Events

We had the privilege of participating in the Digital Innovation Forum—an industry-leading gathering that delved into the forefront of digital innovation in the oil and gas sector. Industry leaders, innovators, and researchers converged to share insights, discuss challenges, and explore opportunities in this ever-evolving landscape.

Key Insights:

Mark Derry, Sr. Manager of Data Science and Advanced Analytics, Cenovus

Mark Derry highlighted several crucial points during his talk:

1. Integrated Transformation: Digital transformation is not solely about technology adoption. It requires an integrated approach involving technology, cultural shifts, and people-centric strategies.

2. Culture and Empowerment: He underlined the significance of organizational culture, citing that empowering employees, and nurturing an environment conducive to innovation are fundamental. 

3. Flexibility and Adaptability: Lastly, in the ever-evolving landscape of digital transformation, organizations must remain flexible, constantly adapting strategies and technologies to meet evolving market needs.

Heather Wilcott, Upstream Digital Manager at Imperial Oil

1. Starting Small, Thinking Big: Heather emphasized the value of starting small with proof of concepts and gradually scaling up. Understanding specific workflows and collaborating closely with end-users allowed for gradual adoption and quicker value realization.

2. User-Centric Approach: Focusing on understanding how users interact with the technology. Tailoring the implementation to meet their needs enhanced adoption rates and efficiency gains.

David Chan, Product Lead at Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii)

David Chan delved into the evolving landscape of Generative AI and its implications for the energy sector. Here are the key insights from his talk:

1. AI Evolution: He noted a significant shift in AI applications post the ChatGPT release, signifying a heightened interest in Generative AI. This change indicates a considerable expansion in the kinds of AI applications people are exploring. 

2. Paradigm Shift: The emergence of Generative AI allows for bypassing extensive training steps, enabling faster movement towards prediction and inference, marking a shift from traditional supervised learning approaches.
3. RAG Systems' Value: Highlighting Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, David emphasized their control over information sources, mitigating issues like fabricated data and security concerns while offering practical applications in question-answering systems and customized chat agents.
   
   

Taryn Humphreys, Director of Business Development at Cube

Thomas McArthur, VP of Customer Operations at Kuva Systems

Curtis Hughes, SensorUp's Emission Control Platform

1. Collaboration among Different Technologies: The collaboration of different emission-detection technologies, such as continuous monitoring sensors, flyovers, and localized camera systems, provides a multi-dimensional view of emissions across facilities.
2. Enhancing Reporting Fidelity: Integrating technologies like continuous monitoring sensors with historical data improves the accuracy of emissions reporting, increasing fidelity in tracking emission events.

This holistic approach to emissions management, integrating different technologies and data streams, ensures a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of methane emissions across oil and gas facilities.

Mark Guirguis, Director, Business Development, Oil and Gas, Spartan Controls 

Brenna Barlow, Vice-President, Innovation (Methane), Global Markets, BMO Radicle

Liz O'Connell, President, and Co-Founder, Arolytics

Logan Downing, Co-Founder and CEO, Carbon Assessors

Thomas Fox, President, Highwood Emissions Management

1. Multi-Technology Synergy for Emission Reduction: Integration and collaboration among diverse emission-detection technologies, such as continuous monitoring sensors, flyovers, and localized camera systems, offer a comprehensive view of emissions across facilities, enhancing accuracy and reducing reporting errors.
2. Real-Time Detection and Response: Continuous monitoring systems enable immediate detection of leaks, localization, and quantification, allowing for swift response and repair actions. This real-time data empowers operators to identify and address leaks promptly, reducing emissions faster than periodic surveys.

Patrick Weinmayr, Executive Director, Alberta IoT
"Science Park: Fostering Innovation & Collaboration"

1. Science Park Concept: The concept of Science Park presented by Patrick Weinmayr focuses on facilitating collaboration and innovation within the Alberta IoT community. It's designed to increase the adoption of IoT and emerging technologies among businesses and organizations within the province.
2. Threefold Approach: Science Park operates in three dimensions: live case study examples, a consulting engagement phase to identify and scope problems, and an online platform funded by Alberta Innovates. The online platform acts as a networking hub where members post profiles, businesses post challenges, and an algorithm matches these to facilitate dialogue and potential solutions.
   
   
   

Megan Lee, Managing Director, Quantum City

"Quantum City"

1. Quantum City's Focus: Quantum City aims to facilitate the practical application of Quantum technology in traditional industries, focusing on Quantum Computing, Sensing, and Communications. It aims to bridge the gap between Quantum innovation and industry implementation.
2. Challenges in Quantum Computing: Quantum Computing faces hurdles in chip development and integration due to multiple methodologies with varying environmental requirements. The vision includes a hybrid or cloud-based approach for initial usage before a finalized model emerges.
   
   

The Forum provided invaluable insights into the digital transformation landscape. It underscored the significance of holistic change, adaptive strategies, and collaborative approaches. These insights align closely with our organization's commitment to embracing innovation and continual improvement.

We're excited about the prospects these insights bring to our strategies. Stay connected with us for further discussions on digital innovation and future events that explore cutting-edge advancements in our industry.