The oil and gas industry has consistently focused on improving its operations, particularly as production costs rise, refinement margins come under pressure, and labor shortages persist, along with an increasing pressure to reduce risks and enhance sustainability. These challenges collectively amplify the need and value for Operational Excellence (OpEx), enabling industry leaders to confidently demonstrate that they are operating their assets safely, reliably, sustainably, and cost-effectively.

Ahead of the 15th Annual Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Summit, we caught up with advisory board members Nicolas Felix, Operations Director, Asset Management and O&M at TotalEnergies, Julie Thyne, Global Improvement Director at Dow Chemicals, and Stephan Blasilli, Head of Business Process Excellence at EDP Renewables, to discuss the evolution of Operational Excellence within the oil and gas industry.

Read as they highlight the importance of learning from failures, the transformative impact of digital technologies, and the rise of automation and AI, along with challenges faced by operators today - from balancing investment with returns to managing change fatigue.

In October 2022, Schlumberger announced its new name – SLB – and its transition from the world’s largest oilfield services company to a global technology company focused on driving energy innovation for a balanced planet.

As they became SLB, the need to evolve the company culture arose to support the new positioning effectively and enable them to deliver on their strategic goals. The program to support that cultural evolution became known internally as, ‘Living our Culture.’

We sat down with Carlos Sarmiento, Diversity & Inclusion Director and Philip Irele Evbomoen, HR Director, Digital & Integration Division at SLB, to better understand the ‘Living our Culture’ program’s implementation, successes, and challenges.

Read as we delve into the intricacies of the ‘Living our Culture’ framework and how diversity and most particularly inclusion lead to further innovation and performance within the organization.

The Operational Excellence in Oil and Gas Summit marked its 15th birthday by bringing together 300 operational experts for 3 days of interactive discussions, exclusive case studies, industry-leading workshops and unparalleled networking opportunities. We celebrated in style, by doing what we do best, being the premiere meeting point for operations leaders to share how they are reducing risk, cost, and complexity in their operations.

In our 2024 Post Event Report, explore our top 5 takeaways, thoughts from our conference chairs, audience statistics, and more!

Whether it’s quiet quitting, the great resignation, changing workforce demographics or the perceived “dirtiness” of the industry, the oil and gas sector has been struggling to recruit and retain the talent it needs.

The industry has been particularly hard hit by a convergence of long-standing trends: retiring baby boomers, a societal and industry-wide shift towards sustainability, and the digital transformation of work.

In a recent EY survey of young Americans, over 62% responded that they consider a career in oil and gas “unappealing,” and 39% responded that they consider it “very unappealing.” Many young people believe that the oil and gas industry is a dangerous and dirty industry that contributes to climate change.

“A seismic cultural shift is under way that will make it increasingly difficult for oil and gas companies to attract and retain knowledgeable, highly skilled workers — undermining the industry’s ability to succeed in a rapidly changing world,” write the E&Y authors.

Over half of workers in the oil and gas industry have said that they expect to work in a different industry in the next five years, according to a recent survey.

What can oil and gas companies do to attract and retain the talent that they need to thrive in the decades ahead? This ebook, produced in conjunction with our upcoming Operational Excellence in Oil and Gas Summit, looks at key tactics, leadership qualities and ways in which operational excellence can help.

How do biggest players in the oil and gas industry support Operational Excellence through Digital Transformation? Get Insights from Chevron Phillips Chemical, Phillips66, Delek US, Dow, EDF Renewables, bp, Buckeye Partners and QuarterNorth Energy today!

Improvements in digital technology have enabled oil and gas companies to dramatically increase efficiency and improve safety in their operations. The industry is increasingly making use of drones, wearable technology, robots, big data, and more. However, while Industry 4.0 promises enormous benefits to oil and gas companies, it can be difficult to implement. Digital transformation is much more than a technology project. It requires organizational, process, behavioral, and even cultural change. 

Read our report '7 Factors for Successful Digital Transformation to Support Operational Excellence in Oil and Gas' today!

Recorded live at Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Summit 2022! Delfina Govia of Oil & Gas Global Network (OGGN), the world's leading Oil & Gas podcast network, sits down with Grigor Bambekov, Senior Executive Leader, Excellence, Innovation, Digital and Business Transformation, to discuss his experience in the Oil & Gas industry and the challenges of Business Transformation and Operational Excellence.

Now in its 16th year, the Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Summit brings together over 350 senior level executives to share use cases and discover trailblazing technologies that will transform their operations.

As a sponsor of the summit, you’ll be at the forefront—driving the conversation, showcasing your solutions, and connecting with decision-makers who are transforming industrial performance.

Our audience is actively seeking solutions to optimize efficiency, minimize risk, and accelerate digital transformation across complex industrial environments. From process automation and predictive maintenance to AI-driven insights and frontline workforce enablement—your solution could be exactly what they need.

Position your brand as a catalyst for change in Houston—download the Operational Excellence Summit Prospectus today.

"It was great working with you onsite. Definitely one of the best teams I’ve worked with." - Marketing Director, ALULA

The Operational Excellence in Oil and Gas Summit is returning for its 16th year and the Event Guide is now available, detailing everything in store for this November!

In the current oil and gas operating environment, operational excellence isn’t just about boosting efficiency or reducing downtime —it’s about operations where technology, process, and people move as one.

Join over 300 operations leaders and change-makers to explore a smarter, faster, more sustainable path to operational excellence. Learn how leading oil and gas companies such as Marathon, Equinor, Shell, Entergy Texas, CenterPoint Energy, ExxonMobil, bp and more, have delivered high impact wins on critical priorities — while building long-term momentum through team-driven transformation.

Spot a session that you'd like to get involved in? Get in touch with the team to learn about the full breadth of sponsorship opportunities on offer.

Explore the 2024 Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Exhibition Hall Floor Plan!

With booths already confirmed by the likes of Celonis, Hexagon, BluePrism, Baker Hughes, and so many more, spaces to join us are now limited to just 5 booths!

Find the right booth for you and build on your event experience by hosting a panel discussion or discussion group, taking over the branding options, or leading a pre-conference workshop.

Wondering who you'll meet at the 16th Annual Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Summit? Download the sample attendee list for a glimpse of who could be joining you on November 4-6 in Houston, Texas.

Bringing together 350+ senior leaders from across the oil and gas value chain, our attendees are decision-makers responsible for driving efficiency, safety, technical innovation and cultural change within their organizations.

They come from leading energy companies, looking for trailblazing solutions in key areas such as:

• Process Optimization
• Intelligent Asset Management
• Digital Transformation
• Human-Centered Operational Excellence

One from the archives - In the lead up to the 2019 Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Summit in Houston, we caught up with Sheryl Corrigan, Director, Environment, Health & Safety, Koch Industries. Here, Sheryl provides insight into how the company is working to create next-generation leak detection technology for the oil and gas industry.

From the archives - In the lead up to the 2019 Operational Excellence in Oil and Gas Summit in Houston, we caught up with Chris Humes, Senior Vice President of Operations at Crestwood Midstream. Chris provides insight into how the company has saved $14 million in operating costs while simultaneously improving safety performance and compliance.

From the archives - In the Oil & Gas Industry, Continuous Improvement plays an essential role in reducing costs, improving margins and driving organizational growth. In this exclusive interview with Michiel Van Noort, Global Head of Continuous Improvement, Downstream, at Royal Dutch Shell, we discuss the company’s holistic approach to continuous improvement, and how it is driving lasting results.

From the archives - In the lead up to the Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Summit, we sat down with Kal Johnson, Director of HSSE at Cameron LNG. Kal is accountable for developing and implementing an overarching corporate and operations HSSE management system, while maintaining strategic security infrastructure to meet MARSAC and USCG requirements. Kal has been working on a robust hazard identification program.

From the archives - In the lead up to the 2019 Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Summit in Houston, we caught up with Robert Hutcherson, founder and CEO of Optimize Consulting as well as author of Organizational Optimization. As one of the event speakers, Robert provides insight into his work with the Department of Defence and offers his expertise as to what the Oil and Gas industry can do to optimize their operations.

From the archives - Jim Claunch, Vice President of Business Efficiency at Equinor shares his unique insights on the digital transformation of oil and gas companies and the barriers facing companies on this transformation journey.  Jim has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and shares his expertise with us in this exclusive interview. Download the full interview to read about how Equinor is: defining business efficiency through a mission to integrate competencies, developing a culture that embraces digital transformation, leveraging big data, predictive maintenance and analytics. 

Operational Excellence cannot be just a series of initiatives or spot improvements. For oil and gas companies that wish to truly drive operational excellence, it must be embedded into daily business operations and supported from the top. That means it must be instilled in the mindset and behaviors of all employees.

Three major oil companies - Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Marathon Petroleum – have made operational excellence a key pillar of their business and have a systematic approach to driving operational excellence.

In this exclusive article from Oil & Gas IQ, we take a closer look at each of their operational excellence programs and how they're adopted across the company.

From the archives - In the lead up to the Operational Excellence in Oil and Gas Summit, we had the pleasure of catching up with Sheryl Corrigan, Director of Environmental, Health & Safety at Koch Industries. With over  thirty years experience in the environmental, health and safety arena and 12 years working at Koch Industries,  Sheryl shares her insights on operational excellence at Koch Industries and how the company is leveraging new technologies to improve safety and environmental stewardship. 

Operational excellence requires a degree of stability to understand processes and identify ways to improve them.

But how do you improve processes and maintain the gains when the macro economic climate is constantly changing how you operate? You’ve got to find the Goldilocks zone, according to Sean Barnes, VP, Corporate Operations, at Nine Energy Service.

Sean notes that the periods between booms and busts is the time you need to make small and rapid improvements and get them solidified before the next big market change.

In this interview, Sean discusses the impact of market volatility on oil and gas operations, the ongoing labor challenges in the industry, and what it means to find the just right “goldilocks” zone for operational excellence in oil and gas companies.

Download your copy of the interview today...

From the archives - In the lead up to the Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Summit, we sat down with Hugo Ashkar, Global Risk Manager at BP, to discuss his work in human performance and the role of human factors in overall risk management.

From the archives - In the lead up to the 2019 Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Summit in Houston, we caught up with Grigor Bambekov, Director, Performance & Business Excellence at Andeavor Logistics. As one of this year’s speakers, Grigor provides insight into how the company is maintaining its vision for operational excellence following its recent acquisition as well as its methods for creating employee commitment to a new or changing OEMS.

From the archives - In the lead up to the 2019 Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Summit in Houston, we caught up with Julie Thyne, North America Continuous Improvement Lead at The Dow Chemical Company. Julie provides insight into how the company is driving reliability improvements by speaking directly to frontline experts.

From the archives - In this new and exclusive interview, Cynthia Hansen, Executive Vice President of Utilities and Power Operations at Enbridge, shares her insight on how high-risk businesses can enable safe and reliable operations during times of transformation.

From the archives - Mark Hutcherson, Director of Operations Excellence at ConocoPhillips, discusses how the American energy giant is taking the next step toward digital transformation and driving real time production optimization.

In this exclusive interview, Mark shares powerful insights on how ConocoPhillips is fostering a culture of technology adoption, as well as how AI is used for the purposes of equipment condition monitoring and predictive analytics.

Graciela Perez, Global Manager at Chevron, shares how the global oil and gas giant is leveraging human factors and data analytics as part of their Lean Transformation.

Download the interview to learn how human factors, linked together with Lean Six Sigma, has helped Chevron facilitate change management, improve cross functional learning, and deliver safer and more efficient operations.

Exclusive interview with Jim Wetherbee, the only American astronaut to have commanded five missions in space, a former Vice President of Operational Leadership at BP and author of the recently published “Controlling Risk"! 

In this exclusive interview, Jim discusses the ten common adverse conditions that existed in companies that experienced a major safety incident and how to use the presence and severity of these conditions as indicators to determine if your organization may be drifting toward a disaster.

Download the full interview to find out more.