Foreword by ADAM SOROKA
As the CEO of Cavendish Group, it was my privilege to introduce the Inaugural Future Digital Twin Amsterdam conference and exhibition. This remarkable event signifies an exciting merger of the oil and energy sectors around the pivotal theme of digital twin technology. We are deeply honored to host a distinguished array of operators, technology innovators, and associations, each of whom have enriched our program with invaluable insights and perspectives.
Building on the success of our first edition, the 2nd Future Digital Twin Amsterdam conference, held in partnership with Shell, took place at the Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam. This venue has established itself as a vibrant hub where brilliant minds converge to tackle some of the world’s most pressing energy challenges. Industry leaders from across the globe gathered to delve into the transformative role of digital twin technology. They explored its potential as a catalyst for energy transition, fostering open collaboration and spearheading digital innovation within the oil and gas sector.
I extend my deepest gratitude to our key partners and sponsors, whose support has been indispensable. The feedback from thought leaders and participants has been overwhelmingly positive, and we look forward to even greater collaborative efforts in 2025. Special thanks are also due to the Future Digital Twin advisory board, whose guidance has been instrumental in shaping our agenda, and to all attendees for their active participation and engagement.
As we continue to navigate the complexities of the energy transition, the rapid advancement of technology is essential to meeting global energy demands effectively and efficiently. Digital twins have emerged as crucial tools in this endeavor, offering unprecedented opportunities for optimization and innovation. Conferences like this are vital for the exchange of ideas on how digital twins can evolve and be deployed effectively across the industry.
Moreover, the rise of generative AI has been a highlight of our discussions. It is becoming an indispensable tool in enhancing the utility and functionality of digital twins within the energy industry. However, it’s essential to approach this powerful technology with care, recognizing that AI is designed to complement, not replace, human effort and creativity. Human ingenuity and collaboration remain at the heart of our industry, with strong leadership being key to integrating new AI-driven strategies seamlessly.
I hope you found the exchanges and discussions at this conference to be both rewarding and thought-provoking.
On behalf of the Cavendish Group, I wish you all continued success and look forward to furthering our collective journey toward a sustainable energy future
Sincerely,
Adam Soroka CEO of Cavendish
Group
Press Release
FUTURE DIGITAL TWIN CONFERENCE AT SHELL’S ETCA PROVIDES HIGH-LEVEL INDUSTRY FORUM
The Future Digital Twin & GenAI 2024 conference, organised by Cavendish Group International in collaboration with Shell, provided a vibrant forum for the growing cohort of energy and technology professionals charged with advancing the use of cutting-edge AI-driven technology in the energy industry.
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event – is now adding another layer to the utility of Digital Twins, making them more user friendly and allowing people to extract even more useful information.
Around 400 innovators and thought leaders from 120 organisations gathered at Shell’s Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam on 7-8 October to share experiences of how Digital Twin implementation and the use of generative AI are transforming their activities, while taking advantage of high-quality networking to discuss the myriad opportunities opening up as a result.
Digital Twins enable organisations to create digital replicas of physical assets, processes or business systems, and carry out predictive modelling that allows them to foresee and avoid potential pitfalls. The technology is helping companies navigate more effectively through the energy transition, and become more collaborative, sharing data and insights that drive improved performance. GenAI – central to this year’s
Speakers from across the energy industry and beyond offered their unique perspectives on lessons learned and how to maximise the value of AI when scaling up Digital Twin technology, including experts from Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, Saudi Aramco, Equinor Petrobras, Repsol, AVEVA, Dow Chemicals, E.ON One, among many others. Major talking points included progress on more open collaboration both within the energy sector and with other sectors on the development of digital twins and AI, secure data sharing, and how to implement the significant shifts in work and data management practices need to realise the full potential of digital technology.
Shane McArdle, CEO of Digital Twin specialist Kongsberg Digital and Chairman of the event’s Advisory Board, said the high level of interest in the conference reflected growing support for and optimism over adoption of AI-driven technology within the energy industry.
A digital twin is a transformative tool. We’ve observed the positive impact this technology has made on our industry over the last couple of years by unlocking efficiency gains, predictive insights, and smarter and better decision making. Bringing GenAI and digital twin technology together offers us a very powerful opportunity to address future challenges head on by integrating real time data with AI driven analytics,” he told delegates.
Adam Soroka, Chief Executive Officer of Cavendish International said:
“Technology needs to advance rapidly to ensure we can provide the energy the world needs as efficiently as possible while we undertake the energy transition. Digital twins are now accepted as a crucial part of the process, so sharing ideas on their evolution at forums like this conference is key to their effective deployment.
“As we heard, Generative AI is becoming a powerful asset in the quest to make digital twins even more useful in the energy industry, albeit an asset that needs to be used with guardrails in place.
“It is also clear that AI is not being seen as a replacement for human endeavour, but as a very helpful complement to it. Human ingenuity and collaboration remain the lifeblood of the energy industry, while strong leadership remains vital to the successful implementation of new AI-drive strategies.”
Here’s what some of the other panellists at Future Digital Twin and Generative AI Conference USA had to say:
KARINA FERNANDEZ
GM Emerging Digital Technologies, Shell, said: “You have the right people in the room at this event and I’m impressed by how the digital twin alliance has grown. Moving the needle is about getting people together on a journey in the right direction. I think we are going to make it.”
TIM VAN AMSTEL
CEO, E.ON One said: “Don’t reinvent the wheel. First look outside your industry at what is already being used across multiple industries and multiple countries, so at least you know it works. Then the question is: can you use it?”
ZEESHAN RASHID
Procurement Director, Global Engineering, Brownfields Projects & NewEnergy Start-Up at bp said: “Industry collaboration around common challenges and sharing lesson learns remains a crucial enabler in making progress towards the energy transition. This is an emerging space, and we can all succeed by learning through our experiences.”
JAN TORE NYGÅRD
Manager People & Organisation, at Equinor said: “It’s not an either/or in terms of humans versus AI it’s both. It’s a matter of finding symbioses and synergies between technology and people. If technologies replace some tasks, we should seek to ensure people can reskill to do other tasks.”
registered attendees with deep industry experience
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organizations
89% likely to attend event again 78% rated the usefulness of the event as excellent or good 70% would recommend the event to others countries represented
Key TAKEAWAYS
GEN AI Makes Digital Twins Even Smarter
Digital Twins and other AI-driven digital technology are key to helping the energy industry navigate increasingly complex decision-making as it steers through the energy transition and seeks to produce concrete actions from an ever-growing pool of data.
Generative AI is likely to be a key driver in simplifying and speeding up that process, by making digital twins easier to interrogate for useful information through a userfriendly interface.
The high level of interest in the conference reflected growing support for and optimism over adoption of AI-driven technology within
the energy industry, according to Shane McArdle, CEO of Digital Twin specialist Kongsberg Digital .
“A digital twin is a transformative tool. We’ve observed the positive impact this technology has made on our industry over the last couple of years by unlocking efficiency gains, predictive insights, and smarter and better decision making,” he told delegates.
“Bringing GenAI and digital twin technology together offers us a very powerful opportunity to address future challenges head on by integrating real time data with AI driven analytics,” he added.
Digital Twins Are Essential For Companies With Global Ambitions
Deployment of digital twins is a prerequisite for organisations seeking global scale today, according to Rolf Einar Saeter, Global Digital Twin Innovation Manager, Shell.
“Digital twins have moved from hype to reality. Now we are at the operational stage and we can see that different businesses face the same challenges. We have common ground, common purpose and common direction, independently of what sort of company we are working for,” he said at the conference.
Don’t Overcomplicate Things If You Want Rapid Take Up
Digital twins or other AI-driven technology can deliver huge value when deployed at scale. But achieving this, requires carefully thought-out change management processes. Overly ambitious digital twin design involving too many applications and external connections risks stretching the technology and the capacity of the users to use it effectively too far as the system grows.
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“Scalability needs to be thought about from the start. Introducing more discipline into the design and implementation of the portfolio might actually mean taking things out to simplify a portfolio so that individuals have fewer things to deal with,”
Owen O’Connell, SVP & CIO IDT Services and Operations, Information & Digital Technology at Shell, told the conference.
The Workforce Needs To Be Get Involved In The Digital Twin Journey Early
As Stephanie Goseine-Minderhoud, Organisational Change Management Partner, at chemicals firm LyondellBasell put it:
“The most valuable lesson from the perspective of a change manager is the importance of shifting mindsets and behaviours around new technology by
investing time, effort, and resources. A proven approach we are seeing in the manufacturing space is involving future end-users early in the design process. By co-creating solutions with designers, users become active participants, significantly increasing the likelihood of successful adoption.”
AI And Humans Need To Work Side By Side
AI augments the skills of humans and can even replace some roles, but people will remain the lifeblood of the energy sector, even if flexibility will be required
“It’s not an either/or in terms of humans versus AI, it’s both. It’s a matter of finding
symbioses and synergies between technology and people. If technologies replace some tasks, we should seek to ensure people can reskill to do other tasks,” said Jan Tore Nygård, Manager People & Organisation, at Equinor.
LLMS Are Changing Perceptions Of The Way Companies Can Operate
Energy companies will also benefit from the use of large language models (LLMs) right across their operations. The most logical start will be on non-critical systems then identify how to extend this to business, safety or mission critical systems, according to Tony Iskandar, Digital Platform Manager at Aker BP.
“The amount of information you get using an LLM is almost limitless just by querying data, but you can also use it in a work process – it can tell you how to do your job better,” he said.
Harald Wesenberg, IT Specialist and Software Innovation, Equinor, said GenAI and other new technology could revolutionise the way big companies, in particular, operate.
“I hope using large language models and other AI with Digital Twins can help create the same conditions in large organisations as exist in small startups, where everyone knows each other and has the same situational awareness, but done at the scale of tens of thousands of workers.”
Data Sharing Remains Pivotal To Success
Data flow and standardisation should be at the heart of energy industry processes –that represents a massive shift for a famously document-loving industry, speakers told the event.
A high percentage of efforts to develop digital twins in the energy industry fail due to poor implementation. A few pieces of missing, inaccurate or misinterpreted shared
data can result in real world errors that cost hundreds of millions of dollars, so making sure data is harvested comprehensively and in a standardised, widely understandable form is vital.
Data interoperability and sharing between organisations is vital, because no one company has an answer for every use case.
Collaboration And Open Innovation Are Key To Effective Digital Tech Implementation
“Our vision for the use of GenAI beyond asset management is to move into the value chain with everyone who is on the same energy transition journey accepting open innovation as a core principle,” Karina Fernandez, GM Emerging Digital Technologies at Shell said at the event.
Zeeshan Rashid, Procurement Director, Global Engineering, Brownfields Projects & New Energy Start-Up at bp, agreed,
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And Don’t Reinvent
Businesses should not remain solely focused on their own sector if they are to work efficiently and maximise success, according to Tim Van Amstel, CEO of E.ON One, which provides digital solutions to help navigate the energy transition.
highlighting the importance of collaboration in the development of digital twin and AI technology.
“Industry collaboration around common challenges and sharing lesson learns remains a crucial enabler in making progress towards the energy transition. This is an emerging space and we can all succeed by learning through our experiences”, he said.
The Wheel
He told the conference: “Don’t reinvent the wheel. First look outside your industry at what is already being used across multiple industries and multiple countries, so at least you know it works. Then the question is: can you use it?”
TESTIMONIALS Future Digital Twin
“The Future Digital Twin event is a platform that focuses on cutting-edge themes in digital transformation, sustainability, and innovation. It features a community of top industry leaders and forward-thinking experts that are committed to advancing Digital Twin technology across various sectors. Adam and the team have put together a fantastic forum for learning, sharing, and asking the right questions about how Digital Twins can drive value at scale for any organisation.”
SHANE MCARDLE
CEO, Kongsberg Digital
“Regarding the Future Digital Twin event, I must say that the program fostered some truly great discussions. The themes were very relevant to our current times, particularly in highlighting the emergence of GenAI as a formidable force driving Digital Twin adoption. The diversity and expertise of the participants were impressive, bringing a wide range of complementary perspectives and deep knowledge to the table.”
DIEGO VALE DA NOBREGA
Reservoir Digital Transformation Manager, Petrobras
“The event provided an exceptional opportunity to industry leaders and participants to get together and discuss experiences around the energy transition and how digital and AI can help to achieve the end state. The quality of participants and panel topics were relevant to people representing operators as well as service companies.
A truly inspiring event led by Adam Soroka and his team. Their contributions towards the industry collaboration is highly value adding!”
SYED ZEESHAN
Rasheed, Procurement Director, BP
“Future Digital Twin & GenAI was a fascinating event, focused on harnessing the potential of digital twins and Generation AI within the complexities of the oil and gas sector. The conference facilitated insightful discussions on these subjects among experts, fostering knowledge sharing and offering a platform to showcase innovative solutions to tackle critical challenges faced by the industry. I found this event very informative and worthwhile!”
DINA AL AMER
Project Management & Industrial Services
Distribution, Saudi Aramco
“Excellent Event, very professional organization and preparation. Very good and relevant program content, selection of themes as well as highly qualified experts from different domains, promoting interesting & engaged discussions. Great insights and networking. It was really a pleasure to be part of it and contribute”
DR. EDMARY ALTAMIRANDA
Business Transformational
Technology & R and D Lead Aker BP
“Me and other colleagues flew from Brazil to attend the event in Amsterdam and it was totally worth it. I was very happy to share a little bit of the work we are doing at Petrobras and receive feedback from so many relevant names in the industry. I came back home with valuable insights due to the high level of discussions I was able to witness.”
TAIANE JAMBEIRO
Chemical Engineer & Data Scientist, Petrobras
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“Great turnout and variety of vendors and industry peers. Topics were well-thought through. High quality presentations and panel sessions by seasoned experts in the industry, Look forward to next year’s event!”
MENNO VAN VECHGEL
IDTM Information, Data & Analytics, Shell
“It would be good to have a debate also pro and cons Digital Twin. And content challenging the topic with failures and errors. The pitfalls presentation from one the speaker was very interesting!
Great organisation by the way, as I told you I I really appreciated the short breaks, which gave everyone time to talk and stay alert. The size of the event and of the audience is well ponderated.“
DALILA BELKHIRI
Expert Evaluator, European Commission
“The 2024 event offered a platform to evaluate the level of adoption and the future challenges of the Digital Twin and GenAI solutions by the energy industry.
Throughout the 2-day event, energy industry representatives and solutions providers showed that those solutions started to offer added value to the energy industry, and that there is need for even more collaboration to take the GenAI and Digital Twins to the next level.
The event was also an opportunity to highlight the importance and the existing data as fuel for AI solutions.
The talks and floor demos highlighted the necessity of more collaboration for a successful adoption of the solutions, through sharing successes and bottlenecks.”
TAOUFIK AIT-ETTAJER
Strategy Advisor for Subsurface Technology Projects, Repsol
“The 2024 FDT event in Amsterdam provided a much-needed overview of the evolving landscape of Digital Twins, highlighting the critical role of AI and the essential contribution of people in shaping a future where these technologies reach their full potential. The thoughtfully curated program covered a wide range of themes, and the diverse set of participants contributed to an informative and enriching experience.”
STEPHANIE GOSEINE-MINDERHOUD
Organisational Change Management Partner, LyondellBasell
“FDTAM again brought key industry leaders together on the important subjects of Digital Twin and GenAI. And every time, the organisation goes above and beyond to ensure Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is a key topic on the agenda. I was fortunate to join the Panel discussing all things gender equity, how to balance people and tech, and the importance of mentoring. What is amazing is that every single conference, the FUTURE organisation brings together individuals that want to grow, perform well and do better. This conference was no exception, and I’m honoured to be part of it.”
ANNEMART, KROEZE IT Management, Shell
“Great content – very insightful panel sessions and presentations.”
DR. OSCAR ABBINK
Director, S&P Global
“Being part of this event was rewarding, it was an event of great value. It had a focused theme, organized setting, quality presentations and highly experienced participants. We would definitely join again next year.”
AHMAD FARSHOUKH
GM & VP Engineering & Projects, Itcan Solutions
“I wanted to take a moment to express my appreciation for the event – it was truly outstanding. Not only was it a highly valuable experience, but the networking opportunities have already proven fruitful. As a direct result, we are now in discussions with three other companies, all of which have the potential to turn into meaningful collaborations.
I must say, the caliber of attendees and the relevance of the content were exceptional. The event was meticulously organized, and at no point did I feel disengaged or tempted to step away. Your efforts in keeping everything perfectly aligned, especially with time management, were commendable.
On a personal note, following my speaking session, I received numerous messages on LinkedIn and have already had conversations with two colleagues who are planning similar events. The interest and enthusiasm sparked by the session were truly encouraging.
Once again, thank you for the seamless experience. I look forward to attending more exceptional events like this and hope our paths cross again soon.”
USAMA RAUF
Plant Improvement Engineer & Site Energy Officer, Covestro
“ Future Digital Twin & GenAI - Shell, had carefully curated set sessions focusing on Digital Twin and Gen AI technologies creating value for business and provided ample time for exchanging cards, information and focused collaboration opportunities. Thanks Adam Soroka and Shell Digital team for driving the sessions, in the Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam“
HEMANTH SHEELVANT
Global Director & CEO, Bosch
“It’s no surprise that this is the leading digital twin event for the energy sector. With its high-quality agenda, it attracts the key stakeholders, leaders and decision makers, helping drive the rapidly maturing view of digital twins, data and AI in industry.”
ROB KENNEDY
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Global Director, Wood
“Attending the 2024 FDT & Gen AI in Amsterdam was very beneficial for me hearing from relevant players in the industry their digital transformation status and challenges. Great open atmosphere for networking and exchanging learnings and good practices. Will surely be back next year!”
ARNOUT ROSS
Asset Surveillance & Intelligence Manager, SBM Offshore
“The Future Digital Twin event was very well organized, covering the intended topics extensively. It was a pleasure to attend. I was particularly impressed by how smoothly everything ran.
The panels and presentations covered wide range topics. It included both theoretical aspects and practical implementation discussions. The speakers generously shared their wisdom, despite audience coming from competitor’s side. That truly made the event stand out as we could see several ideas around collaborations industry. The selection of participants ensured a mix of young to senior professionals and CEOs. Functionally the participants represented a wide spectrum of corporates connected to the O&G sector, including geologists, platform operators, EPC, downstream industry, and AI-based product manufacturers.
The event created ample opportunities for networking, one of the key objectives for people joining such events. The event app was welldesigned for connecting people, although it was not widely used, it allowed delegates to search for interested individuals or corporations. Additionally, the event was not overly commercial, as vendors were not flooding the event. Something which normally professionals like to avoid.”
SRINIVASA RUTTALA Manager, Dow Chemicals
Advisory Board & Speakers
ADVISORY BOARD
Martin R. Gonzalez, Innovation & Technology Principal, bp
Rolf Einar Saeter, Global Digital Twin Innovation Lead, Shell
Ashraf Wardeh, IT Director, DAC Digital Program, Oxy
John Watters, VP, OMV
Seth Taylor, Smart Facilities Manager, Chevron
SPEAKERS
Hari Ramani, General Manager, Digital Innovation, P & T Technology, Shell
Abdullah Al Halafi, Network and Systems Specialist, Digital Twin, Saudi Aramco
Shane McArdle, CEO, Kongsberg Digital
OPENING KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Karina Fernandez, GM Emerging Digital Technologies, Shell
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Taiane Jambeiro, Chemical Engineer & Data Scientist, Petrobras
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Owen O’Connell, SVP & CIO IDT Services and Operations, Shell
Nina Reiersgaard, Chief Engineer Data & Analytics, Equinor
Taiane Almeida Jambeiro, Chemical Engineer & Data Scientist, Petrobras
Syed Zeeshan Rasheed, Procurement Director, bp
Rolf Einar Saeter, Global Digital Twin Innovation Lead, Shell
Edmary Dr. Altamiranda, Business Transformational Technology & R and D Lead, Aker BP
Menno van Vechgel, IDTM Information, Data & Analytics, Shell
Dina Al Amer, Project Management & Industrial Services Distribution, Saudi Aramco
Dominique Pageault, Qantum Digital Twin Program Manager, TotalEnergies
Diego Vale da Nobrega, Reservoir Digital Transformation Manager, Petrobras
Jan Tore Nygard, Manager People & Organisation, Equinor
Anders Bjorsvik, Senior Advisor, Equinor
Taoufik Ait-Ettajer, Strategy Advisor for Subsurface Technology Projects, Repsol
Tony Iskandar, Digital Platform Manager, Aker BP
Stephanie Goseine-Minderhoud, Organisational Change Management Partner, LyondellBasell
Annemart Kroeze, IT Management, Shell
Simone Kranendonk, Liaison & Community Manager, Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam
Ragnar Alstad, Senior Enterprise Architect, Aker BP
Bjarki Gudmundsson, Digital Transformation Lead, Shell
Joanna Jedrys, Innovation Manager, Wintershall Dea
Harald Wesenberg, IT Specialist and Software Innovation, Equinor
Merijn Backx, IDT General Manager, Shell
Arnout Ross, Asset Surveillance & Intelligence Manager, SBM Offshore
Prashant Kumar Soni, Technology Strategist, Aker
Nadir Azam, Leadership, Vattenfall
Usama Rauf, Plant Improvement Engineer & Site Energy Officer, Covestro
Mahad Nadeem Janjua, Data Scientist, Harbour Energy
Srinivasa Ruttala, Manager, Dow Chemicals
Subrata Dr. Bhowmik, Principal Specialist, McDermott
Hemanth Sheelvant, Global Director & CEO, Bosch
Rob Kennedy, Global Director, Wood
Shane McArdle, CEO, Kongsberg Digital
Matt Lee, Chief Delivery Officer, Amdaris
Tandon Oberoi, Director, Baringa
Greg Pada, VP, AVEVA
Tim Van Amstel, CEO, E.ON One
Nadun Muthukumarana, CEO, V2T
Lars Meloe, Principal Consultant, DNV
Oscar Dr. Abbink, Director, S&P Global
Ann Robin, Business Development Director, Gradyent
Ruben Meijas, Sales Support Engineer, Enablon
Steve Higgon, CEO, TAAP
Ahmad Farshoukh, GM & VP Engineering & Projects, Itcan Solutions
Trudi Hable, Head of Partnerships, Radix
Frank Gielissen, CEO, Aloxy
John De Koning, President, Radix
Rodrigo Martins, Lead Energy SME & Primary Solution
Architect, Databricks
Dalila Belkhiri, Expert Evaluator, European Commission
Bruno Kocher, CEO, SekaiKeshav Sundaresh, Global Director of Product Management, Altair
Vitor Lopes, Digital Twin Senior Product Sales Manager, Ansys
Thank You to Our Sponsors
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Supporting Partners:
Official Digital Twin Partner / Awards Sponsor: Gold: Silver: Bronze:
Exhibitor:
