Aker BP, Halliburton, Petrobras Talk Digital Technology

HOUSTON—When speaking about digital technologies from a business perspective, Aker BP CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik is reminded of a familiar quote made by former Canadian hockey player and coach Wayne Gretzky: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”

The same holds true for the oil and gas industry as it ventures further into the digital technology realm, according to Hersvik, who was among the keynote speakers this week for Halliburton’s LIFE 2018 Forum.

“Make sure that you’re actually choosing technologies that are viable tomorrow,” Hersvik said. “Try to make the difficult choices, try to skate to where the puck is going to be and show some tenacity. Stay in there because the prize is extremely high.”

His words were delivered as the oil and gas industry increasingly turns to digital technologies to help improve efficiency and grow profits. Many companies are bonding with technology powerhouses like Google and Microsoft as well as smaller companies like Cognite to take advantage of digital technologies by putting troves of data to use.