Oil & gas innovation: race to be number two.

Whilst most would agree that the future of the oil & gas sector depends upon the development and adoption of new technology, there are wide-ranging views on the current state and future outlook for innovation. We recently hosted a filmed discussion on this topic, with a panel of senior industry executives; John Wishart, President of Lloyd’s Register Energy (now Vysus), Neil Kavanagh, Chief Technology Officer at Woodside Energy and Denis McAuley, Director of Longitude Research and formerly of the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Speaking of the challenges around adoption of new oil and gas technology, Denis McAuley shared his view that the sector needs to become less conservative, observing, “There is a race to be number two, not to be a first mover.” The ensuing discussion considered the reasons for this reticence and how it could be overcome to the benefit of the industry and wider community.

This is part of an ongoing programme of research and dialogue which began with an impartial survey of over 250 professionals and experts across the sector, the Vysus Oil and Gas Technology Radar.

The resulting report delivers a clear and illustrative overview of the current oil and gas technological climate whilst looking towards the future and identifying barriers and drivers for innovation. The research found that 56% of respondents would describe their company as a “fast follower”, with a further 17% identifying as part of the “late majority”. Other findings related to the types of innovative technologies that are likely to see investment in the short/medium term future and the richest sources of innovative technology – now and in the future.

To share and explore the research findings, we initiated a global programme which has so far included similar events in London, Houston, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Perth. The frank discussions amongst key executives across each region generated a wealth of insights and provide a valuable contribution to the sector’s understanding of its challenges and potential solutions.