ADIPEC Roundtable Whitepaper

OIL & GAS 4.0
STRATEGIC ROUNDTABLES
ENERGY TRANSITION WHITEPAPER
www.adipec.com/roundtables

FORWARD
Innovation, transformation and agility are central to today’s oil and gas industry as it responds to the challenges
and opportunities of the 4th industrial era. They enable organisations to move their strategic business choices at
pace, and create new company structures, business models and diverse partnerships.
At the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference 2019 (ADIPEC), the strategic conference,
Oil & Gas 4.0, featured six exclusive roundtables attended by ministers, policy makers, think tanks, CEOs and
C-level executives, not only from leading international oil and gas companies, but also from the technology
companies spearheading disruptive innovation in the industry globally.
The discussions focused on key energy trends, policy formation and geopolitical factors affecting oil and gas
companies, providing new and different perspectives and insights on the complexity of issues shaping the
energy eco-system. Those who contributed their insights included:
Mohammad Barkindo - Secretary General, Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Dr Daniel Yergin - Vice Chairman, IHS Markit
Sebastian Thrun - CEO, KittyHawk; Co-Founder, Udacity;
Adjunct Professor, Stanford; Former Vice President, Google; Founder,
Google X Lab; Founder, GoogleGlass & Google Self Driving Car, Stanley
Jason Bordoff - Professor of Professional Practice in International & Public Affairs and Founding Director
Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University
Rachael Bartels - Senior Managing Director Chemicals & Natural Resources, Accenture
Greg Cross - Artificial Intelligence Pioneer, Serial Entrepreneur, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer Soul
Machines
Stimulating, meaningful and open dialogue, ensured the roundtables generated a diverse range of insights in
support of transformative actions that will help businesses to overcome the challenges inherent in continuing to
deliver an affordable and sustainable energy supply.
The content of this Whitepaper reflects how energy transition should be seen not only as a challenge but also
an opportunity, one that would ensure the oil and gas industry remains a key enabler of tomorrow’s global
economy.
Christopher Hudson
President
dmg events - Energy
www.adipec.com/roundtables
1

CONTENTS
FORWARD 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4
ADIPEC 2019 ROUNDTABLES HOSTS
6
ROUNDTABLE OUTPUTS
8
ENERGY TRENDS, POLICY FORMATION AND GEOPOLITICAL FACTORS
AFFECTING THE GLOBAL OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
8
BUILDING A PATHWAY TOWARDS THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE
WORLD’S ENERGY MIX
9
ADOPTING NEW CULTURES AND MIND SETS TO EMBRACE DIGITALISATION
AND PREPARE FOR CONTINUED TECHNOLOGICAL DISRUPTION
10
HUMAN AND MACHINE COLLABORATION AND THE IMPACT THIS HAS ON
BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
11
BIG DATA TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE OIL AND
GAS INDUSTRY
12
CIRCULAR PLASTICS ECONOMY CONTRIBUTION TO THE GROWTH OF
THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
13
3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
For over one hundred years, the oil and gas industry has been at the centre of the world’s energy system,
enabling economic development and human progress. Hydrocarbons have not only provided energy for
power and transportation, they are fundamental building blocks for making a wide-variety of every day items,
including chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, paints and fertilisers. It is estimated that around a quarter of
every barrel of oil goes into non-transport or non-energy uses.
So, for the foreseeable future hydrocarbons will continue to be a key enabler of growth and prosperity, as
economic and political power shifts to the developing economies of the east. The key trends of population
growth, energy poverty eradication and economic growth are positive signs for the industry. But, at the
same time, alternative sources of energy are increasingly challenging the dominance of hydrocarbons,
becoming more available and more affordable, creating a diversified energy mix where, by mid-century
traditional and new forms of energy will be split almost equally between fossil and non-fossil sources.
However, as the demand for energy continues to increase, the need for the oil and gas industry to adapt
and change increases too. As it transitions to the new energy mix, the industry must grapple with a number
of uncertainties surrounding energy policies; volatility of both prices and demand; its impact on national
budgets and employment; the skills shortage and how best to integrate advanced digital technologies to
capture operational efficiencies and maximise productivity, while maintaining cost and capital discipline.
But perhaps the biggest uncertainty for the oil and gas industry lies in the much more pervasive
environmental agenda being pushed forward, which calls for an accelerated transition to a low carbon
economy. There are questions over how quickly decarbonisation can actually happen, what will act as
catalysts to accelerate or decelerate it and crucially who will foot the bill for it?
Consequently, as the pace of this energy transition accelerates and energy demand continues to rise, the oil
and gas industry will come under increasing pressure to demonstrate it can provide secure and sustainable
energy, while playing its part in decarbonising the global energy system to meet climate change mitigation
targets.
• The industry is being challenged to decarbonise, while at the same time it is expected to eradicate
energy poverty and meet increasing global demand for energy.
• Faced with rising energy demand, oil and gas producers need to continue to invest and explore and
develop new fields, but their access to capital is likely to be more constrained by financial institutions
under pressure to decarbonise their assets.
• The extent to which oil and gas remains relevant in the future depends on how the industry responds to
two main issues: methane and carbon dioxide emissions.
4
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• There needs to be greater transparency about the costs of the different sources of energy. There is a
need for industry and government to work together to provide the accurate information people need to
make informed decisions.
• Digitalisation needs to be seen as the enabler, not the solution; helping companies identify problems
unseen today and bringing new opportunities for the future.
• Advanced digital technologies offer an opportunity for companies to completely reposition themselves,
to drive new economics and establish new business models.
• The industry must address the skills gap related to digitisation. Growing awareness of climate change
and the demonisation of the hydrocarbons industry is making it harder to attract young people to oil and
gas, but technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, Blockchain and Big
Data provide a path to reconnect with this generation. Investing in the right people must be a priority for
energy companies.
• The plastics debate needs to be enlarged to remind the general public about all the benefits that plastics
bring to society. The industry must articulate its concern about plastic leakage into the environment and
communicate how it is responding to the challenge by redesigning products to be recyclable and more
efficient.
Enabling The
Conversation On
Energy Transition
ADIPEC introduced six exclusive, closed
door roundtables, attended by ministers,
policy-makers, think tanks, CEOs and
C-level executives.
DIGITALISATION
CIRCULAR PLASTICS
ECONOMY
BIG DATA
HUMAN & MACHINE
COLLABORATION
ENERGY
TRANSFORMATION
POLICY FORMATION &
GEOPOLITICAL FACTORS
For more information or to participate in the Oil & Gas 4.0 Strategic Roundtables at ADIPEC 2020
please contact adipecroundtables@dmgevents.com or +971 2 444 4909
5

ADIPEC 2019 ROUNDTABLES HOSTS
His Excellency Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo
Secretary General
OPEC
His Excellency Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo of Nigeria began his tenure as Secretary General of
the OPEC on 1 August 2016.
Over the years he also worked in several key roles at OPEC. In 1986, he was appointed to Nigeria’s
delegation to OPEC, and from 1993 to 2008, served as Nigeria’s National Representative on the
Organisation’s Economic Commission Board. In 2006, he was Acting OPEC Secretary General,
and represented Nigeria on OPEC’s Board of Governors from 2009 to 2010.
From 2009 to 2010, he was Group Managing Director and CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC). Previous to that, he served as Deputy Managing Director of Nigerian
Liquefied Natural Gas. Earlier in his career, he was Special Assistant to former Minister of
Petroleum Resources and OPEC Secretary General, HE Dr Rilwanu Lukman KBE.
Mr. Barkindo has also been leader of Nigeria’s technical delegation to the UN climate change
negotiations since 1991. He served as Chair of the Group of 77 and China at the UNFCCC and
was elected to serve three terms as Vice President of the Conference of the Parties – COP13 (Bali,
Indonesia), COP14 (Poznan, Poland) and COP15 (Copenhagen, Denmark), where he chaired the
opening session.
Dr Daniel Yergin
Vice Chairman
IHS Markit
The Pulitzer-Prize winning author of “The Prize,” and “The Quest,” Dr. Yergin is vice chairman
of IHS Markit and founded IHS CERA (now part of IHS Markit). He is an authority on energy,
international politics and economics. His awards include Lifetime Achievement from the Prime
Minister of India and the United States Energy Award for lifelong achievements in energy and the
promotion of international understanding. He holds a Bachelor of Arts. from Yale University and a
Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar.
Jason Bordoff
Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs
Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy
Columbia University
Jason Bordoff joined the Columbia faculty after serving until January 2013 as Special Assistant
to the President and Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change on the Staff of the National
Security Council, and, prior to that, holding senior policy positions on the White House’s National
Economic Council and Council on Environmental Quality. One of the world’s top energy policy
experts, he joined the Administration in April 2009. At Columbia’s School of International and
Public Affairs, Bordoff is a professor of professional practice and serves as founding Director of
SIPA’s Center on Global Energy Policy. Bordoff’s research and policy interests lie at the intersection
of economics, energy, environment, and national security. He is a frequent commentator on TV
and radio, including NPR, Bloomberg, CNBC and BBC, has appeared on the Colbert Report, and
has published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and other leading news
outlets. Prior to joining the White House, Bordoff was the Policy Director of the Hamilton Project,
an economic policy initiative housed at the Brookings Institution. He is a member of the Council
on Foreign Relations and the National Petroleum Council, a consultant to the National Intelligence
Council, and serves on the boards of Winrock International (a leading nonprofit organisation
that works to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity, and sustain natural
resources), the New York Energy Forum and the Association of Marshall Scholars.
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Sebastian Thrun
CEO, KittyHawk; Co-Founder, Udacity Adjunct Professor, Stanford
Former Vice President, Google Founder, Google X Lab
Founder, GoogleGlass & Google Self Driving Car, Stanley
Sebastian Thrun is a scientist, educator, inventor, and entrepreneur. As the Founder, President,
and Executive Chairman of Udacity, Sebastian’s mission is to democratise education by providing
lifelong learning to millions of students worldwide. He is also the founder of Google X, where he led
projects including the Self-Driving Car, Google Glass, and more.
Previously, he led the Stanford Racing Team whose robot “Stanley” won the DARPA Grand
Challenge. Sebastian has been named the 5th Most Creative Person in Business (Fast Company),
among the 50 Smartest People in Tech (Fortune), and highlighted in 50 Best Inventions of
2010 (Time). He is the first recipient of the inaugural Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for
Education, and is also featured in the recent film Lo & Behold: Reveries of the Connected World by
award-winning writer and director Werner Herzog.
Rachael Bartels
Senior Managing Director
Chemicals & Natural Resources
Accenture
Rachael Bartels is the Industry Managing Director of Accenture’s Chemicals and
Natural Resources practice. She spends most of her time working with senior executives on
transformational and disruptive change and has more than 30 years of experience in consulting—
working primarily in chemicals, mining and energy. She is passionate about harnessing new
technologies and processes to drive innovation and create growth for clients. Rachael is located in
London.
Greg Cross
Artificial Intelligence Pioneer, Serial Entrepreneur,
Co-Founder & Chief Business Officer
Soul Machines
Greg Cross is a pioneer within the field of Artificial Intelligence. He is a serial entrepreneur and one
of the world’s original technology nomads, who has spent his career traveling and living in every
major market in the world.
In 2016 Greg Cross teamed up with Dr. Mark Sagar to create Soul Machines, a company focused
on humanising the next generation of computer technologies. The University of Auckland spinout
company was founded based on the BabyX technology created by Dr Mark Sagar and his
engineering research team at the University’s Laboratory for Animate Technologies at the Auckland
Bioengineering Institute
7

BIG DATA TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION AND ENGAGEMENT
IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
ROUNDTABLE HOST
Within the oil and gas industry, Big Data is helping to deliver dramatic
improvements in competitiveness, efficiency and health and safety, and it
is transforming the way companies are structured and integrated. But the
industry faces the challenge of a data deluge.
It has been estimated that the oil and gas industry uses just 1-5 per cent
of the data it has access to. The true value of all of the data gathered by
energy companies can only be realised if it is shared with the private sector,
as it is the private sector that will come up with solutions to further reduce
operational expenditure and drive more value from each barrel of oil.
His Excellency
Mohammad Sanusi
Barkindo
Secretary General
OPEC
But while the industry must be prepared to embrace non-traditional
partnerships - working with the technology giants, such as Microsoft, Google
or Amazon - to fully leverage advanced digital technologies, such as Big Data,
many national oil companies are reluctant to share data and they are at risk of
being left behind it they do not begin to open up.
With the connection between transparent data and secure sustainable energy
supply only expected to grow in the future, data accuracy and uniformity is an
issue that needs to be addressed. Within the energy sector, there are multiple
entities publishing open source data and they each have their own definitions
and models for recording and estimating data. This can lead to confusion and
distortions when driving data insights.
OPEC has shown the way forward on data sharing. Its Big Data project makes the production supply and
stocks data of all its members from 1960 onwards available digitally. The new data tool, which also includes
structured and unstructured data from other sources, is intended to be of value to economists, environmental
agencies and academic researchers, strengthening the capacity to address challenges within the industry and
shedding more light on the energy transition under way.
The industry must also address the skills gap related to Big Data. Growing awareness of climate change and
the demonisation of the hydrocarbons industry is making it harder to attract young people to oil and gas, but
technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, Blockchain and Big Data provide a path
to reconnect with this generation. Investing in the right people must be a priority for energy companies.
8
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BUILDING A PATHWAY TOWARDS THE TRANSFORMATION
OF THE WORLD’S ENERGY MIX
ROUNDTABLE HOST
Dr Daniel Yergin
Vice Chairman
IHS Markit
Defining what energy transition means is in itself a challenge. It has many
different dimensions and is interpreted differently by national oil companies,
energy majors, policymakers and environmentalists. In this context the oil
and gas industry has an important role to play by leading the conversation
on energy transition to broaden the debate, and manage expectations
around what can be achieved and how quickly.
In order to better manage public opinion, the industry must be more
transparent about its operations. Oil and gas companies need to create a
credible narrative, that resonates with people, to communicate how they
can be an effective and necessary partner in a balanced energy mix that
includes oil and its derivatives, gas, waste-to-energy, nuclear and hydrogen
alongside renewables and as yet undeveloped energy sources.
However, the conversation will need to be different depending on
geography and socio-economic circumstances. At present, the energy
transition conversation is dominated by the OECD countries. But the
challenges faced in Africa and the developing economies of Asia, where
poverty reduction and opportunity creation, not decarbonisation, are the
priorities, must be factored into the debate.
Demonstrably curbing emissions and utilising renewables to power oil and gas operations would make it
easier to convince people that there is a role for hydrocarbons in the future. In the future, all industries and
companies will have to disclose their emissions and access to investor capital will become constrained if they
are not being seen to be actively decarbonising. To mitigate the impact, oil and gas companies should be
investing in renewables to complement their operations wherever possible.
Climate change is an emotive issue, and over simplification of the issue has resulted in oil and gas companies
being held responsible for global warming. At the same time, consumers are not fully informed about the cost
implications of the energy transition. There needs to be greater transparency about the costs of the different
sources of energy. There is a need for industry and government to work together to provide the accurate
information people need to make informed decisions.
Advanced digital technologies have a crucial role to play in the fight against climate change, in particular in
providing the transparency needed to enable better decision making. They could help the oil and gas industry
become leaner and greener by making carbon emissions more transparent. This information could then be
transformed into consumer knowledge, allowing people to understand how much energy they are consuming,
what it is costing and encouraging them to curb their demand.
9

ENERGY TRENDS, POLICY FORMATION AND GEOPOLITICAL
FACTORS AFFECTING THE GLOBAL OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
ROUNDTABLE HOST
Jason Bordoff
Professor of Professional
Practice in International
and Public Affairs
Founding Director, Center
on Global Energy Policy
Columbia University
The global oil and gas industry is at a crossroads. Consumption patterns are
changing and new sources of energy supply are disrupting the market and
depressing prices. The industry is also being challenged to decarbonise,
while at the same time it is expected to eradicate energy poverty and meet
increasing global demand for energy. Producers are asking what it will take
for them to survive and thrive in the new energy system.
In the first decade of the 21st century, the United States’ shale industry has
been a game changer, with the United States effectively replacing Saudi
Arabia as the industry’s swing producer. Shale production has tipped oil
markets into oversupply triggering a new era of low oil prices. America’s
oil output has more than doubled since 2010, crossing 12 million barrels
a day to become the world’s biggest oil producer. New supply is also
due onstream in Canada, Iraq and parts of Africa and new technologies
delivering operational efficiencies and enhanced performance are making it
possible for producers to extract more oil and gas from mature fields in the
Middle East and elsewhere.
Nevertheless, despite this short term supply abundance, the long term
outlook for energy demand is robust, driven by increased power demand,
rising global populations, the growth in the middle classes and greater
consumer demand for every day goods produced using hydrocarbons.
Given the advancing impacts of climate change, a significant disjuncture is
emerging -- the contrast between sustained demand and the need to reduce
global greenhouse gas emissions.
Although the take-up of renewables is rapidly increasing, serious issues related to reliability and energy storage,
remain. Faced with rising energy demand, oil and gas producers need to continue to invest and explore and
develop new fields, but their access to capital is likely to be more constrained by financial institutions under
pressure to decarbonise their assets. Business as usual can continue only as long as people allow the current
policies to remain in place, which seems increasingly unlikely.
The extent to which oil and gas remains relevant in the future depends on how the industry responds to two
main issues: methane and carbon dioxide emissions. Methane drives 25 per cent of the warming of our planet,
and half of that comes from leakage, venting, and flaring in the oil and gas industry. If the industry can address
methane flaring promptly, it will show that it can be an effective partner in climate action. Tackling carbon dioxide
emissions is more challenging and carbon capture will have a crucial role to play in the future. But as it stands,
not enough investment is being directed towards it.
International oil companies can respond to these transformational trends by turning themselves into broadbased
energy companies with investments in renewables, biofuels and electric transportation. For national oil
companies, whose assets are in the ground, the challenge is somewhat different. They must ask themselves
how can they ensure their oil and gas is still sellable in the future? The answer will probably include an increasing
focus on liquefied natural gas (LNG), carbon capture and storage, petrochemicals, and maybe hydrogen.
The key question for the energy industry is how to manage this transition in a structured way – or delay it and be
forced to deal with abrupt change?
10
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ADOPTING NEW CULTURES AND MIND SETS TO EMBRACE
DIGITALISATION AND PREPARE FOR CONTINUED
TECHNOLOGICAL DISRUPTION
ROUNDTABLE HOST
Sebastian Thrun
CEO, KittyHawk;
Co-Founder, Udacity
Adjunct Professor,
Stanford
Former Vice President,
Google
Founder, Google X Lab
Founder, GoogleGlass &
Google Self Driving Car,
Stanley
The pace of digitalisation in the oil and gas industry has accelerated in the
past two years. With the pressure on operating costs in this time of lower oil
prices, energy companies have woken up to the opportunity that digitalisation
represents and are more open to the benefits offered by disruption.
However, many companies are still taking a piecemeal approach to digitalisation,
and departments along the hydrocarbons value chain continue to work in silos.
While this approach will deliver efficiencies in existing processes, it will not
deliver the disruptive, transformational change the industry needs to remain
relevant. Digitalisation needs to be seen as the enabler, not the solution; helping
companies identify problems unseen today and bringing new opportunities for
the future. By connecting different data sets together in different environments
and identifying fresh challenges to overcome, new opportunities will emerge.
Two key elements are necessary for a complete digital transformation: a change
in mindset and external expertise. The quickest way to change company culture
is to bring in people from outside the organisation and even outside the industry.
Employing data scientists, who understand the full capabilities of software and
Big Data, and pairing them with engineers will lead to fresh thinking and new
solutions. By putting problems to non-sector experts, companies can arrive at
radically different answers.
As well as driving operational change disruptive technologies will result in
organisational structures very different to those of today. Ten years ago people
would not have allowed a computer to control a deep water rig, but autonomous
drilling and pipe-laying is now an everyday activity. In the medium and long
terms, the pace of change will increase driven by the speed and power of high
performance computing as it evolves. The industry is already seeing seismic
data being processed within days and weeks, rather than years as a result of
collaborations between data experts and domain knowledge experts. In the
future answers could come within hours, enabling smarter decisions to be taken
quicker.
As disruption impacts the oil and gas industry with greater speed, future companies will need to embrace nontraditional
partnerships, with non-energy companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, if they are to continue
to thrive. This will create particular challenges for National Oil Companies who will need to change their attitude
to sharing information and giving data access to third parties. This is essential in order to develop collaborative
technology roadmaps and integrated workflows with operators and suppliers. The true value of data is only realised
when it is leveraged to its full extent.
11

HUMAN AND MACHINE COLLABORATION AND THE IMPACT
THIS HAS ON BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
ROUNDTABLE HOST
Greg Cross
Artificial Intelligence
Pioneer,
Serial Entrepreneur,
Co-Founder & Chief
Business Officer
Soul Machines
In order to be successful, incumbent brands must remain interesting and
relevant to the consumers of the future. They need to represent the values
of today’s and future generations, and increasingly, this means a digitalised,
personalised customer experience-centred approach to business and a clear
environmental conscience.
Digitalisation is rapidly changing the workplace with the automation of
processes, loss of redundant functions and the creation of new roles along
the full value chain. Machine learning has existed for more than half a
century, but a lack of computing power limited its deployment. The advent
of cloud computing and deep learning have removed those limitations,
unleashing today’s digital revolution. New purely digital players are emerging
to challenge entrenched businesses.
Forward looking companies need to see beyond the current wave of
digitalisation and prepare for what comes next – a world in which artificial
intelligence (AI) assumes a much greater role and becomes more humanlike.
As business as normal ceases to be an option, companies that fail to
embrace disruption will be pushed aside by more agile entities. Digitalisation
and AI offer an opportunity for companies to completely reposition
themselves, to drive new economics and establish new business models.
The oil and gas industry is traditionally cautious and resistant to change, but
the energy transition presents an opportunity to think differently about what
digital transformation means and the role that exists for AI and automation.
The challenge lies in shifting from deterministic to probabilistic algorithms
and qualifying the safety of AI systems in a high risk industry.
Many people feel threatened by the prospect of an automated world and what this means for the labour
market. Digitalisation will certainly change the job market, it will remove some roles, but it will also create new
jobs and new industries. The value of human intuition and knowledge will always be needed, but AI can free
humans up from carrying out dangerous and mundane repetitive tasks.
Regulation of AI systems is an area that needs to be addressed by government and industry so that people feel
protected, both in terms of their safety and their data privacy. The topics of ethics, bias and explainable AI will
become major issues in the coming years, as companies are held to account for decisions taken by machines
and computer programmes.
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CIRCULAR PLASTICS ECONOMY CONTRIBUTION TO THE
GROWTH OF THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
ROUNDTABLE HOST
Rachael Bartels
Senior Managing Director
Chemicals & Natural
Resources
Accenture
Growing public awareness of the problem of plastic waste poses a material
threat for producers with bans being imposed on single-use plastic items
and plastics being replaced by non-chemical substitutes. But how can the
industry make plastics a more sustainable and reused, or recycled resource?
The answer lies, not just with greater use of new technologies, but with
companies embracing the demand for circular products. Doing so will give
them a clear competitive advantage.
The argument against the circular economy is usually that the economics
do not add up. But with new technology making it easier and cheaper to
recycle plastics, and research showing sustainable products sell better and
customers are willing to pay more for them, this argument no longer holds
true. However, winning the argument with consumers demanding action on
plastics’ waste remains a major obstacle.
According to an Accenture survey the chemicals industry is the least trusted
industry on the topic of sustainability. Regaining the narrative on plastics is a
challenge the industry must come together and address. The plastics debate
needs to be enlarged to remind the general public about all the benefits
that plastics bring to society. The industry must articulate its concern about
plastic leakage into the environment and communicate how it is responding
to the challenge by redesigning products to be recyclable and more efficient.
Plastics producers must design for circularity in order to remain relevant and
they must also satisfy the growing demand for recycled content, but they
cannot do this alone. The whole value chain needs to work together - the
regulators, plastics producers, brand owners and waste collectors – to build
the ecosystem needed to achieve a circular economy. And the public must be engaged and educated to recycle
more of their waste, encouraged by plastic packaging is that is reusable, recyclable or compostable and an
industry-wide willingness to work with the plastics recycling sector with the aim of collecting and processing
more plastic packaging than it sells.
As the essence of the circular plastics economy is understanding that everything we use has a past and
a future, there is an opportunity around traceability and accountability in the plastics’ value chain. Since
companies will increasingly want to demonstrate and measure their sustainable credentials, blockchain could
be used to attach information to each molecule, showing its origin and whether it is virgin or recycled, much like
the certification and tracking used in the forest products and food industries. This could eventually lead to the
possibility of tracking and reusing every molecule.
When value chains sit together and rethink how waste is understood, applying circular principles can lead to
creative new solutions. This is the approach that start-ups use to tackle problems, and multinational brand
owners and their suppliers need to follow suit. For product design to become collaborative, it requires a change
in company mindset, a move away from old ways of thinking and greater sharing of information.
13

OIL & GAS 4.0
STRATEGIC ROUNDTABLES
ENERGY TRANSITION WHITEPAPER
For more information or to participate in the Oil & Gas 4.0 Strategic Roundtables at ADIPEC 2020
please contact adipecroundtables@dmgevents.com or +971 2 444 4909
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