The narrative surrounding the global energy sector has undergone a radical shift over the last two decades. In the early 2000s, the industry was haunted by the specter of peak oil and a persistent sense of energy scarcity. Today, in March 2026, the conversation has pivoted toward energy abundance, driven largely by the integration of advanced technology. During a high-level session at CERAWeek, leaders from Chevron, SLB, and ABB gathered to discuss how the convergence of silicon and steel: digital intelligence and physical hardware: is redefining the energy market trends of the future.
Ryder Booth, Chief Technology Engineering Officer at Chevron, noted that since the late 90s, global oil supply has grown by 25 million barrels per day. This growth was not an accident of geography but a triumph of engineering. The current challenge is no longer just finding the resources, but producing them with higher efficiency and lower carbon intensity.
Merging Digital Innovation with Industrial Hardware
A core theme of the discussion was the philosophy of Silicon + Steel. Demos Pafitis, Chief Technology Officer at SLB, argued that while AI and software are the obvious front-ends of modern technology, they are useless without robust physical assets. In the energy industry, the objective is to move physical liquids, separate molecules, and manage massive pressures.
Pafitis used a vivid analogy to explain this relationship: you cannot make a bus drive like a Ferrari simply by changing the software. If you want sports car performance, you must redesign the chassis and the engine. In the energy sector, this means building a technology stack where hardware and digital intelligence are architected together from the start. This integration is what allows operators to push the boundaries of what is physically possible.
Peter Terweisch, President of Automation at ABB, reinforced this by discussing the concept of modernization without disruption. For decades, control systems were designed for high dependability: what he called six nines of reliability. The goal now is to re-architect these systems so they can benefit from the latest AI and cloud capabilities without compromising the core safety and stability of the plant. This evolution allows for the separation of concerns, where the hard real-time dependability remains isolated from the rapidly evolving digital interfaces.
Breaking Barriers in Deepwater and the Permian
The physical side of this equation was recently highlighted by Chevron’s breakthrough in the Gulf of Mexico. For 26 years, the industry was capped by a 15,000 PSI (pounds per square inch) pressure barrier in deepwater developments, a mark set in 1999. Recently, through the Anchor project, Chevron successfully crossed the 20,000 PSI barrier.
Crossing this threshold was not merely an incremental improvement; it required an entirely new generation of subsea valves, trees, and control systems. This technical milestone has unlocked a new tranche of deepwater resources that were previously inaccessible. It serves as a reminder that while the industry is increasingly digital, the most significant leaps often involve overcoming the brutal physics of the deep ocean.
On the digital front, Chevron is deploying its Apex platform, an exploration AI that processes four petabytes of seismic and well-log data. To put that scale in perspective, watching a one-petabyte movie would take 30 years. By using AI to navigate a century of historical data, Chevron is effectively turning its geologists back into explorers. Previously, these professionals spent the majority of their time as data researchers, hunting for old logs and records. Now, the AI handles the data wrangling, allowing human experts to focus on high-value decision-making.
Similarly, in the Permian Basin, Chevron uses the Apollo platform to optimize drilling and fracking operations. By synthesizing data from one out of every five wells in the region, the system can predict how a well will produce under various development scenarios at any specific set of coordinates. This data-first methodology has led to a high level of adoption, with 60 percent of new wells in the Permian incorporating new technology or innovations derived from these analytics.
The Reality of Autonomous Energy Operations
The talk of AI naturally leads to questions about autonomous operations. Terweisch noted that ABB has been working toward autonomous systems for a decade, but he provided a necessary reality check. He compared the current state of industrial autonomy to the Waymo vehicles seen in cities like Phoenix or San Francisco.
While a Waymo may appear driverless to the passenger, it often relies on remote human assistance during complex moments, such as navigating a crowded intersection. Terweisch suggested that the energy industry is following a similar path. We are moving from simple task automation to remote-assisted autonomy.
In container ports, for instance, crane operators have moved from cabins 50 feet in the air to comfortable remote-control centers. The cranes operate autonomously most of the time, only calling for human intervention when they reach a limit or encounter a non-standard situation. This level-by-level progression toward autonomy is also being seen in underground mining and offshore platforms. The focus is not on achieving 100 percent machine independence but on achieving a level of autonomy that provides a clear payback through increased safety and continuous production.
Decarbonization through Electrification and AI
As the industry faces increasing pressure to reduce its environmental footprint, technology is becoming the primary tool for decarbonization. Ryder Booth highlighted that Chevron has reduced its methane intensity by 50 percent since 2016. This was achieved through a three-pillared approach: investing in detection technology, exploring lower-carbon fuels, and improving the efficiency of existing operations.
Efficiency and decarbonization are often two sides of the same coin. For example, moving from single fracking to triple fracking in the Permian increased cycle times by 25 percent and improved efficiency by 12.5 percent. When you use less energy to extract a barrel of oil, you inherently lower the carbon intensity of that barrel.
Electrification is also playing a critical role. From a fundamental physics standpoint, combustion is significantly less efficient than electrification. By replacing gas-fired turbines with electric motors powered by renewable sources, operators can drastically reduce on-site emissions. In the Permian, some operations are already utilizing 30 to 35 percent renewable electricity.
ABB is contributing to this effort through advanced methane detection systems. Their technology stack includes stationary sensors, vehicle-mounted analyzers, drones, and satellites. These systems can distinguish between biogenic methane (naturally occurring) and anthropogenic methane (from industrial leaks), providing precise data on where repairs are needed.
Collaborative Ecosystems and the Future of CCUS
No single company can solve the challenges of the clean energy transition alone. The panel emphasized that the era of being “territorial” with intellectual property is fading. Partnerships are now a requirement for survival and growth.
A prime example is the subsea battery project in Australia. Chevron partnered with Subsea Tech to develop the largest subsea battery in the world, which sits at the bottom of the ocean as a backup power source. It has enough energy to drive a Tesla for 12,000 miles. Chevron had the problem, and Subsea Tech had the specialized engineering expertise; together, they created a solution that neither could have finalized in isolation.
SLB has adopted a Fit for Basin strategy, recognizing that a global, one-size-fits-all solution is often ineffective. By collaborating with National Oil Companies (NOCs) and local partners, they develop specific tools tailored to the unique geological and regulatory needs of a particular region.
Finally, the conversation turned to Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS). While CCUS has been discussed for decades, the current goal is to reduce the cost of capture by 50 to 70 percent. AI is playing a vital role here through material science. Operators are now using AI to simulate and invent new reactive materials in virtual space before ever testing them in a lab. This accelerated R&D is essential for making CCUS an economically viable solution for industrial emitters like cement factories and refineries.
As we move further into 2026, the success of the energy sector will depend on its ability to balance the reliability of steel with the agility of silicon. The re-engineering of the energy future is not just about new fuels; it is about smarter, more integrated ways of managing the resources we already have.
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