required for greater collaboration and transparency if the sector is to play a decisive role in enabling the energy transition.

Fragmentation to Fusion

A deeper and broader “ecosystem” approach can help establish strategic partnerships across the value chain. Together, this will not only develop new technologies and commercial models, but also unify the industry as it looks beyond the downturn to more stable and sustainable operations.

For example, in June 2019, Baker Hughes and C3.ai began a joint venture (JV) agreement to deliver artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for the oil and gas industry. BakerHughesC3.ai brings together energy technology expertise with digital knowhow in solutions that optimize productivity and accelerate the energy transition. The alliance demonstrates a more collaborative approach to the digital transformation business. Five months later, Microsoft joined the alliance to support the suite of enterprise-scale AI applications on the Azure cloud computing platform.

Shell is already utilizing the C3.ai platform to hasten digital transformation by focusing on AI and machine learning to improve overall operations starting with predictive maintenance.

When the JV was announced, Shell Group CIO Jay Crotts said, “The fusion of existing oilfield technology and emerging digital technology will create new solutions that truly address oil-and-gas specific challenges with powerful advanced analytics technology.”

While the number of pilot projects around digital and AI may be increasing, a major challenge has been difficulty getting traction to quickly transform them to scale. Interestingly, a survey found that more than 80% of organizations have implemented a digital initiative within the past 5 years but only 16% of those stated a successful improvement in performance (McKinsey & Co. 2018).

It is an area where we not only need to work together to try and achieve better results, but also take inspiration and best practices from other sectors which are already well ahead on their digital journey.

This theme will be a focal point at ENGenious 2020, the sister event to SPE Offshore Europe.