Chat on software-led sustainability with AVEVA's CEO

Earlier this month, The Oilholic had the pleasure of visiting industrial software firm AVEVA's London office for a long overdue meeting with its Chief Executive Officer Caspar Herzberg.

Theme(s) of the riveting discussion, which extended way beyond the time allocated, touched on the proliferation of AI, IIoT, digital twin tech, big data and predictive analytics in the energy industry. 

All have been exponentially deployed in recent years by major energy operators conscious of their carbon footprint. Many have done so in partnership with AVEVA and the pace of adoption is only going to accelerate. 

The top 20 oil and gas companies by market capitalisation have all pledged to achieve net zero by 2050, as well as eliminate routine gas flaring by 2030, and are incrementally turning to tech solutions that AVEVA and its competitors are happy to provide. 

Herzberg told The Oilholic: "The energy majors have rapidly come around to the viewpoint that optimisation enabled by software serves the purpose(s) of improving their throughput and operating margins, reducing downtime as well as lowering their carbon footprint. 

"I also think most energy majors are now subject to significant societal pressure to lower their carbon footprint. This pressure is only going to increase. And every summer it will be ever more pressing, especially in liberal democracies where citizens are free to express their opinion and see climate change as a key concern."

It is here that the true potential of "connected solutions" may indeed be realized by the energy sector (and beyond) driven by continually improving corporate efficiencies and returns in tandem. "I would say that connected software makes things that are already possible, quicker, and frees people up to deal with more pressing issues in the value chain, rather than routine, but time-consuming tasks."

"Ultimately, AI, IIoT, digital twins, big data and analytics are all purposeful tools but at their inner core is data centricity – essentially, talking hold of data and getting value out of it."

The possibilities are infinite for the energy firms both large and small, Herzberg said. AI driven carbon capture, physics-based simulation, predictive asset optimization, streamlining processes for a green hydrogen future, making the power grid more resilient and reducing refinery or plant downtime are just some of the use cases, the AVEVA boss noted, while personally and very kindly showing yours truly a simulation on an absolutely ginormous screen. 

Away from exclusive snippets for this blog, do read The Oilholic's interview with Herzberg for Forbes here. It offers a much wider perspective on AVEVA and Herzberg's strategy for the business in the energy sector and beyond, and the company's very vocal stance on improving process efficiencies in the wider industrial world's march to a low-to-zero carbon future. Well, that's all for the moment folks, more musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo: Gaurav Sharma with Caspar Herzberg, Chief Executive Officer of AVEVA. © AVEVA, March 2024. 

Onsite with Coolbrook and its 'electric factory' pilot

Last week the Oilholic headed out for a rather unique site visit to the Brightlands Chemelot Campus - an innovation hub in Geleen, The Netherlands - where cleantech firm Coolbrook is running a pilot project premised on the idea of an 'electric factory.' 

Yes indeed, you read that one correctly dear readers - an 'electric factory' concept that could in the fullness of time lead us to re-imagine the industrial complex and substantially lower the carbon footprint of heavy industries and petrochemical plants. 

To make sense of it all, the company's CEO Joonas Rauramo kindly agreed to explain the process and take this blogger around. The idea is to substitute heat sources / furnaces in use at heavy industries currently running on fossil fuels with an electrical power source. 

For that Rauramo and Coolbrook have come up with the company's patented RotoDynamic technology - which uses a rotating device powered by electricity to generate heat without burning anything. "So basically air or for that matter a large range of gaseous substances / inert gasses go in where a high-speed 0.8 MW electric motor accelerates them with mounted rotating blades. Subsequent deceleration leads to the generation of a shock wave that converts kinetic energy to thermal energy," Rauramo explained. 

The heat generation is in milliseconds and is not transferred from outside through a surface, rather volumertically inside the gas. And we are talking temperatures of up to 1700 C. Now the Oilholic knows the questions on many of your lips - does it really work and did this blogger get to look under the hood of the machine? The firm answer to both questions is yes. 

While photography was not permitted in certain areas of the project, The Oilholic was given full access to view and examine both the project set-up as well as its key components, and interview a range of personnel working onsite. It's doubtful a company would open its doors to your truly and provide this level of access if it had to something hide, or was still faking it till it made it. 

Furthermore, the test pilot has already achieved temperatures of around 1000 C. Project research and development is constantly independently verified (and monitored both onsite and remotely), several universities including Cambridge, Oxford and Ghent are involved, while Swiss industrial giant ABB is the technical partner on the project. Finally, the commercial launch appears to be on the horizon early in 2025. 

Now just re-imagine old versus the new industrial energy chain as illustrated by Coolbrook below (click to enlarge):

Makes you think about the immense possibilities it offers for lowering the global industrial complex's carbon footprint if the electricity that's powering the machine comes from renewable sources as well. 

Coolbrook's RotoDynamic has two modes - one a heating only machine and the other a reactor aimed at the petrochemical industry wherein the technology can be deployed not just for heating but cracking hydrocarbons as well. The kit can be fitted on both greenfield as well as brownfield sites. 

Coolbrook has identified over 40 uses cases but the most obvious ones would be cement, iron, steel, glass, chemicals and petrochemicals. The company's modeling points to a reduction of 2 billion tonnes in CO2 emissions annually if traditional heat sources are substituted by its technology. 

Of course, the transition will not be easy and there are other low to zero carbon techniques being explored. Rauramo was quick to assert that what Coolbrook is attempting is "50% more efficient" than hydrogen predicated alternatives and is "cheaper too." 

Total budget for Coolbrook's pilot project aimed at creating a "new industrial era" is in the region of $13.1 million. Should the commercial launch proceed as planned in 2025, that would be the result of 14 years of hard work since the company was founded in Finland in 2011.

Scaling up is the name of the game. In that respect, there has been considerable interest in Coolbrook's technology from the likes of ArcelorMittal, Shell, Ineos, Sabic, JSW, Linde, Braskem, Cemex and its longstanding partner ABB. The industrial heating market itself is estimated to be worth more that $1.1 trillion. 

Coolbrook doesn't yet have direct competition for a product like its own, as The Oilholic noted in his feature on the company for a recent Forbes article that's available here.

As for those in the industry looking at RotoDynamic from an outside-in perspective, The Oilholic observed quite a few tangible benefits. 

Process efficiency is an obvious one and comes in many forms ranging from lower energy bills and a carbon footprint to potentially higher plant throughput. The compact size of Coolbrook's offering is also an attractive one. So, by this blogger's reckoning, for say a petrochemical plant, we're talking roughly one-tenth the space needed for the company's reactor kit versus a traditional reactor. 

Capex and opex considerations matter hugely and the product is yet to hit the commercial world. But should the RotoDynamic technology meet its full potential, capex and opex will likely be competitive near-term, and could be way lower over the medium-term. 

Once Coolbrook scales up as a company post-launch, the initial deployment costs for the industry would also likely be calibrated lower and long-term ROI much higher. All-in-all a very interesting company (and its operating sphere) to watch out for. With those final thoughts, it's time take your leave. More musings to follow later this month. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photos: Gaurav Sharma with Joonas Rauramo, CEO of Coolbrook at the company's RotoDynamic Technology Test Pilot at Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Geleen, The Netherlands. Illustration: Coolbrook's demonstration of the 'old' versus 'new' energy chain for the global industrial complex. © Jenni Schumacher / Coolbrook, March 2024. 

Quickfire visit to the Economist Sustainability Week

Earlier this morning, The Oilholic had the pleasure of attending Economist Impact's 9th Annual Sustainability Week in London, albeit briefly, given commitments elsewhere in what is turning out to be a very hectic March. 

In a day packed with interesting sessions, three of which this blogger found time to attend, the expected conjecture was that there aren't any viable commercial models to leave things as they are in a world facing climate change. So, should you buy that supposition, the next inevitable question is how to finance the energy transition? To this end, an afternoon session - Financing net zero: assessing and accelerating green finance - really stood out. 

Some of the profound discussion slants included - how are companies building on the progress of previous years and what strategies are they implementing to boost the deployment of green finance further? What kinds of green investment funds are helping to "finance an inclusive climate transition"?

The panel included Heather Buchanan, Chief Executive and Co-founder, Bankers for Net Zero, Nicki Harrison, Director, Sustainable Finance, Europe, Environmental Defense Fund Europe, Evelina Olago, Managing Director of Client and Strategy, Just Climate, and, of course, The Economist's very own global energy and climate innovation editor Vijay Vaitheeswaran. 

There was plenty of interesting chatter among the panellists about asset managers making informed decisions based on data, predictive analytics, IIoT, and all the rest, as well as genuinely linking transition finance to greener pathways, including green bonds and equity investments. 

But all is not plain sailing, and quite frankly no one expects it to be so. For starters corporate balance sheets are stretched. We are in a high interest rate climate, and will likely remain so near-term. Both will trigger caution when it comes investing petrodollars towards green causes. Private equity players - typically keen backers of viable cleantech forays - are also holding back given the uncertain climate.

However, products and services aimed at decarbonisation continue to strengthen, said the panellists. But they also made one key observation that chimes with market intel obtained by the Oilholic - the anti-ESG backlash (or movement if you wish) has indeed had a chilling effect of late on financing greener initiatives. 

That is particularly true in the US in an election year that is going to be a rematch between incumbent Joe Biden and the man he ousted from the White House - Donald Trump. Therefore, a lot may depend on the post-November discourse, and a possible Trump presidency could materially alter the green finance landscape both in the US and abroad. 

And on that thought, it's time to say goodbye. There are two energy site visits coming up plus the little matter of CERAWeek in Houston. So more musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo: Panel on financing net zero: assessing and accelerating green finance, at the Economist Impact Sustainability Week in London, UK on March 5, 2024. © Gaurav Sharma 2024. 

OEG Energy site visit & a 'crude' chat with its boss

Last week The Oilholic headed to sunny Scotland for a very interesting visit to one of OEG Energy's industrial sites in Aberdeen, with none other than its Chief Executive John Heiton. 

The scene of the walkabout was the global mission critical offshore logistics group's state-of-the-art Cairnrobin chemical plant.

This impressive six acre site, just south of Aberdeen's city centre, serves as OEG's storage, servicing and processing hub for a wide range of chemicals and aviation fuel on behalf of a veritable-who's-who of the energy business. It was fascinating to observe the place, its personnel, their processes and top-notch North Sea standard protocols on safe and secure handling of their operational tanks. 

The site visit was followed by a long overdue conversation with Heiton about how he is reshaping OEG along two offshore business silos under one group umbrella - traditional offshore energy and renewables. As it appears, after three years of painstaking work and over a dozen acquisitions, in 2023 the company managed the milestone of a near 50%/50% split in revenue between its traditional and renewables units. 

Heiton described it as the inexorable direction of travel for OEG, with double-digit growth expected for OEG's renewables business over the near-term, and solid single-digit growth for traditional energy boosted by operations in emerging oil and gas extraction hubs like Guyana and Suriname, and established ones in Africa and the Middle East. 

The OEG boss - who's company has its footprints in over 60 global locations - also said he'd encountered the same hike in shipping rates between Asia and Europe via the Red Sea as the readers of this blog (and The Oilholic's sources in Singapore) report, i.e. an uptick of 300% to 350% since November! 

That's when attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels began on international energy and commercial shipping in the key maritime artery. 

"However, shipping rates from Australia to China have also gone up and there are no security issues there! So while some of the cost hike (since November) is related to the troubles in the Red Sea, shipping lines may also be using it as an excuse," Heiton said. 

On the subject of oil demand growth in 2024, OEG is going with the International Energy Agency's conservative forecast of 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd). "Part of it has to do with operational prudence in going for the lower end of global oil demand growth forecasts, rather than much higher forecasts out there. 

"However, where demand growth goes this year does not materially impact us as a business because a lot of global spare capacity is onshore based. Volume produced by the offshore fields we service doesn't make much of a difference to us as a critical logistics provider. They'd ultimately still require broadly similar levels of outsourced services we provide to the facility/platform in question."

Away from the exclusive snippets for this blog, do read The Oilholic's full interview with Heiton for Forbes here. It offers a much wider perspective on OEG's journey as a company in recent years. That's all for now folks, more blogging to follow later this week. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo 1: John Heiton, Chief Executive of OEG Energy (left) with Gaurav Sharma. Photo 2: Specialist storage tanks at OEG Cairnrobin Chemical Plant, Aberdeen, UK, February 2024. 

Rising shale output & oil's recovery to November levels

At the start of the year there were some doubts whether US shale oil production would remain high, having broken records in 2023 and propelled the States to the top of the global oil production leader-board. 

But a recent update from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has gone some way in dispelling those doubts. 

The statistics arm of the US Department of Energy projects that production will likely  go up in March. Key basins are expected to produce around 20,000 more barrels per day (bpd) next month. This implies a total of 9.7 million bpd in shale production - a volume that hasn't been recorded since December last year. 

Conventionally, you'd think an upbeat US production forecast would knock a few dollars off crude prices. However, the market is more or less holding firm, as the Oilholic noted in an earlier blog post. After the profit-taking of last few weeks cooled, the last couple of sessions have seen oil futures return to levels not seen since November. That'd be $83+ per barrel prices for the Brent front-month contract and $79+ per barrel for the WTI.

A combination of OPEC+ cuts, Moscow's recent (and well documented) difficulties in shifting its crude owing to Western sanctions and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are keeping oil prices at elevated levels. 

However, the Oilholic reckons the price will face resistance at $85 and the upcoming week should be interesting. (And the EIA's next update - in this data series - is on March 18, and next weekly US inventory report is out on February 22). 

Elsewhere, yours truly participated in a panel discussion on TRT World's Round-table program to discuss Italy's overtures to Africa for its energy security needs whilst addressing the thorny issue (or shall we say the political hot potato) of migration. 

One guesses, that in reaching out to African heads of state ahead of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF)'s next high-level summit in Algeria in March, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made a strategic and pragmatic move. (The full broadcast is available here)

And finally, remember Uniper? And it's bailout by the German government in 2022 after its options for Russian gas imports ran out? Well its back with a bang, and ready to repay (some of) the bailout money back in phases. That's just as Berlin is seemingly contemplating a share sale to recoup (some of) the money. Here's a full Forbes report. Well that's all for now folks. More soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo: Oil well in Oman © Shell.