Baker Hughes CEO says technology will be key to meet energy challenges

At the end of the first day of the Gastech Virtual Summit Lorenzo Simonelli, the Chairman, President & CEO of Baker Hughes made a keynote address saying that technology will be the key to overcome the challenges facing the energy industry.

"Baker Hughes is working to navigate the many challenges created by COVID-19 pandemic, but the dual challenge we began tackling in our industry long before COVID-19 has not changed. The world will continue to demand more energy every day, and yet the world needs more from energy through decarbonisation at the same time. This is the dual challenge, more energy, less emissions, all without sacrificing our safety standards, of course," Simonelli said.

Simonelli argued: "Technology for the energy industry and the right talent to invent and implement it, it's the only true way we can overcome the dual challenge today. We must adapt and deploy technologies at a rate faster than ever before and we can do so despite the current economic environment."

He talked about the three key technology drivers to bring about change.

"The first is technology to decarbonise oil and gas and more broadly, to decarbonise the energy sector. We know that natural gas can both be a transition fuel and a destination fuel towards a lower carbon future and we know the importance of oil remain for years to come. Decarbonising energy is a journey and gas remains a key element. To decarbonize the sector, we must introduce more efficient and lower emissions technology and at the same time accelerate adoption of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage. Hydrogen and energy storage. Only with scale can these make a meaningful impact."

Simonelli then talked about the second technology driver to impact dual challenge which is artificial intelligence.

"As connectivity improves, we see more possibilities for AI and more ways to reduce costs, increase productivity, and make operations cleaner and safer. Of course, much has been made about the power of AI, it's on every tech roadmap, including our own at Baker Hughes. Even this year with the pandemic changing the way we work, AI at scale is incredibly complex and technology is the answer to make it simpler. Hardened AI technology platforms designed specifically for AI capabilities are easier and faster to deploy and easier to scale. We need to challenge ourselves to produce AI application within 8 to 16 weeks, not months or years."

The final driver is embracing remote technology.

"The fact technology driver is the need for productivity in an increasingly remote world. While we hope the current situation improves, the reality is that our wealth has been going remote for some time, and we must take advantage of this opportunity now. Remote solutions can be installed quickly and help lower carbon emissions over time, as well as bringing the obvious social distancing benefits, but longer-term, the benefits can be greater. Since the pandemic began, an unprecedented rise in adoption has occurred in remote drilling and completions, as well as remote turbo machinery string tests. More than 70 per cent of our drilling operations are now utilizing remote capabilities in over 30 countries, up from 50 per cent in 2019. As customers adopt more remote drilling, the ability to demand the well site grows, helping to reduce site costs, minimize safety risks, centralised personnel and improve decision making.

Simonelli ended his keynote with a rallying cry to the industry.

"If we work together on these technologies, decarbonising oil and gas, expanding the use of hydrogen, unlocking AI, embracing remote operations, and we adopt them together, what will the oil and gas industry look like in 10 to 15 years? We will progress with the energy transition rather than fell behind it and we will solve the dual challenge faster. I believe that we have reached the tipping point where we cannot shrink our responsibility and think policy."