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      • Ocean Pollution At High-Tide
      • CC's Fuzzy Math
      • A Climate Casualty of a Different Kind
      • Plants Store CO2 Too
      • 45Q for CarbonTech
      • CC's Potential Pitfalls
      • Klaus’s wacky idea
      • Permitting Geological Sequestration
      • A New Era of Energy Innovation
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      • Bonus: Refining Reducing
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      • Bonus - Plan B: Geoengineering
      • Bonus: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Fossil-Tech
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      • Bonus: Cities Not Meeting Targets
      • Bonus: Carbon Sequestering Fungi
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executive summary
​

NEW FRONTIERS IN FOSSIL-TECH

• A commitment to innovation. Oil, gas, and coal enterprises are investing in a wide range of technologies, and the pattern of these investments is not expected to change radically over the next five years.

• The biggest surprise. Green energy is preferred by early adopters throughout all fossil fuel sectors green energy, especially alternatives to oil and coal, as well as technologies that are intended to reduce the environmental impact of oil, gas, and coal extraction.

• Generalizing the trend. The Internet of Things (IoT) and mobility/cloud technologies are the most popular investments among a range of transformative technologies. These particular digital solutions are expected to remain the top choices for the next five years.

• A stick is more powerful than a carrot. Regulatory and policy mandates are the main drivers for investing in new technologies, RD&D, and innovation; of secondary importance is financial profit and/or ROI.

• The same but different. Fossil fuel companies (producers of oil, gas, or coal) are more likely to invest in alternative “green” energy; whereas the sector’s service providers (like Schlumberger or Bechtel) are more likely to invest in technology.

• Resistance. Older managers are the biggest barrier to adopting new technological solutions. The chief reason for resistance is a fear of price fluctuation.

• The fastest changing sub-sectors. The areas where transformative technologies are having the biggest impact are production-related: operations, maintenance, exploration and extraction.

• The preferences of leaders. Survey respondents who self-identified as a “leader who embraces innovation” are likely to say they are investing in automation, robotics, mobility and smart machines.

• Beyond digital: hard-tech fossil-technologies. While most respondents were most interested in digital technologies, many were “more than intrigued” by the possibilities for innovations in hard-tech. Ones to watch:
  • Hydrogen. Though still more expensive than natural gas, hydrogen is being tested in refineries to make oil products cleaner and to reduce the sulfur content of diesel.
  • Carbon capture and storage (or carbon capture, utilization and storage). A 20-year-old technology, carbon capture garners enormous interest, especially in the coal sector, now that policy-makers are currently considering new and supportive subsidies, like the Enhancing Fossil Fuel Energy Carbon Technology (EFFECT) Act.
  • Enhanced oil recovery. EOR has long been used by operators to extract more oil from a reservoir, but there is growing interest in alternative methods, such as harnessing solar energy to produce steam that can improve oil recovery rates.
  • Floating processing plants. Mobile plants allow small, offshore gas fields to process and liquefy on-site, speeding up the velocity of the overall offshore market.

Please also see the compendium of anecdotal responses.

​A detailed survey report is forthcoming.
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  • Members Login >>
    • Energy Today Archive >
      • Leading Change
      • Zero Emissions
      • Interactive Map
      • Floating Wind
      • Quick Hits
      • Steven Chu
      • Dan Poneman
      • Melanie Kenderdine
      • Chris Gould
      • UNSDSN
      • Data as a Tool
      • Change Through Organizing
      • MK Dorsey
      • Social Impact Start-Ups
      • Social Impact Entrepreneurs
      • A Network for the Heartland
      • Ecosystem Maps
      • Clean Energy By 2035
      • Bioremediation
      • Energy Storage-Video
      • Geothermal Energy
      • Commodity Chemical
      • PM Careers In Cleantech
      • Critical Breakthroughs
      • Losing Our Way
      • The Third Rail
      • Mapping the Seas
      • Low-Carbon Midwest
      • Smart Grid
      • Decarbonization
      • Getting to Zero
      • Climate Risk and Response
      • Our Infrastructure Is Being Built For a Climate That's Already Gone
      • Energy History
      • Battery Recycling
      • Quantum Waves
      • Coal REE
      • Fueling Big Rigs
      • Sandia Initiatives
      • Natural Gas Revolution
      • Duck Chart
      • Carbon Crossroads
      • Electric Cars
      • Energy Jobs Coalition
      • Indispensable Electricity
      • Post-Pandemic Predictions
      • Building Infrastructure
      • De-Prioritizing Cars
      • Vicki Hollub
      • Emily Kirsch
      • Lise Meitner
      • Lets Listen
      • COVID-19 and China Air
      • COVID-19 and Oil
      • COVID-19 and Solar
      • COVID-19 and Storage
      • Immorality of Waste
      • Rethinking "Disposable"
      • Second Life of Wind Turbines
      • Rare Earth Elements
      • Coal: Ashes to REM
      • Platinum and Cobalt
      • Geoengineering the Planet
      • An Atmospheric Industry
      • L.A. Hydrogen Plant
      • Pebbles, Sponges and Fans
      • CO2 Into Fuel
      • Superpower
      • The Fate of Food
      • Power Trip
      • Signs on the Earth
      • The Dreamt Land
      • Double Jeopardy
      • 7 Trends In Mineral Mining
      • The Prize - an excerpt
      • REM From Coal
      • The Deep Sea - The Next Gold Rush
      • Geothermal - Salvation or Earthquakes
      • The Myth of the Sustainabie City
      • The Emerging Circular Economy
      • How Cities Can Become More Resilient
      • Prosperity for One, Disaster for Another
      • The Real Energy Revolution
      • Carbon Loophole
      • Op-Ed: CO2 Reduction Thru Biofuels
      • The Sun Also Accelerates
      • Blowing Past the Zettabyte Era
      • Jack Voltaic: A Cyber Simulation Wargame
      • Managing Risk
      • From Russia, With Love
      • Ukraine: The Cyber-War Test Bed
      • 5G Requires A New Approach
      • Climate Change or Just Weather
      • Gone
      • Surge Flooding - Houston
      • Tug of War: Pollution Masks Impact of Climate Change
      • Climate Change Needs the Humanities
      • Nuclear Power: A Dilemma for Climate Change Philanthropy
      • Did California Trump the Clean Air Rollback
      • A Redundancy Dilemma
      • Double Jeopardy - a bonus excerpt
      • The War of the Currents
      • There Will Be Buyouts
      • Space Research Can Save the Planet
      • California's Oil Hypocrisy
      • Robert Merton
      • Africa: The New O&G Frontier
      • Why Oil Markets Aren't Reacting
      • Capitalism and Climate Change
      • The Frackers
      • Double Jeopardy
      • The Grid
      • Designing Climate Solutions
      • Making Tech Miracles
      • Best In Snow
      • Plastic Do-Over
      • The New Nuclear
      • Global Energy Insecurity
      • Renewable Energy and Geopolitics
      • The Myth of Energy Security
      • Residential Storage Security
      • An Insecure GND
      • Water, Food and Energy Security
      • The Transformation of the O&G Sector
      • Wild Fire
      • Ocean Pollution At High-Tide
      • CC's Fuzzy Math
      • A Climate Casualty of a Different Kind
      • Plants Store CO2 Too
      • 45Q for CarbonTech
      • CC's Potential Pitfalls
      • Klaus’s wacky idea
      • Permitting Geological Sequestration
      • A New Era of Energy Innovation
      • Investment in O&G Set to Soar
      • Old Capital Strategies, New Thinking
      • BofA Builds Green Revolution
      • We'd Rather Quit OPEC...
      • One Belt, One Road, No Plan
      • Coal fight turns ugly
      • As the World Warms
      • Oil Diplomacy
      • George Mitchell
      • Nicole Poindexter
      • Dan Kammen
      • Regina Mayor
      • Jessica Matthews
      • Bonus: Refining Reducing
      • Bonus: Energy Investment Trends
      • Bonus: The US has lost the rare earths
      • Bonus: Fossil-tech survey results
      • Bonus article: The New Age of Electricity
      • Bonus - Plan B: Geoengineering
      • Bonus: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Fossil-Tech
      • Bonus: Cyber Attack Timeline
      • Bonus: Employees - Cyber Threats and Assets
      • Bonus: Transportation, Jetson's Style
      • Bonus Article for Members
      • Bonus article - Infrastructure Failure
      • Bonus: Hydrogen Fuel From Coal
      • Bonus: Cities Not Meeting Targets
      • Bonus: Carbon Sequestering Fungi
      • Bonus: The Earthshot Prize
      • Bonus: A Radioactive Discovery