The last year presents several examples of new partnerships and investment commitments. These announcements of illustrate three trends we see as particularly salient in the industry today: the
move to cloud computing, the rise of integrated platform development between unusual partners and a renewed focus on return-on-investment for digital projects.
International, integrated oil companies, especially Europeans, are leading the charge to digitalize. Shell, BP, Equinor have all built technology in-house, formed significant partnerships with technology firms, and announced cost saving projects. North American oil companies are more cautious, although we expect Suncor and Exxon to continue launching products and begin publicizing their efforts.
In Asia, there are many state-owned oil companies such as Petronas or Sinopec. They have pressure from their governments to modernize and reduce costs. Middle Eastern oil companies are particularly under the spotlight with Saudi Aramco’s recent IPO, and have plenty of cash in hand. We expect more digital announcements from oil companies the Middle East and North America, while Europeans will remain in the lead.
