From the collapse in oil prices to a global pandemic plus growing demand for sustainable energy investments, 2020 has presented a whirlwind of challenges across the energy sector.

As many in the oil and gas industry look for ways to address these challenges, ABB said it has developed a new digital platform named Adaptive Execution aimed at helping companies not only survive but thrive amid this new normal.

“Our customers are under pressure not just from capital cost, but also sustainability and the overall energy transition or transformation,” Brandon Spencer, president of ABB Energy Industries, told Hart Energy’s Faiza Rizvi. Spencer also noted ABB has other technology offerings to help with this transition as well because “a traditional oil and gas customer from 10 years ago is going to look a lot different 10 years from now.”

ABB Adaptive Execution, launched Oct. 20, introduces a new, agile method to industrial project execution to help energy customers adapt to challenging market conditions. The company said the platform integrates expert teams, new technologies, agile processes, shared learnings and proven methodologies into a single, streamlined project execution experience for all stakeholders involved in major capital investment projects.

“Adaptive Execution is an end-to-end methodology where we are not just trying to solve the automation challenges [but] we are also trying to look across electrification, telecom and infrastructure … in order to make the solutions more competitive, safer, smarter, more sustainable and drive schedule efficiency,” Spencer said. 

ABB Adaptive Execution is expected to reduce automation-related capex by up to 40%, compress delivery schedules by up to 30% and start-up hours by up to 40%, according to a company release.

Further, ABB claims that Adaptive Execution will use virtualization, removing the need for engineering onsite and reducing the physical hardware required for a control and automation system. By decoupling hardware and software, the new platform will also lower the time and overall setup costs, cutting the number of engineering hours spent on project installation, commissioning and testing by up to 85%, the company said.


Jump to:

  • (0:18) How Adaptive Execution helps oil and gas producers
  • (1:46) Value pillars of digital platform
  • (3:09) Elements of Adaptive Execution
  • (4:40) Role of new technologies in shaping industry recovery