Globalize and Energize in the Exponential Era

The Oil and Gas Magazine has more printed information in this publication, than most people would come across in a lifetime, just 100 years ago. It’s the information age. It’s the exponential age. The amount of technical information in the market is doubling every two years. This means for technical students, half of what they learn in the first two years will be outdated in their third year of study.

NTT JAPAN has invented fiber optic cable that pushes 14 trillion bits a second down a single strand of fiber. This translates to nearly 3000 CDs and 210 million phone calls every second.

Did you know that social media is expanding at such an unprecedented rate that currently Starbucks has more than 23 million Facebook fans! And it won’t be long before 1/12 of the entire world’s population is on facebook! Growth is no longer incremental—it’s at a doubling exponential rate!

What does exponential growth mean for the oil and gas industry? Does it mean that new energy models will overtake the current oil and gas market? The answer is “yes,” but perhaps not in the way we would fear. While we don’t think that we will run out of oil any time soon, we do believe our future is far more encouraging than that—the evolution of a new energy mix.

What we have today is the intricate blend of oil and gas technology advancing so rapidly that it is evolving into whole new realms of petroleum solutions. As well, there is a marrying of new energy solutions with traditional oil and gas regimes taking place. We are seeing solar panels providing energy on offshore oil rigs. We are seeing offshore wind turbines powering ships, and the list goes on and on.

Take, for example, the global energy opportunity that arises with shale gas and oil. Because of the exponential advancement of technology, we are about to witness shale plays around the globe become economical and viable energy solutions in unprecedented ways.

Shale gas and oil may actually become so readily available that supply and demand will transform into an “abundant” market.

Ultimately, the energy industry is now a global game, and technology is levelling the playing field. This coupled with new energy solutions, the lowering cost of production, and bringing in new-energy solutions means a very powerful new-energy mix for our future world!