2018 Energy Disruptors Pre-Summit Material

In order to enhance the conversation while you are on-site, we have asked the Discussion Leaders to provide a few pieces of relevant material to prepare you for the discussion. We ask that you please read these items in advance of the meeting.

AI and Machine Learning: Where and how is it applied today and how will it be applied tomorrow in E&P and Trading?

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are among the most overused terms in the industry. We are currently in an age of Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI) but the machines are getting smarter fast (think Google’s DeepMind beating one of the best Go players recently). How close are we to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)? What about Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI)? What are the non-obvious benefits and perils of these technologies? What are the biggest opportunities and perils of its use in E&P and Trading?

Discussion Leader: Kirk Coburn, Shell Technology Ventures, Co-founder The Frontier Conference

  1. Setting a frame-work on understanding AI: AI is about lowering the cost of prediction. AI makes prediction better, faster, and cheaper. Not only can you more easily predict the future (What’s the weather going to be like next week?), but you can also predict the present (what is the English translation of this Spanish website?)
  2. How AI will improve Oil & Gas
  3. How AI is changing Wall Street
  4. The limitations of AI = quality of the data: The quality of data in the shipping industry will hinder its adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies

Blockchain: Where and how will it be best used in oil and gas?

Blockchain and its associated technologies have garnered headlines and massive investments from the private sector, including numerous energy companies, and public sources such as state and federal governments. While the concepts engendered in blockchain (or more precisely distributed ledger technologies) are certainly appealing – inherent trust & transactional clarity among all parties, and the ability to deploy smart contracts – there are a number of obstacles along the road to adoption. What are the emerging use cases that could most dramatically change the ways in which the business of energy is conducted, from exploration & production to transportation, trading, and retail sales? Where are the near-term opportunities? What are the obstacles?

Discussion Leader: Patrick Reames, Founder, Commodity Technology Advisory

  1. Energy Blockchain Startups Raised $324 Million in the Last Year. Where’s the Money Going?
  2. The Oil and Gas Industry Wakes Up to Blockchain
  3. Is Blockchain’s Future in Oil and Gas Transformative or Transient?
  4. Use Cases for Blockchain Technology in Energy & Commodity Trading
  5. Application of Industrial Blockchain in the Completions Segment of Oil & Gas

Continuous Technology Disruptions

We have benefitted from a string of technology disruptions in E&P over the last decade that have doubled the amount produced per well while simultaneously dropping the cost. Can that trend continue? What are the most promising technologies for exploration, development, and exploitation of unconventional reservoirs for the next 2 years, 5 years, 10 years? Which technologies are most likely to fail?

Discussion Leader: David Baldwin, Co-President, SCF Partners

  1. Pre-reading material (PDF)

Financing E&P Projects: A Whole New Landscape

In the aftermath of the downturn, what is the state of the public markets today in terms of bottlenecks and opportunities? How does this differ for medium versus large companies? What are the requirements for an IPO to be a viable option? We’ve seen numerous Special Purpose Acquisition Companies that have IPO’ed: what has fueled the advent of SPACs and how are those being used today?

Discussion Leader: Tom Gardner, President, Millennium Energy Advisors

  1. Structural transformation in energy capital markets – The disruption of the disruptors… (PDF)

Global Warming: Dead on Arrival or a Looming Disruptor?

Whether you think anthropogenic global warming poses an existential threat to the planet, or you see it as a wolf in sheep’s clothing creating an unaccountable global bureaucratic control over nearly every industry on the planet, major oil is embracing it and will be at the table to help create the rules. What can go right and what can go wrong in this scenario?

Discussion Leader: Kathleen Hartnett White, Distinguished Senior Fellow-in-residence & Director, Armstrong Center For Energy & The Environment

  1. Julian Simon’s ‘The Ultimate Resource’ (1981) Speaks to Us Today
  2. LUNACY! The Lib Dem energy minister switched our biggest power station from coal to wood brought by diesel-guzzling ships from the U.S. The result? It costs us all a fortune and emits MORE pollution
  3. GERMANY’S ENERGIEWENDE: A DISASTER IN THE MAKING
  4. Lessons from technology development for energy and sustainability
  5. What It Would Really Take to Reverse Climate Change
  6. Carbon Dioxide Benefits the World: See for Yourself (PDF)

How Are Machine Learning and Data Analytics Changing Crude and Natural Gas Marketing?

Unconventional production has significantly changed the diversity and quality of crude oil and natural gas at the well head, yet the technology for valuing and marketing those products has remained unchanged for decades. Current valuation proxies such as API Gravity are insufficient for representing the true value of crudes; millions of barrels daily are transacted based on hand-written paper tickets; and modern manufacturing and distribution techniques remain untapped across the supply chain. How can producers and operators better utilize new artificial intelligence and data analytics systems to align incentives and optimize the industry? Are there technology-driven solutions to the various monopsony markets in natural gas? How is cloud-based computing relevant for maximizing crude profits for producers and refiners alike?

Discussion Leader: Matt Thomas, President and CEO of JP3 Measurement

  1. Pre-reading material (PDF)

International Exploration

International exploration and production has proceeded along a steady path with more inertia and longer time frames necessary to bring resources to market. Is it equipped to change with the advent of unconventional production from the US? Have recent discoveries like Eni’s Zohr field or Exxon’s Guyana development, marked a new approach by IOC/NOCs or is it an aberration? If it is a trend that is likely to continue, what impact will global exploration and development have on the broader upstream business?

Discussion Leader: Don Bagley, Vice President – Business Development at ExxonMobil Exploration Company

  1. ExxonMobil Energy Outlook 2018 (PDF)
  2. What is the best exploration strategy for the recovery? (PDF)
  3. Drillinginfo “Catch me if you can” Paper (PDF)

Oil & Gas Fundamentals and their Impact on the Future of Energy

Take a step into the future view for oil and gas. Discuss implications and potential issues related to supply and demand for crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. How can we anticipate and better prepare?

Discussion Leader: Porter Bennett, Board Member and Executive Energy Advisor for Drillinginfo

Water: Reinjection or Reuse? How is the technology evolving?

Water continues to be an emotionally driven topic. Reinjecting produced water in many areas creates an induced seismicity risk. What is the future of water? How close are we to being able to clean and/or reuse produced water at scale? What are the limitations of using produced water or its filtered byproducts as frac liquid?

Discussion Leader: Dr. Mukul Sharma, Professor, W.A. (Tex) Moncrief, Jr. Centennial Chair in Petroleum, Geosystems and Chemical Engineering University of Texas at Austin

  1. The Water-Energy Nexus: Water Issues in Oil and Gas Production (PDF)

Talent and Culture - The New Ts and Cs For Energy

As generations evolve in the workplace so does the need for meaning and purpose in our work and that means building a great culture to attract and retain talent in our companies and in industry. How are energy companies addressing building great culture in an ever changing world competing with tech, finance and other industries? How can we as leaders drive change to promote the benefits of working in our industry amidst so much scrutiny? Join Katie Mehnert, CEO and founder of Pink Petro and Experience Energy and an architect for culture change in energy for this engaging discussion.

Discussion Leader: Katie Mehnert, Founder and CEO of Pink Petro

  1. How can oil and gas fuel tomorrow as well as today?
  2. How do we regenerate this generation’s view of oil and gas?

Where is the common ground with the environmental movement?

With the loudest voices in the environmental movement calling for the “Keep it in the Ground” and the increasing volume and stridency in anti-oil and gas language, what today creates the perception of environmental stewardship? Is it a reasonable expectation?

Discussion Leader: Scott Anderson, Senior Policy Director, US Climate and Energy Program

  1. An Environmental Perspective on Risk Management and Water (PDF)
  2. The Sky’s Limit: No New Fossil Fuel Development

Which renewables have a legitimate chance to disrupt hydrocarbons? What is needed for them to do so?

Let’s have a clear and honest discussion of the respective costs associated with natural gas, wind, solar, coal and nuclear as power generation fuels. How long should alternative fuels be subsidized? What are the unfunded costs and benefits to society? What are examples of successful policies related to new technologies?

Discussion Leader: Mark Mills, Partner, Cottonwood Venture Partners

  1. Big Green Bang how renewable energy became unstoppable (PDF)
  2. Gates Atlantic Nov 2015 Interview with Bill Gates on the Future of Energy (PDF)
  3. Making Technological Miracles – The New Atlantis (PDF)
  4. Future Demand – Slides from presentation (PDF)

Geopolitics: Inevitable Disruption

As the US takes center stage as the top global oil and gas producer, it is leading to fundamental geopolitical and macroeconomic changes as well. What will this mean for global trade flows, other major producing countries, the balance of power in the Middle East, the future of OPEC and the role of China as the biggest global importer?

We will discuss how these developments will disrupt the structure of energy markets and traditional relationships between and among buyers and sellers, as well as investment implications and sustainability of producing countries outside of Saudi Arabia and US/Canada?

Discussion Leader: Mona Sutphen, Partner, Macro Advisory Partners, and Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff of Policy (2009-2011)

  1. Trade war would have ‘strong consequences’ for oil demand — IEA Financial Times (PDF)
  2. Three Looming Crises That May Rattle Oil Markets – Bloomberg (PDF)
  3. OPEC’s Vienna Meeting The Challenge of Failing National Oil Companies Council on Foreign Relations (PDF)
  4. Technology Game Changers (PDF)

Registration is now open! Register by Monday, April 23 to take advantage of the early bird rate!

Contact us:

(512) 519-5526

events@drillinginfo.com