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Oil Companies Need to Go Digital to Survive
BN
Posted on November 18, 2016 at 2:46 pm
Many industries have implemented the use of digital technologies to improve their operating models, but one industry has lagged in that adaptation: oil and gas. The oil and gas industry lost motivation for continual improvements and application of new technologies, [...]
Fracking: A Temporary Solution to Climate Change
BN
Posted on November 4, 2016 at 3:32 pm
Fracking has developed a bad reputation as the boom in shale gas production fostered concerns in communities over the United States. Oil and gas producers need to work with regulators and the media to change this perception, and energy consumers [...]

Activity Feed

On November 18, 2016, BN commented on O&G Technological Revolution – Using Digital Technology In The New World Of Low Oil Prices :

I see how digitization can help avoid downtown, but in the current economic environment, operators are less concerned about avoiding downtown. Since crude oil prices have crashed, it’s not as expensive for companies to turn off a well for an intervention. The cost of downtime needs to be weighed against the cost of digitization and maintaining that technology, and the results of this comparison shifts with the change in oil price.

On November 18, 2016, BN commented on Digitization in Oil & Gas – is Shell a Leader or a Laggard? :

Great information! I wonder how the shift to digitization differs for the smaller and larger oil and gas companies. If the industry is lagging as a whole, who is farther ahead and who is behind relative to competitors? The large oil and gas companies have more capital to invest in new technologies. On the other hand, they are usually weighed down by procedural requirements that slow change within the organization. Smaller, private companies have the ability to adapt to changes quickly, since they aren’t as concerned with perception of shareholders and a media spot light.

On November 18, 2016, BN commented on Peloton: Digitalizing Spinning :

I agree with you that Peloton needs to lower the price of the bike to stay competitive as other companies emerge with similar technologies. Even though Peloton is a more financially sound investment than attending boutique cycling classes, there are always less expensive options. One that I’ve heard of recently is CycleCast which allows you to stream cycling classes on your mobile phone. I think similar substitutes will continue to come up, and Peloton needs to be prepared to justify the $2,000 price as they do.

http://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2015/10/22/cyclecast-offers-soulcycle-alternative-mobile-app.html

On November 18, 2016, BN commented on Citibank: Protecting Against Cyber Threats :

Great post! It is interesting that the banks are working together to fight cyber crime. I wonder if there is any risk to competitors sharing this information, and if not, are there other industries that would also benefit from it? Could they possibly work with the Energy & Utilities or Technology sectors to increase man-power and share even more lessons learned?

On November 18, 2016, BN commented on Goldman Sachs: Financial Services or Technology Company? :

I’m curious to see the response of the public to the launch of Marcus. I wonder if Goldman Sachs will need to do any marketing or advertising to increase awareness of the service, since this is not a traditional area for the bank to play in. Also, I think they want to maintain some form of personal, customer service even to the smaller borrowers. I wonder how they will do that since the process will be electronic.

On November 6, 2016, BN commented on Exxon, in Denial? :

I agree that it is pointless for Exxon to hide the data they have on climate change with the public. I am curious how other companies would react to this type of proposal, assuming they all have gathered similar information. On the other hand, I don’t see what consequences would result from Exxon sharing their research. Even if a report showed oil and gas companies contributing heavily to carbon emissions, there isn’t another energy source currently available that could replace it to meet demands. Once the technology associated with renewables catches up and can be scaled to help meet demand, it will be much more important to have transparency of petroleum’s effect on climate change.

On November 6, 2016, BN commented on From Oil to Carbon: How Global Energy Trader Moved Into Carbon Emissions Trading :

Trading carbon credits is an interesting way that government regulations and the free market work together to decrease the externality of carbon emissions. The issue I see is that carbon emissions have an international effect, but governments can only regulate within their governing bodies. How can we expect some nations to regulate carbon emissions when others don’t? How can governments best spread the regulations over the globe?

On November 6, 2016, BN commented on Chocolate Endangered :

Great post! This information made me curious to find out what options there are to genetically modify cacao to sustain a wider range of temperatures. If cacao is particularly sensitive to climate change relative to other crops, has anyone experimented with this? It turns out, no, there has been no GMO cacao developed yet, partially because of the complexity of the crop and partially because of public pressures to avoid GMOs. (http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/18/can-gmos-save-chocolate/) It sounds to me like this may be the best option to satisfy the demand for cacao as temperatures continue to rise.

On November 6, 2016, BN commented on Blue Apron: Delivering an efficient tomorrow :

While Blue Apron and other Meal Kit Services help reduce food waste, they create waste of non-compostable materials in their packaging. Also, in many places, the plastic bags used by Blue Apron are not recyclable. This can create a huge trash problem since the company is now shipping 5 million meals per month. Blue Apron needs to look at more sustainable packaging to truly have an environmentally friendly supply chain.
http://www.thekitchn.com/the-dirty-secret-of-meal-kit-services-packaging-waste-226234

On November 6, 2016, BN commented on AB InBev: Brewing Initiatives to Fight Climate Change :

AB InBev impacts the environment with its transportation needs, but I would imagine this effect is much smaller for the largest brewing company in the world compared to the smaller craft and microbreweries. AB InBev has over 20 breweries across the world, which allows them to distribute nationally with shorter transportation distances. (http://www.ab-inbev.com/content/dam/universaltemplate/ab-inbev/News/Press%20kit/ABI_FS16_US.pdf) AB InBev also has other benefits due to economies of scale and the ability to invest large amounts of capital in research. I hope they share the technical advances they make with the smaller breweries, who may not have the ability to find these improvements. There are over 5,000 craft breweries in the United States the distribute to various locations nation-wide, contributing to carbon dioxide emissions from transportation. (http://www.samueladams.com/our-story/)