Robert K. Perrons

Queensland University of Technology

Robert K. Perrons, SPE, is a full professor at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Before joining QUT in 2011, he worked in a variety of roles for Shell International’s Exploration and Production division. Perrons started his career in the Strategy and Economics team and then worked for several years as a production engineer in overseas operations (offshore and onshore), and served as the company’s executive coordinator of global research and development. Perrons holds a BEng degree in mechanical engineering from McMaster University, a master’s degree in technology and policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a PhD degree in engineering from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. He is also a Fulbright Scholar and is a member of the United Nations’ Resources and Energy Expert Group. For more information and contact details, please visit www.perrons.net.

R&D/innovation

Who Are the Innovators in the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry? Highlights From the Second SPE Global Innovation Survey

A deeper understanding of the roles of individuals in the innovation process is more important than ever as the organizations that make up the industry are being fundamentally transformed. Who are the “explorers” within the sector that are hardwired to deliver tomorrow’s bolder technologies? And who are the “exploiters” that prefer to stick with less‑ambitious innovat…

February 1, 2023 • Robert K. Perrons • Journal of Petroleum Technology
AI/machine learning

Artificial Intelligence in the E&P Industry: What Have We Learned So Far and Where to Next?

In the spectrum of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, those adopted to date in the oil and gas industry are task-focused, narrow applications. Taking AI to the next level cannot be done by Silicon Valley alone.

January 1, 2021 • Manas Pathak • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Data & Analytics

From Blockbuster to Blockchain: How To Manage a Not-Quite-Settled Technology Platform

Rather than waiting for a dominant player to emerge, the oil and gas industry is at a point in its journey with blockchain where it makes sense to actively start working toward common architectures and standards in the blockchain domain.

November 30, 2019 • Robert K. Perrons • Journal of Petroleum Technology
The Unfinished Revolution: What is Missing From the E&P Industry’s Move to “Big Data”

One cannot help but be impressed by the inroads that digital oilfield technologies have made into the exploration and production (E&P) industry in the past decade.

April 30, 2014 • Robert K. Perrons • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Cloud Computing: What Upstream Oil and Gas Can Learn From Other Industries

The topic of “the cloud” has attracted significant attention throughout the past few years and, as a result, academics and trade journals have created several competing definitions of “cloud computing”.

January 1, 2013 • Adam Hems • Journal of Petroleum Technology