Good News Monday! O&G sees rays of hope with increased demand, robotics, BP’s COVID-19 procedures, and of course, sanitizer!
Image Credit: Oil & Gas 360
As restrictions are relaxed a bit on COVID-19, demand for oil and gas is slowly starting to pick back up. Experts are careful to mention that this will likely not be a “V” shaped recovery, but likely a “U” or “L” where demand picks up slowly over time and may not reach the same peak of early 2019 for a year or more. As work from home and social distancing become more a part of daily life, the recovery will likely be long and steady, without the snapback for which some are hoping. Industries such as airlines are hit particularly hard, and may require years to get back to previous levels.
It does look like we are over the hump: “Globally, we are at the inflection point where we are past the worst for oil demand destruction but not for supply destruction,” Olivier Jakob, managing director at consultant Petromatrix GmbH. “This should help price stabilization.” Gasoline has seen some increases as well: “In the U.S., the amount of gasoline supplied to the market increased last week to nearly 5.9 million barrels a day, up from 5.1 million in the first week of April but well below the typically more than 9 million before the virus, according to the official data. Early last month, refiners saw gasoline demand at 55% of normal level, which improved to 64% in the latest seven-day average.”
Although the road to recovery will be long for O&G, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Image Credit: Forbes
ARIX Technologies is a robotics and data analytics start-up founded by Dianna Liu. After graduating from Duke University in 2012 she enjoyed working in refineries, the technology and engineering was amazing. She loved culture of safety, morality, and the challenge and mentorship that comes with the industry.
Why did Liu get into Oil & Gas? In high school she created a game for girls, learning to code in the process. Programming led her to engineering in college. She studied both biomedical and mechanical engineering, looking for a way to join the two disciplines. While getting her MBA at Yale in 2017, she won the Miller Prize for Disruptive Technology, leading to the creation of ARIX and a pipe-crawling robot.
ARIX Technology is headquartered in Houston, off 290 and highway 8. Liu gets guidance from Shell GameChanger Dr. Alicia Williams. The GameChanger program works with early stage companies to provide mentorship, while Stanley Black & Decker’s VC arm led the initial investment round.
ARIX is working on field work and “focusing first on corrosion under the insulation in refinery pipes to discover where more detailed inspections are needed.” Upgrades are being made to the robot regularly and the team is looking for areas in which they can help the most.
We’re excited to see more disruptive technology in Houston!
Learn more about ARIX Technology on their website http://www.arix-tech.com/
Image Credit: bp
BP’s Thunderhorse platform has become the standard for protecting oil and gas workers from COVID-19. Some of these adjustments include:
• Longer rotations of 28 days, up from 14
• Regular decontamination
• Isolation and testing of crew members before any offshore travel
• Medical evacuation of crew who have covid symptoms
BP says that other companies have come to them for advice on their protocols and procedures during this time, and they have happily shared the information. “We’re all in this together.”
Kenya Pipeline Company donates 130,000 liters of sanitizer
Image Credit: Citizentv.co.ke
Last but not least, a quick piece of news from a few weeks ago:
The Keyna Pipeline Company with its partners are donating 130,000 liters of free hand sanitizer to fight COVID-19. A mix of 500 ml bottles for personal use and 20 liter containers for institutional use are being provided.
Partners such as African Breweries, Bollore Logistics, and Maersk Kenya will be helping to transport the sanitizer.