Executive Q&A: The Digital Oil Ambassador
Big data, particularly its ability to transform the way the oil and gas industry operates, was the leading topic of discussion at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Annual Technology Conference and Exhibition recently held in Dallas. Technology has been the driver of the industry for decades. Now the industry finds itself emerging from a market downturn that required innovation in order to survive. The digitalization effort that has remade industries facing similar challenges is now quietly delivering big successes in small packages across the global E&P space.
“There’s a tremendous opportunity for the industry to accelerate the journey, as I think about digital,” Darryl Willis, vice president of oil, gas and energy for Google Cloud, told the standing-room-only gathering of industry professionals there to hear the opening keynote panel discussion. “I would say that one of the things that led me to Google after 25 years with BP was the opportunity to see if I could help accelerate that journey from a different angle.”