Annual Meeting is more than another event. It’s a platform to showcase the latest technologies and commitment to drive Energy Forward.

I was about to share my views on the latest BHGE Annual Meeting some time ago, but was waiting to hear back from our customers to understand what it is that we need to improve, if any, and what are the best experiences we can bring in next year.

Today I am proud to say that our Annual Meeting became one of the oil and gas industry's most anticipated events, as it turned into a platform where global leaders debate about key issues and learn more about the latest innovations for our industry. What distinguishes BHGE Annual Meeting from other industry events is that it combines the meaningful plenary sessions with in-depth sessions on mechanical and digital technologies, tools, and strategies designed to enhance operational excellence in the face of increasing challenges.

Every year, when we all gather in Italy, Florence, I am amazed with what we have to offer to our customers. But this year, it was different, yet again. It was the 20th edition of the event, and this year the theme was “Energy Forward.” The event highlighted themes such as current industry trends and innovations that can help shape the future of the industry. But most importantly, this year we announced our commitment to reduce carbon footprint by investing in smarter technologies to advance the energy industry for the long-term. I believe that managing emissions is an important strategic focus of our business and we have an important role to play as an industry leader and partner.

As the leading fullstream technology provider to the oil & gas industry, we are uniquely positioned to partner with operators to promote change across the entire oil & gas industry. Our commitments will help our company and our customers stay on the cutting edge of the industry as it evolves and contributes to the global economy for many years to come. The other distinguishing piece of the event was the commitment from our customers to attend our event and share their views on the oil and gas industry. I am so proud to be hosting such known industry leaders like Dr. Mohammed Al Qahtani, SVP Saudi Aramco. The best part of those gathering is the opportunity to see that we as a company are fully aligned with our customer’s priorities. Dr. Al Qahtani spoke about application of new digital technologies and how our industry is moving towards being “smarter and faster” thru applying those technologies. Our commitment to Saudi Arabia lies beyond our localization efforts, beyond our commitment to iktva and Saudi Vision 2030. We want to be part of future of Saudi Arabia, that applies digital technologies on day today basis and improve people’s lives.

I was also pleased to witness our first panel on Diversity and welcome our speakers such as Reem Al-Ghanim from Saudi Aramco, who was sharing the latest developments in women empowerment happening in Saudi Arabia; to listen to Mr. Al Maker from SABIC, who talked about how chemical industry will require communities help to collect the waste, new technologies - to convert into the feedstock, and finally it will need an enhancement in the process itself. 

The Ministerial Panel that hosted for the first time Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, HE Tarek El Molla, Scottish Minister of Energy, Connectivity & the Islands, HE Paul Wheelhouse, Undersecretary of Oman’s Ministry of Oil & Gas, HE Salim Al Aufi, and Dwi Soetipo, Chairman of SKK Migas from Indonesia discussed the importance of partnerships between governments and the energy sector to address the new challenges in the energy industry, and cooperation across countries to attract technology, diversity, improve productivity, and achieve energy sustainability.

Other panel discussions covered topics such as gas infrastructure, leveraging partnership in a commoditized industry, next steps to drive the industry renaissance, the impact of the energy transition in the oil & gas industry, embracing change, advancing energy, driving operational excellence and project execution, driving diversity in the oil & gas industry, new business models, innovation as a way forward, artificial intelligence and how to create an attractive investment environment.

This year we had more than 1,500 delegates from more than 60 countries with most of our customers being present: Saudi Aramco, BP, Total, Chevron, KOC, and many more. The sessions hosted more than 35 c-suite speakers and most of the discussion revolved around collaboration, partnership, digitization and driving sustainability.

I am a firm believer that the energy demand will continue to grow, and the big question that the event tried to answer is how we should transform to take energy forward.