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Disruption of Value Chain Optimization

Apr 01, 2020
Written by Duncan Micklem, Executive Vice President Marketing

Value chain manufacturing is pivoting from optimizing return on capital employed, to optimizing production to address industry’s license to operate.

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Driving Innovation and Enterprise Resilience

Mar 27, 2020
Written by Duncan Micklem, Executive Vice President Marketing

Every cloud has a silver lining. If there’s anything positive to take away from the COVID-19 situation, it’s that it forces innovation and enterprise resilience.

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How Technology Can Aid Sustainability

Mar 03, 2020
Written by Pablo Jimenez-Asenjo, Visual MESA Global Business Line Leader

In a recent interview with Pablo Jimenez-Asenjo on his new role, leading the Visual Mesa technology business, we asked him how technology can aid sustainability and its economic, environmental and social elements.

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Why Bother with a Digital Twin?

Sep 04, 2019
Written by Joseph Ting and Duncan Micklem

Digital twin technology is not a new trend in the energy industry, yet there is still a lot of confusion as to what exactly these twins are and what is their use value. Here we provide an overview of the role of digital twins in the modern energy, chemical, and process manufacturing industries.

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Why Digitalization Can Be Music to the Ears of the Energy and Chemical Industry

Mar 11, 2019
Written by Duncan Micklem

The energy and chemical industry is a conservative one. Its processes may be complex and there’s more risk involved, but its outdated technology is in need of an upgrade if companies are going to move into the digital age. Find out what the process industries learn from the music sector in their Digitalization strategies.

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Four Digitalization Projects To Start Today

Jan 29, 2019
Written by Duncan Micklem, EVP Strategy and Marketing

All companies are at a different stage of their Digitalization journey and knowing how to get started can often prove challenging. Here, KBC's Duncan Micklem explores four Digitalization projects digitally wise businesses should start today.

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Digital Twin Technology and Analytics - Paving the Way to Flow Assurance

Jan 21, 2019
Written by Alessandro Speranza, Product Champion

Whilst previously upstream producers have focused on managing their assets for maximum production volume, in the current business environment the main thrust should be on growth. One key growth pathway is flow assurance in pipelines and networks. Here, Alessandro Speranza, Product Champion at KBC, explores how effective KPI setting, analytics and digital twin technology will drive flow assurance.

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The Value of Digitalization

Jan 14, 2019
Written by Duncan Micklem, EVP Strategy and Marketing

For many beginning their Digitalization journey, there is a strong pressure to deliver something big using one of the latest buzzwords – IIoT, Industry 4.0, Cloud, Edge, Big Data, Analytics. Proponents of this input-oriented approach risk applying technology for the sake of technology, without realizing its true value. Here we explore the outcomes and how Digitalization can deliver and sustain true value.

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Digitalization - Upstream's 'Electric Car' Moment

Dec 07, 2018
Written by Duncan Micklem, Strategy Director

A plant’s success is balanced on the collaboration between its engineers yet differing attitudes towards correlation-based analytics has driven reservoir engineers and process and production engineer’s worlds apart. Here, KBC's Duncan Micklem discusses how Digitalization could be the key to bridging this gap and unlocking trapped value within the upstream oil and gas industry.

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Turning Vision 2050 Into a Reality

Nov 27, 2018
Written by Stephen George, Chief Economist

Europe’s refiners, through their industry organization Fuels Europe, have set out their long-term ambitions in a new program called Vision 2050. The outlook sees them staking a claim to remain at the center of transport fuels supply, the petrochemicals industry, renewable fuels and energy - even as Europe’s Energy Union strategy mobilizes a low-carbon, sustainable energy transition. Here, KBC's Stephen George explains how refiners can turn Vision 2050 into a reality.

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Why the Time to Digitalize is Now

Nov 06, 2018
Written by Duncan Micklem, Strategy Director

Rising operational costs, a retiring knowledge pool and aging, inflexible infrastructure are just three of a number of threats the process industries currently face. These challenges, however, can be resolved if plants adopt an efficient Digitalization strategy. Here, Duncan Micklem, Director of Business Strategy at KBC, argues why urgent action needs to be taken and the time to Digitalize is now.

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Improving Energy and Sustainability with Cloud-Based Services

Oct 12, 2018
Written by Tim Shire, New Solution Strategy and Launch

We’ve seen a huge rise in the number of refiners adopting cloud-based monitoring services in recent years. Tim Shire, New Solution Strategy and Launch at KBC, discusses ways to fully utilize these services to improve energy and sustainability.