New technology for oil and gas sector

An international organisation operating in the oil and gas sector was sponsoring the development of a new technology at the University of Cambridge which had significant commercial application in its sector and beyond. Taking the technology to the next stage required a clearer understanding of its likely commercial path, and an understanding of the risks and decision points required for development and implementation.

The challenge

Early academic research had shown good potential for the production of a new gravitational sensor that could be both more sensitive and more accurate. Proof of concept prototypes were likely to be available in the near future. However, field testing in oil and gas is extremely expensive, so an economic and practical plan would be required before committing to this stage.

Expectations of the performance and availability of products utilising the new technology were mismatched between the organisation and the academic research team, and a process was needed to develop an agreed plan of the next stages of development, the associated resources required and the risks involved. Forming a spin out company, creating a joint venture or contract research were among possible routes to the production of commercial products.

The solution

A one-day workshop was organised at IfM, facilitated by Dr Nicky Athanassopoulou, Senior Industrial Fellow at IfM Engage. This involved a team from the client, the lead of the academic research group and also Cambridge Enterprise, the Technology Transfer office of the University of Cambridge. This session had the objective of reviewing the development plan for the technology, along with any enhancements that could be realised from related technologies such as telemetry systems and data integration over the medium term.

The workshop reviewed the resource requirements and the associated risks of developing the technology further. Crucially, it also clarified and explored the different commercialisation options that presented themselves to the client.

Use of IfM’s roadmapping methodology included asking the client delegates to populate parts of a template roadmap in advance of the meeting. This ensured that a fast start could be made, making efficient use of executive time, as well as enabling delegates to see quickly how the process would deliver useful results.

The results

Outputs from the workshop included a clarified and agreed view of the technology development stages, resource requirement, risk profiles and a top-level action plan. The development and commercialisation routes for the technology were elaborated and clarified. Development routes such as a joint venture or formation of a spin out company were discussed in depth.

A list of important enablers was identified; these were factors ranging from agreement on intellectual property to availability of the key company operating plant that would need to be in place for the technology to be developed to commercial readiness.

Equally important was the list of risks that the group identified using a voting process. From a total of 22 potential risks, a short list was identified as key. These included poor performance of the technology, loss of key skills from the organisation and factors related to the commercial demand for the products.

The organisation identified summary resource requirements, with a plan agreed to produce a more detailed analysis of required skills sets and level of resourcing, through hiring or sub-contracting, for consideration by the business. The most important outcome was agreement on the right vehicle for continued development, with spin out options being eliminated in the short term.