Digitalization in Oil & Gas 2026

From Pilots to Production

Why Attend

● Move beyond AI hype and see what is actually scaling across operations, maintenance, field monitoring, and remote facilities.

● Learn how operators are connecting OT, IT, cloud, edge, data platforms, and legacy systems without compromising safety or resilience.

● Hear candid case studies that include implementation hurdles, ROI timelines, governance barriers, and what had to change to make deployments stick.

● Meet operators, digital leaders, robotics and drone specialists, OT and IT architects, AI and data platform providers, and cybersecurity experts.

Agenda at a Glance

● Day 1 focuses on scaled operational value: AI deployment, data foundations, OT–IT integration, governance, and enterprise operationalization.

● Day 2 focuses on robotics, drones, remote operations, digital twins, workforce transformation, and future-proofing the operating model.

Day One: From AI Hype to Scaled Operational Value

Thursday, September 10, 2026
8:00 AM - 8:05 AM
 
 
8:05 AM - 8:10 AM
 
Jim Claunch
8:10 AM - 8:40 AM

A flagship opening discussion on what has genuinely moved from pilot to production, where ROI appeared fastest, and what still stalls in execution.

 
8:40 AM - 9:00 AM

A strategic view of how digitalization changes workflows, management systems, and the way the business runs.

 
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

A practical look at where agentic AI is useful now, what data and context it requires, and where human-in-the-loop oversight remains essential.

 
9:30 AM - 10:10 AM

Operators and practitioners discuss what helped scale high-value use cases, what killed momentum, and how ROI was measured and defended internally.

Habeib Al-Hashimi
10:10 AM - 10:40 AM
 
 
10:40 AM - 11:10 AM

Three rapid talks on semantic layers, contextualized industrial data, RAG and metadata, and governance, lineage, and auditability for production AI.

  • Semantic layers and ontologies
  • RAG, metadata, embeddings, and context
  • Governance, lineage, and auditability for production AI Framework - Omar Omar, Phillips 66

 

Omar A Omar
11:10 AM - 11:30 AM

An executive-level reality check on compute costs, cloud spend, model bills, and how to evaluate AI economics against measurable business value.

 
11:30 AM - 11:50 AM

A practical session on secure internal AI platforms, controlled enterprise assistants, model flexibility, and what users actually adopt.

 
11:50 AM - 12:20 PM

A dialogue on workflow redesign, decision rights, process change, and what it takes to embed AI into how a company actually operates

 
12:20 PM - 1:05 PM
 
 
1:05 PM - 1:25 PM

A case study exploring natural-language interaction with facilities, grounded in telemetry, operational context, and bounded autonomy.

Jack Hu
1:25 PM - 1:45 PM

A forward-looking discussion on quantum and high-performance computing, framed realistically for the next few years rather than the distant horizon.

 
1:45 PM - 2:05 PM

A premium operator fireside on what makes a digital leader different: leadership behavior, supplier ecosystem, scaling logic, and operational discipline.

 
2:05 PM - 2:35 PM

A practical panel on choosing between model types, deployment patterns, hybrid/on-prem/cloud architectures, and how to avoid overbuilding.

Shivaprasad Sankesha Narayana
2:35 PM - 2:55 PM
 
 
2:55 PM - 3:35 PM

A fast-moving lightning round on responsible AI in operations, semantic data products, fast model upgrades, and safe automation in OT environments.

  • Responsible AI in operations
  • Semantic data products versus dangerous data lakes
  • Fast model-backend upgrades
  • Safe automation in OT environments
     
 
3:35 PM - 3:55 PM

A case study on where digital twins still create value through standardization, simulation, alerting, training, and operational decision support.

 
3:55 PM - 4:40 PM

A curated showcase of deployable technologies across drone analytics, robotics, semantic layers, IoT, AI governance, and workflow automation. In this showcase, each innovator pitches practical solutions built for oil and gas.

You will:

  • See a curated showcase of applications designed for real operational environments.
  • Compare commercial models, integration requirements, and typical timelines from pilot to production.
  • Hear real-world examples and measurable outcomes aligned with operator priorities.
  • Vote live for the solution you would most realistically trial in your own organization.
 
4:40 PM - 4:45 PM
 
 
4:45 PM - 4:50 PM
 
 
4:50 PM - 4:55 PM
 
 
4:55 PM - 5:55 PM
 
 

Day Two: Robotics, Drones, Remote Operations, and Future-Proofing the Operating Model

Friday, September 11, 2026
8:00 AM - 8:05 AM
 
 
8:05 AM - 8:10 AM
 
Sean Barnes
8:10 AM - 8:40 AM

A Day 2 opener on portfolio strategy, centers of excellence, standardization, and scaling digitalization across assets and regions.

Julie Thyne
8:40 AM - 9:00 AM

A presentation on avoiding lock-in, building adaptable data foundations, and maintaining flexibility across tools, models, and vendors.

 
9:00 AM - 9:40 AM

A panel on governance boards, auditability, lineage, SAP/SOX realities, and what production-grade AI requires in large industrial companies.

Jessica Hancock Al Lindseth
9:40 AM - 10:00 AM

A practical session on using digitalization to improve daily decisions in reliability, production, and field operations.

 
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
 
 
10:30 AM - 10:50 AM

A concise Q&A spotlight on governance, role clarity, risk review, and reducing duplication between digital initiatives.

 
10:50 AM - 11:10 AM

An operator-style case study on using operational data for reliability, production optimization, and field decision support.

 
11:10 AM - 11:50 AM

A broad panel on inspection robots, drone-in-a-box systems, ground robots, subsea robotics, and where economics work in real operations.

 
11:50 AM - 12:10 PM

A practical case study on OGI monitoring, drone-based emissions and leak detection, and visual analytics for anomaly identification.

 
12:10 PM - 12:30 PM

A practical presentation on LoRaWAN, low-cost telemetry, battery-powered sensing, and the physical data layer needed for future AI use cases.

 
12:30 PM - 1:10 PM
 
 
1:10 PM - 1:45 PM

Roundtable leaders will open these highly interactive, peer-driven roundtables with a brief 5-minute introduction and a short overview of the topic, which can include a case study, lessons learned, or an industry update.

Each roundtable covers a different topic, allowing attendees to choose the discussion most relevant to them.

This is followed by a 30-minute peer discussion, with the leader facilitating questions, feedback, and practical exchange. The final 5 minutes are dedicated to aligning on five clear industry recommendations which will be included in the post-conference report.

Choose one topic that aligns with your most urgent priority.

Topic subject to change

  1. From Pilot to Production: What Actually Helps a Use Case Scale? 
  2. Building an AI-Ready Data Foundation: Governance, Lineage, and Business Ownership 
  3. OT, IT, Cloud, and Edge: Where Integration Still Breaks Down 
  4. Agentic AI in Operations: Where Human-in-the-Loop Still Matters Most 
  5. Choosing the Right Model, Tool, and Architecture for the Job 
  6. How to Measure ROI for AI, Automation, and Digitalization in Real Operations 
  7. Digital Twins After the Hype: Where They Still Deliver Operational Value 
  8. Drone, Sensor, and Visual Analytics: What Actually Works in the Field 
  9. Field IoT and Edge Telemetry: Building the Data Capture Layer for Future AI 
  10. Operationalizing AI in a Regulated, Asset-Heavy Business: Governance That Enables Rather Than Blocks 
  11. Safety, Cybersecurity, and Reliability in More Autonomous Operations 
  12. Workforce 2030: Reskilling, Role Redesign, and Protecting Critical Expertise – Julie Thyne, Dow
  13. Standardizing Asset Data Across Sites Without Locking Yourself Into One Vendor 
  14. Physical AI in Industry: Connecting Robotics, Sensors, and Decision Systems 
  15. Future-Proofing the Operating Model: What to Standardize Now for the Next Wave of AI 
Julie Thyne
1:45 PM - 2:20 PM

A session on OT cybersecurity, edge protection, segmented architectures, drones and robotics oversight, and safe deployment in high-consequence environments.

Al Lindseth
2:20 PM - 2:40 PM
 
 
2:40 PM - 3:10 PM

A lightning round covering drone-in-a-box deployment lessons, low-code robot training, reality capture and GPR, and ROI tracking from day one.

  • Drone-in-a-box deployment lessons
  • Low-code robot training and modular automation
  • Reality capture and GPR with drones
 
3:10 PM - 3:40 PM

A practical workforce session on retiring expertise, digital twin–based training, end-user programmability, and new role design in a more automated sector.

Sharon Birkman Jakub Marciniak
3:40 PM - 4:10 PM

A cross-industry panel on simulation, robotics, AI-first workflows, manufacturing automation, and what is realistically transferable to oil and gas.

 
4:10 PM - 4:35 PM

An interactive closing discussion on standards, data models, facility templates, hardware upgrade paths, and decisions that unlock future competitiveness.

 
4:35 PM - 4:45 PM