Will Texas Bypass Silicon Valley in Innovation?
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the attributed sources and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rigzone or the author.) Home to a whos who of the worlds leading technology firms, Californias Silicon Valley has long enjoyed a reputation as a global hub for innovation. However, a corps of established and emerging innovators in Houston and other Texas locales could soon outshine Silicon Valley in one growing technological area, observes one of Rigzones regular energy prognosticators. Read on for specifics in this preview of developments to watch in the oil and gas markets. Tom McNulty, Houston-based Principal and Energy Practice leader with Valuescope, Inc.: Next week, and beyond, Houston will continue to position itself as the Energy Transition Capital of the World. A three-day conference on this subject just ended, and it highlighted three critical points. First, energy is very technical. The people and companies that have the technical skills to understand how old energy can be transformed into new energy are concentrated right here in Houston. All of the laws of thermodynamics are understood and respected here, which means that the solutions that come from here will actually work in the real world. Silicon Valley will not be able to keep up with what is happening here and in other parts of Texas. Second, so-called Big Oil is very much in the game. The dollars that are being invested into clean energy, renewable energy, and energy technology are astonishing and in many cases are coming from the bank accounts of very large oil companies that have large teams here in Houston. And third, the natural entrepreneurial and unregulated nature of Texas is driving the energy transition incubators. At the conference, 14 clean energy companies did A-Round pitches and there are 41 nascent companies in just one of the incubators that was highlighted. Phil Kangas, Partner in Charge for Natural Resources & Mining, Grant Thornton LLP: Well be keeping an eye out for how the market reacts in the days following the July 1 OPEC+ meeting. Analysts have long predicted that the alliance will support modest increases to preserve price integrity. Notable market developments to watch will include how the continued upward trend in Brent and WTI prices effect compliance to production goals by OPEC members, and how rig count numbers change in the U.S. and elsewhere. To contact the author, email mveazey@rigzone.com.