EAG Services CEO, Former Equinor CTO Discuss What’s Next for IIoT and E&P

The emergence of the industrial internet of things (IIoT) in the oil and gas industry has helped increase both production and efficiency. But really how far has the industry come in integrating all these facets of technology to connect E&Ps and service companies in a plug-and-play fashion?

Elizabeth Gerbel, CEO of EAG Services, and Carri Lockhart, Dril-Quip board member and former CTO of Equinor, recently joined Hart Energy to discuss how far the industry has come in implementing the  IIoT and what’s next for the E&P industry. (Editor’s note: This interview was recorded prior to Lockhart’s announced departure from Equinor.)

“The industry has taken great strides in the internet of things, especially in recent years,” Gerbel said.

However, she noted that the back-office side of operations, where EAG Services focuses, is usually left behind. “Now, I’m seeing that changing,” Gerbel said.

“CIOs are really looking at where technology can be leveraged and, when it comes to the internet of things, we’re seeing that the field offices are really getting connected now with corporate,” she continued.

Lockhart added that there has been a lot of work done by the upstream oil and gas industry over the years in the IIoT space.

“The oil and gas industry has a long history of using enabling sensors and sensor data to drive the improved performance and better decision making,” she said. “If you look back over decades, we’ve literally put in millions of advanced instruments into our facilities—and I’m talking as an industry as a whole.”

Both Gerbel and Lockhart are honorees of Hart Energy’s Oil and Gas Investor Influential Women in Energy program and will be recognized at the 5th Annual Influential Women in Energy luncheon and networking event on Friday, April 29 at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Houston. For more information on the luncheon and these extraordinary women visit HartEnergyConferences.com/Women-in-Energy.

Elizabeth A. Gerbel started her career at Accenture focusing on software implementations for industrial products and energy services clients before joining PwC’s consulting group.  She earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Upon graduation, she founded McKinley Powell with fellow MBA graduates to provide software consulting services to the upstream industry. 

In 2003 Gerbel went on to found EAG Services, which has grown into a consulting organization that is passionate about technology, the upstream and midstream segments of the industry and providing superior service to customers. She currently serves as CEO of the company. In 2017 Gerbel extended the EAG brand by launching EAG 1Source, a full-service IT and Business Process Outsourcing firm. 

Carri Lockhart has close to 30 years of global operational experience in the oil and gas industry. She previously led Technology, Digital and Innovation at Equinor, which utilizes the totality of technology to support Equinor’s efforts to optimize oil and gas, accelerate profitable renewables and develop low carbon solutions.

In March, Lockhart announced her decision to resign from the Norwegian energy firm to return to the U.S. She will be available for the company until June 30, the release said. Separately, she was appointed in March to serve on the Dril-Quip Inc. board of directors.

Lockhart joined Equinor in 2016 and has served as senior vice president for Equinor’s U.S. Offshore business and then, beginning in August 2018, as senior vice president Portfolio & Partner Operated in Development & Production International.

She started her career with Marathon Oil as a reservoir engineer in Anchorage, Alaska. Lockhart has held a variety of leadership roles across the global upstream organization.  Lockhart holds a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology. She is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and sits on the board for several industry and education associations.