2016 Issue 11
Develop, Innovate, Prosper
GE Opens New Global Research Oil and Gas Technology Center Providing a present and future glimpse of promising new technologies in the pipeline for the oil & gas industry, GE held the grand opening of its new Global Research Oil and Gas Technology Center in Oklahoma City. The new Center will become a central hub for GE scientists and engineers to closely collaborate with the oil and gas industry on cutting-edge digital and hardware solutions to advance the industry. Lorenzo Simonelli, President and CEO, GE Oil & Gas said, “We believe a strong commitment to R&D will help our oil and gas customers find new efficiencies to work through tough market conditions and lead to transformational opportunities for the industry to thrive long-term. The new technology center in Oklahoma City will accelerate innovation; it’s where we can bring the full power of digital solutions and technology from across GE’s industrial businesses to advance the oil and gas industry.” At the Center opening, GE unveiled a prototype drone, nicknamed “Raven,” engineered to detect emissions precisely and cost-effectively, to help customers reduce environmental impact and improve operational efficiency in the oil and gas industry. Southwestern Energy Company successfully piloted the technology to detect emissions from oilfield equipment at well sites in Arkansas in July. Vic Abate, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, GE said, “At our new research center in Oklahoma City, customers benefit from the collective global brain of technologists from our 10 GE global research centers around the world, as well as our 50,000 global GE engineers who span multiple industry sectors. We call it the GE Store, and it allows us to bring innovation from other GE industries such as aviation, power, healthcare and transportation to transform and strengthen the oil and gas sector.” Michael Ming, General Manager of GE’s Global Research Oil and Gas Technology Center, said, “To the greatest extent possible, we are bringing the oilfield and our customers directly into our lab space. When you couple that with the world-leading scientists and engineers based here in Oklahoma City and at GE’s other global research centers around the world, you have a winning formula for driving transformational technologies the industry will need.” Ming noted the research focus at the new Center will span across all areas of oil and gas from production solutions and
well construction systems to oilfield facilities and systems and reservoir performance. Although the new Center just recently opened, temporary offices were established more than two years ago in the City Place Tower in downtown Oklahoma City. With 120 employees today, the Center can accommodate as many as 230 people. GE’s new Oil & Gas Technology Center has established several programs and partnerships with industry and academia, including Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma and has R&D agreements in place with many of the leading operators in North America.