In a scenario of rising technology companies, the hydrocarbon industry also maintains a strong footing in technology. Knabe thinks as well that the substantial energy requirements per unit of Gross Domestic Product will not disappear.

Vesna Marinkovic U. (*)

1Considering the growing strengthen of technology companies such as Apple, Amazon and Microsoft, which are focused on data processing, is the importance of major companies in the energy sector in the global economy decreasing?

2Any possibility that information could become the commodity of the future instead oil?

For this reason, the oil industry is moving to the Cloud for various processes, such as reservoir modeling and simulation.



                                                      

3In companies like Halliburton, is there a strategy to strengthen service lines that, without neglecting the main energy business, focus directly on the interpretation, optimization, modeling and forecasting of data (i.e. data analytics / machine learning), which are obtained in the execution of your services to add greater added value to your management?

4Is it possible that companies serving the hydrocarbon industry can contribute to a technological revolution that allows us to continue using fossil fuels in a more sustainable way?

What surprises many people is that carbon dioxide has been injected into improved oil recovery projects in the United States for more than thirty years. Companies like Halliburton have gained a lot of experience in managing CO2 over the course of this period.

                                                                                         

 

6What do you think is the effect that the pandemic has on the worldview of people on climate change, the challenges of sustainability, and efficient energy management?

People in various cities around the world recognize the significant reduction in air pollution thanks to the lower traffic density. Possibly an effect of the pandemic will be that people demand from their politicians that this improvement in the environment continue, resulting in less use of fuels such as coal and high sulfur fuels.

Similarly, the discovery that working from home works fairly well for various professions could cause a permanent reduction in the use of gasoline and diesel, increasing efficient energy management.

7How do you think of the situation in the hydrocarbon industry in general during the COVID-19 pandemic? Many layoffs?

The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the recent “price war” in the oil industry, have significantly reduced activity across the industry, be it exploration, production, refining or distribution.

Unfortunately, one result has been substantial layoffs and early retirements.

However, the cyclical nature of the industry provides hope for new hires if oil and natural gas prices recover. The trend mentioned before of “digitizing” the hydrocarbon industry also opens the door to the hiring of new personnel.

8The outlook for the sector post COVID-19 is optimistic or negative?

In many ways it is optimistic, especially for natural gas, an abundant resource in Bolivia frequently designated as a “transition fuel.”

Natural gas by the nature of its combustion is cleaner than other fuels. Furthermore, the use of natural gas in applications such as power generation lends itself to CO2 recovery at a cost that some countries and companies should be able to tolerate to minimize their carbon footprints.

“Furthermore, the use of natural gas in applications such as power generation lends itself to CO2 recovery at a cost that some countries and companies should be able to tolerate to minimize their carbon footprints”

(*) Traduction by Steve P. Knabe.