EAGE Annual 2024: Embracing Change in a Traditional Industry

The EAGE Annual 2024 brought together professionals, academia, and industry leaders to explore the intersection of technology, talent, and sustainability in the energy sector. The theme was “Technology and Talent for a Secure and Sustainable Energy Future” and that captured the essence of our collective mission.?

Seagate’s booth, situated in the digitalization pavilion showcased our solutions- both services and products- all aimed specifically to facilitate the energy sector’s data challenges.??

We were fortunate to meet in person our existing partners, had interesting talks to potential new ones and even met people that weren’t aware of Seagate’s connection to this industry.???

Here are my key takeaways:??

• The two biggest challenges that were heard over and over were the importance of time to data and reducing cost.??

In the energy sector, the concept of “time to data” refers to the speed at which data is collected, processed, and made available for analysis sometimes from faraway and places that are hard to reach – offshore, on boats, etc. As the industry becomes so much more data-driven, minimizing this time is crucial. Real-time data acquisition allows for more accurate decision-making, predictive maintenance, and optimization of energy production and distribution systems. Whether it’s monitoring renewable energy sources, managing grid stability, or analyzing consumption patterns, reducing the time to access actionable data enhances efficiency and sustainability across the sector. Seagate’s Lyve solutions offer data transfer as a service, where we handle all the logistics necessary.?

The matter of cost came up and is crucial for several reasons: Operational Efficiency; scalability with the growing amount of data needing to be transferred; sustainability with companies needing to reduce their carbon footprint; and last but not least the need to be competitive.??

• It’s all about the people: The conference emphasized the critical role of individuals, especially in such a traditional industry. In this industry a lot of the data is stored on tape, but for all the obvious reasons, eventually this will have to change. Whether it’ll be stored on-prem or in the cloud, it will eventually change. At this stage, it’s the early adopters that are here to make a difference. One of our partners that we met at EAGE was an early adapter (no name dropping here), and it is now evident that they are leading the pact. We could see it from the crowd that their booth attracted, and the fact that they had sent over people to view our offering – from data transfer as a service, to on prem solutions to even an S3 cloud offering.?

• Cutting-edge technology: Participants delved into the latest advancements in geoscience, exploration, and production. From AI-driven workflows to digital solutions, technology was at the forefront of innovation.??

• ?Sustainability and energy transition: The urgent need for sustainable practices underscored many sessions and booths put an emphasis on the need for sustainable solutions. Experts explored how to balance energy security with environmental responsibility.??

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So, after engaging conversations at our booth and witnessing groundbreaking innovations across the exhibition floor, it’s been a pleasure exhibiting at EAGE and now it’s time to get to work. Our team was grateful for the opportunity to network, learn, and showcase our products/services.??