The oil market is once again bracing for change, with OPEC signaling their interest in unlocking supply that has been withheld. For producers, this looming oversupply translates into a fresh imperative: cut costs.

The oil and gas sector, long accustomed to volatility, must now sharpen its cost control strategies in the face of intensifying pressure on margins. 

Matthew Hatami, a professional engineer, entrepreneur, and author, joins me on this episode to discuss the tools and tactics operators can use to improve free cash flow. With experience spanning Halliburton, Hess, Chesapeake, and private equity ventures, Matthew shares how data and digital technologies can identify, prevent, and mitigate costly inefficiencies—without big budgets or sweeping tech overhauls.

Drawing from his new book, Shale Oil and Gas Operations: Maximize Cashflow with Cost Reduction, Matthew shares three practical, high-impact digital strategies: build operational algorithms to flag issues before they arise, embed probability-based decision-making into drilling management, and implement daily visual reporting using nothing more than a smartphone. Each tactic is aimed at boosting productivity, engaging teams, and staying competitive in an increasingly lean industry.

👤 About the Guest

Matthew Hatami is an accomplished oil and gas professional with over two decades of experience across engineering, operations, and executive roles. A former Halliburton and Hess engineer, he’s also the author of Oilfield Survival Guide and Shale Oil and Gas Operations: Maximize Cashflow with Cost Reduction. He advocates for data-driven, digital-first thinking to solve industry problems at scale. 

⚒️ Additional Tools & Resources:

🎙 Go backstage and check out my studio

🎓 Take my digital strategy training for oil and gas

🔗 Connect with Me:

📚 Digital Oil and Gas Blog

🎧 Podcast Archive

🔗 LinkedIn

🐦 X (formerly Twitter)

🗣️ Contact for Lectures and Keynotes:

I speak regularly on digital transformation and innovation in oil and gas. Contact me to book a session for your team or event.

⚠️ Disclaimer:

The views expressed in this podcast are my own and do not constitute professional advice.

For decades, hydraulic fracturing—or fracking—has relied heavily on water and sand to crack underground rock and release oil and gas. Fracking is safe, proven, and reliable, and in collaboration with horizontal drilling, has resulted in the huge growth in hydro carbon production in the US and Canada.    But fresh water is a scarce resource particularly in arid settings, and in many places under stress because of climate change. Disposal of used water is a technical challenge and costly. The sand resource, or proppant, is both costly to mine and heavy to ship. The mechanical process of forcing water and sand under pressure down the wells and into the rock generates a substantial carbon footprint.    Enter RocketFrac, a Calgary-based innovator using solid rocket fuel to crack the status quo.   Unlike conventional fracking, RocketFrac’s technology eliminates the need for water and sand, which dramatically lowers carbon emissions and site disturbance. This self-propping, solid-fuel-based technique also opens up economically stranded assets, including abandoned or underperforming wells, with potential applications in water-stressed regions like California and the Middle East. It’s an innovation that could redefine the economics and environmental impact of oil extraction.   In this episode I speak with Pavan Elapavuluri, Chief Technology Officer at RocketFrac, to hear firsthand about the origin of RocketFrac’s solution, the physics behind the technology, its regulatory journey, and the digital tools they’re using to model outcomes and rank well candidates. From carbon offsets to offshore potential, this episode is an explosive look at what could be the next big leap in oilfield operations.   And yes, those puns are all intended!    ⸻   👤 About the Guest   Pavan Elapavuluri is the Chief Technology Officer at RocketFrac Services Ltd. With a Ph.D. in Geophysics from the University of Calgary and prior experience at Schlumberger in both Houston and the UK, Pavan brings deep domain expertise to the development of cutting-edge oilfield technology. He leads RocketFrac’s mission to reduce fracking’s environmental footprint using propellant-based fracturing. Originally from India, Pavan is passionate about digital transformation in energy and commercializing sustainable innovations.

Connect with Pavan:

🔗 RocketFrac's website

🔗 LinkedIn - Pavan Elapavuluri

Additional Tools & Resources

🎙 Go backstage: My Podcast Studio

🎓 Take the course: Digital Strategy for Oil and Gas

Connect with Me

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📝 Substack

🔗 LinkedIn

✖️ X (Twitter)

Contact for Lectures and Keynotes

I speak regularly on these and other topics. Book a brief call about your event.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this podcast are my own and do not constitute professional advice.

Despite covering over 70% of our planet, the oceans and seas remain largely unmapped and poorly understood. Collecting useable data about the oceans is hard and expensive--reliant on specialized costly vessels, old-school technologies, and plenty of labour.

The comparison to land mapping technologies (like Google Earth) is stark--we have near-total visibility of land-based infrastructure, continuously updated, and collected by satellite. Subsea infrastructure, like pipelines and cables, are managed with minimal, outdated, and isolated datasets.

This gap in oceanic intelligence is an increasing problem.  We're constantly adding new subsea infrastructure—cables, pipelines, risers, platforms—to support oil and gas, power, telecoms, mining, and military operations. At the same time, owners and operators are sailing blind, relying on static years-old surveys.

And sea floors are pretty dynamic, subject to tides, currents, and human activity. You can really appreciate the mounting financial and operational risks—from infrastructure damage to safety concerns to project delays.

Enter Terradepth, a data-as-a-service company that is bringing Silicon Valley smarts to subsea intelligence. In this episode, I speak with COO Kris Rydberg on how they’re using autonomous vehicles and cloud infrastructure to drastically cut the cost of ocean data acquisition. The best part is how ocean data is now subscription-based, with high reusability across industries. This model reduces capital risk, improves predictive decision-making, and promotes multi-sector collaboration. 

👤 About the Guest:

Kris Rydberg -- Chief Operating Officer, Terradepth

Kris Rydberg is a seasoned executive with three decades of leadership in tech-driven operational strategy. He’s helped scale startups, transform Fortune 500 divisions, and consult on industrial IoT, edge computing, and platform technologies. Kris brings a rare blend of deep tech fluency and cross-sector business acumen. He holds two U.S. patents and an MBA from Syracuse University.

🔗 Connect with Kris on LinkedIn

🔗 Connect with Terradepth on LinkedIn 📸 Instagram 🐦 X ▶️ YouTube

🛠️ Additional Tools & Resources:

• 🎙️ Go backstage and check out my studio

• 🎓 Take my digital strategy training course for oil and gas

🤝 Connect with Me:

• 📚 Blog series

• 🔗 LinkedIn

• 📣 X (formerly Twitter)

📢 Contact for Lectures and Keynotes:

I speak regularly on these and other topics. Click here to book a brief call about your upcoming event needs.

⚠️ Disclaimer:

The views expressed in this podcast are my own and do not constitute professional advice.

Natural gas producers have long struggled to differentiate their product in a market that treats gas as a commodity. When it comes to carbon intensity (CI), the industry is reliant on emission factors and self-reported data, and lacks a credible, data-driven approach to proving their gas carries a lower CI. 

With new regulations like the Inflation Reduction Act’s Waste Emission Charge and Europe’s carbon border tax, the opportunity to produce verifiable low-emission gas has grown dramatically. Enter “empirical gas”—natural gas measured in real time with actual data instead of estimates.

In this episode, I catch up with my buddy Mark Smith, CEO of Clean Connect, about how his company integrates AI, camera-based monitoring, and process simulation software to create real-time, third-party verifiable emissions data. This transformation not only reduces tax burdens but unlocks access to premium markets willing to pay for low-carbon gas. The implications are massive for producers, traders, and tech firms alike.

👤 About the Guest

Mark Smith is the CEO of Clean Connect, a technology company based in Colorado. Clean Connect offers AI-powered camera systems, control room software, and blockchain-based trading platforms that enable real-time emissions monitoring, measurement, reporting, and verification. Their technology underpins the emerging market of empirical gas, empowering producers to offer provably low-emission natural gas certified by international standards like ISO 14067 and ISCC+.

Connect with Mark Smith:

🔗 Clean Connect Website

🔗 LinkedIn - Mark Smith

Additional Tools & Resources

🎙 Go backstage: My Podcast Studio

🎓 Take the course: Digital Strategy for Oil and Gas

Connect with Me

🌐 Resources

📝 Substack

🔗 LinkedIn

✖️ X (Twitter)

Contact for Lectures and Keynotes

I speak regularly on these and other topics. Book a brief call about your event.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this podcast are my own and do not constitute professional advice.

The oil and gas industry has traditionally relied on  financial instruments like futures and private equity—frameworks that have largely benefitted institutional investors while leaving little room for broader participation.

But as digital assets continue to reshape capital markets, tokenization presents a new way forward. With blockchain technology and regulatory frameworks maturing, real-world asset-backed tokens are gaining traction - even in sectors once considered too complex for digital finance. 

In this episode, I speak with Dave Rademacher, Co-Founder of OilXCoin a security token backed by oil and gas reserves which also provides investors exposure to their “upstream” value chains. Dave explains how OilXCoin is bridging traditional oil and gas with digital asset markets by creating a compliant, growth-focused investment vehicle that opens the sector to new types of investors.

We discuss what sets OilXCoin apart from pure commodity-backed tokens, how it integrates production-based revenues, and why upstream oil and gas is ripe for tokenization.

👤 About the Guest

Dave Rademacher is the Co-Founder of OilXCoin, where he leads strategic growth and market expansion efforts. With a global leadership background at BMW Group across EMEA and APAC, Dave brings a strong track record in scaling businesses and navigating complex markets. At OilXCoin, he’s focused on bridging the gap between traditional oil and gas and digital finance by offering compliant, asset-backed investment opportunities through tokenization. His aim is to make the oil and gas industry accessible to both seasoned crypto investors and traditional market participants.

🔗 Connect with Dave

🌐 Website: OilXCoin

🔗 LinkedIn: Dave Rademacher

🛠️ Additional Tools & Resources

📄 Explore Geoffrey’s Substack articles

🎧 Listen to more episodes of Digital Innovations in Oil and Gas

📢 Visit GeoffreyCann.com for insights on digital transformation in oil and gas

🤝 Connect with Me

🔗 LinkedIn: Geoffrey Cann

🐦 X (Twitter): @geoffreycann

📩 Contact me for keynotes and lectures: GeoffreyCann.com/contact

⚠️ Disclaimer

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the guest and host and do not constitute financial or professional advice.

Twenty years ago, Big Oil companies like Shell and Exxon were the stars of the capital markets. Huge revenues, stellar profits, high share prices, robust price/earning ratios and reliable dividends placed these companies among the world’s best, magnets for top engineering talent and voices of influence in the halls of governments globally.

But no more. They lost the market leadership crown to the digital giants, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. Oil and gas concerns are still market leaders as measured by revenue, but not by other measures of value. The gap now is so vast it’s hard to imagine how they might ever regain their market positioning.

And now the digital companies are stretching into energy for their data centers, but not yet clean liquid energy, which creates the opportunity.

In this podcast I set out several steps the industry can take to recapture its former glory. 

⚒️ Additional Tools & Resources

💡 Go backstage and check out my studio:

🔗  https://geoffreycann.com/mystudio/

📚 Take my one-day digital strategy training course for oil and gas:

🔗 https://www.udemy.com/course/digital-oil-and-gas/?referralCode=0161D4D49AB75735A185

🤝 Connect with Me

✍️ Blog: https://digitaloilgas.substack.com/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/advocate-digital-innovation-for-energy/

🐦 X: https://x.com/geoffreycann

🎤Contact for Lectures and Keynotes

I speak regularly on these and other topics. Book a brief call to discuss your upcoming event needs.

⚠️ Disclaimer

The views expressed in this podcast are my own and do not constitute professional advice.

Industrial operations have long depended on the OODA loop—Observe, Orient, Decide, Act—a military-inspired decision framework that works, but at great cost. It requires physical presence, human expertise, and often misses key variables hidden from view. This age-old method is embedded across energy infrastructure—from wells to refineries.

The digital age, however, is transforming our ability to observe. With billions of video-capable devices generating colossal amounts of data, and artificial intelligence now capable of interpreting this data in real time, there’s a game-changing opportunity at hand.

This episode explores the staggering scale and value of video data, and how AI’s emerging ability to interpret video feeds on the fly can augment, and in some cases replace, the human eye in the OODA loop. I outline some of the implications for quality inspections, site assembly checks, and future-proofing industrial operations.

Additional Tools & Resources

💡 Go backstage and check out my studio:

🔗  https://geoffreycann.com/mystudio/

📚 Take my one-day digital strategy training course for oil and gas:

🔗 https://www.udemy.com/course/digital-oil-and-gas/?referralCode=0161D4D49AB75735A185

Connect with Me

✍️ Blog: https://digitaloilgas.substack.com/

🎙️ Podcast: https://geoffreycann.com/broadcast/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/advocate-digital-innovation-for-energy/

🐦 X: https://x.com/geoffreycann

Contact for Lectures and Keynotes

🎤 I speak regularly on these and other topics. Book a brief call to discuss your upcoming event needs.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this podcast are my own and do not constitute professional advice.

Read the Article

Want the actual script that this podcast is based on? Download it here

Offshore oil and gas operations are among the most complex and remote in the world. From harsh weather to limited physical access, these environments demand reliable, high-speed communications to enable modern digital workflows and keep operations running safely and efficiently.

As offshore operations become more autonomous and data-driven, the traditional telecom models fall short. Legacy systems struggle to meet rising demands for bandwidth, low latency, and mobility—especially when platforms are unmanned or vessels are constantly on the move.

Tampnet is addressing this head-on by delivering a mixed-mode communication strategy that combines subsea fiber, private 5G, and satellite (LEO) into one seamless network. Their infrastructure enables everything from robotic inspections and mobile edge compute to AI-driven automation—critical for modernizing offshore energy.

In this episode, I speak with Frode Støldal, Chief Digital Officer and President of the Americas at Tampnet. We explore how a hybrid telecom model is revolutionizing offshore connectivity, driving operational efficiencies, and accelerating digital transformation. From supporting 450+ global platforms to enabling real-time decision-making at the edge, Frode shares a glimpse of the offshore future—one powered by high-speed, intelligent infrastructure.

👤 About the Guest

Frode Støldal is President Americas and Chief Digital Officer at Tampnet, the world’s largest offshore communications network provider. He brings 18+ years of telecom leadership from Telenor and now leads Tampnet’s digital strategy and operations across the Americas. Frode holds an MSc from the Norwegian School of Economics and a Master in Technology Management from MIT/NTNU.

🔗 Tampnet Website

📧 [email protected]

🔧 Additional Tools & Resources

• ✍ Blog Series

• 📘 Digital Strategy Course

• 🎥 Behind the Studio

🤝 Connect with Me

• 🌐 GeoffreyCann.com

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🎤 Contact for Lectures and Keynotes

I speak regularly on digital transformation, AI, and innovation in energy. Let’s talk about your next event.

⚠️ Disclaimer

The views expressed in this podcast are my own and do not constitute professional advice.

Pipes are the silent workhorses of the process industries—hidden in plain sight yet essential for daily operations. But what happens when these unassuming assets begin to fail? A recent catastrophic water main rupture in Calgary serves as a stark reminder that even the most robust infrastructure is vulnerable, especially when degradation hides under insulation.

The challenge of inspecting and maintaining piping is immense. Facilities house millions of miles of pipe, much of it exposed to harsh climates, inaccessible locations, and made from materials with complex corrosion profiles. Layer on insulation, coatings, and the logistics of maintaining uptime, and it’s clear that conventional inspection methods are no longer sufficient.

This episode explores the wide range of failure modes—flaws, fractures, erosion, rust, and more—that threaten pipe integrity. The implications are serious: lost product, compromised safety, and even plant collapse. Fortunately, new technologies—robotics, advanced sensing, and improved diagnostics—are emerging to meet the challenge head-on.

Tune in to hear why the process industry must rethink its approach to managing the hidden menace of corrosion under insulation, and how digital innovation offers a path forward.

Additional Tools & Resources

💡 Go backstage and check out my studio:

🔗  https://geoffreycann.com/mystudio/

📚 Take my one-day digital strategy training course for oil and gas:

🔗 https://www.udemy.com/course/digital-oil-and-gas/?referralCode=0161D4D49AB75735A185

Connect with Me

✍️ Blog: https://digitaloilgas.substack.com/

🎙️ Podcast: https://geoffreycann.com/broadcast/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/advocate-digital-innovation-for-energy/

🐦 X: https://x.com/geoffreycann

Contact for Lectures and Keynotes

🎤 I speak regularly on these and other topics. Book a brief call to discuss your upcoming event needs.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this podcast are my own and do not constitute professional advice.

Read the Article

Want the actual script that this podcast is based on? Download it here

AI is transforming oil and gas, but not all AI is created equal. Many companies have wasted millions on failed AI projects, chasing optimization without real breakthroughs. But what if AI could think like a scientist—applying physics and chemistry to accelerate decision-making and innovation?

In this episode, TC Zoboroski, Head of Sales for Energy at NobleAI, explains how their science-based AI is reshaping everything from production forecasting to molecular design. Unlike traditional generative AI, which relies on pattern recognition, NobleAI operates on scientific principles, enabling faster, more accurate results for R&D, product development, and enhanced oil recovery.

TC shares fascinating use cases where AI has cut R&D timelines from decades to months, optimized drilling decisions, and even created new chemical formulations in real-time. We also discuss why AI skepticism is still strong in oil and gas, how to overcome it, and why AI should be seen as a force multiplier, not a job threat.

About the Guest

TC Zoboroski is the Head of Sales for Energy at NobleAI, a company specializing in science-based artificial intelligence for industries like oil & gas, materials science, and biotech. With a background in technology and experience at Halliburton, Dell, AWS, and Exxon, TC brings deep insight into how AI can bridge the gap between traditional energy challenges and cutting-edge digital solutions.

Connect with TC and NobleAI:

🔹 Company Website: NobleAI

🔹 LinkedIn: TC Zoboroski

Additional Tools & Resources:

🚀 Go backstage and check out my studio: My Studio

📖 Read my blog on AI in oil and gas: Digital Oil and Gas

🎙 More podcast episodes: Digital Innovations in Oil and Gas

Connect with Me:

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🐦 Twitter/X: @GeoffreyCann

Contact for Lectures & Keynotes:

I speak regularly on digital innovation, AI, and energy transformation. If you’d like me to speak at your next event, book a call here.

Disclaimer:

The views expressed in this podcast are for informational and discussion purposes only. They do not constitute professional advice.