"Europe is building a bunch of regasification plants on their end. So the demand is going to be high for people to start filling that pipeline, for LNG."

In this episode, I’m in conversation with Mark Smith, the President and co-founder of CleanConnect.ai. In a prior life, Mark launched Windows NT Magazine, an international publication about the fast evolving technology called Windows NT. I remember reading the magazine!

"Instead of us being able to buy carbon credits from say trees in Africa and offset, the actual suppliers are going to need to prove their provenance and their carbon intensity just to sell into the gas supply chain. It's going to shift from a voluntary to much more of a mandatory deal."

Mark Smith is the President and co-founder of CleanConnect.ai.  Our software suite is the only government-approved AI solution that can replace human leak-detection-and-repair operators for oil & gas companies. Mark is also the host of Digital Roughnecks, a video podcast for energy executives.  Mark previously launched Windows NT Magazine, with 1.5M IT professionals subscribers in 160 countries.

"[EPA regulations will] add at least 1.4 to 1.6 million more inspections across all the operators, which is a 471% increase. I estimate it'll cost them about $831 million to do that. So that's a biggie, right? 3500 new trained LDAR inspectors."

Mark is quite used to putting out predictions about the future, and in this episode we discuss five predictions that Mark forecasts for the oil and gas industry. 

Here are the 5 predictions:

1. Energy demand will continue to grow, but some energy products, notably LNG, will experience hypergrowth.

2. Energy regulations coming on stream will drive a huge ramp up of energy inspections, and with it, the need for inspectors.

3. Talent shortages will not only persist but will worsen as US industry reacts to the Inflation Reduction Act, pulling talent into new sectors.

4. Proof of emissions will become mandatory for anyone selling energy products (gas, oil, LNG)

5. Energy companies embrace new technologies, notably AI-enabled computer vision, to cope with the talent shortfall and regulatory growth. 

Mark elaborates on these predictions with examples and anecdotes from his ongoing work and experiences in the industry. 

USEFUL LINKS

• LinkedIn profiles (personal, business): 

• Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhoustonsmith/

• Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clean-connect/

• Website: 

•  https://www.EPACheatSheet.com