The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) will honor the winners of the 2026 Spotlight on New Technology Award, celebrating the boldest advances shaping the future of offshore energy. This year’s program highlights 17 breakthrough technologies—four from small businesses—that bring fresh thinking and real-world performance across drilling, completions, subsea systems, artificial intelligence (AI), and more.
Selected for originality, technical ingenuity, demonstrated results, and commercial potential, these innovations promise to improve safety, efficiency, and sustainability across the offshore value chain. From autonomous well construction and advanced bit intelligence to AI-driven geotechnical models and next-generation subsea push systems, the lineup underscores how rapid technological progress is unlocking new possibilities for operators and service providers alike.
2026 Spotlight on New Technology Award Winners
- Baker Hughes—Kantori autonomous well-construction solution
- Bosch Rexroth—eSEA Push electric actuator
- Bosch Rexroth Hägglunds—Hägglunds Thunder permanent magnet motor
- CNPC USA Corp.—MonoX Monobore expandable casing technology
- CNPC USA Corp.—UltraSense ultrahigh-temperature and high-pressure bit intelligence
- Fugro—GeoAI Framework
- Oil States—GeoLok high-temperature geothermal wellhead
- Oil States—MPD Drill Ahead Tool
- SLB—Retina at-bit imaging system
- SLB—FIV-III dual-trigger formation-isolation valve
- TB Global Technologies Ltd.—CHOKUSEN contactless automatic connection system
- TB Global Technologies Ltd.—Harmless Emergency Release System for Offshore Ammonia Transfer
- Teledyne Marine—eXtreamer seismic streamer
2026 Spotlight Small Business Winners
- HYTORC—TorcSync synchronizing technology
- i2k Connect Inc.—EnRG-LLM solution
- KeyDrill Technology—Gyro While Drilling system
- Oliden Technology—MaxFusion telemetry measurement while drilling tool
Since 2014, OTC’s Spotlight program has highlighted the inventive work of small businesses alongside industry leaders. Small-business eligibility requires independent ownership (or nonprofit status) and fewer than 300 employees in the 12 months before the application deadline.
The 2026 Spotlight on New Technology winners will be honored at OTC on Monday, 4 May, at NRG Center in Houston.
2026 Spotlight Winners
(listed alphabetically by company)
Baker Hughes
Kantori autonomous well-construction solution
The Kantori autonomous well-construction solution is an intelligent ecosystem unifying planning, execution, monitoring, and optimization. Blending artificial intelligence, physics-based models, and Baker Hughes’ drilling expertise, Kantori enables faster decisions, precise wellbore placement, reduced nonproductive time, and high-performance wells, scaling from single-well deployments to full-field operations with safety and reliability worldwide.
www.bakerhughes.com
Bosch Rexroth
eSEA Push electric actuator
Aging subsea infrastructures with leaking hydraulic systems increase operation expenditure and can lead to shutdowns. The DNV-certified eSEA Push electric actuator offers an innovative, easy-to-install override for existing systems. With forces up to 745 kN and a Safety Integrity Level 3 rating, they integrate seamlessly, extend asset life, and restore valve control in brownfield applications.
www.boschrexroth.com
Bosch Rexroth Hägglunds
Hägglunds Thunder permanent magnet motor
Hägglunds introduces the Thunder, a permanent magnet motor that creates a fully electric path to the company’s direct drive power. The motor delivers the high torque, gearless precision, and unbeatable reliability synonymous with Hägglunds, now in a highly efficient, water-cooled system with torque up to 200 kNm and enabled with full monitoring.
www.boschrexroth.com
CNPC USA Corporation
MonoX Monobore expandable casing technology
The MonoX expandable casing technology offers an innovative solution to replace lost circulation material and conventional casing, overcoming drilling complexities and extending well-construction options. This technology can be employed to seal complex formations without compromising the original wellbore size, thereby simplifying the casing sequence, and ensuring the achievement of geological objectives in deep and ultradeep formations.
www.cnpscusa.com
CNPC USA Corporation
UltraSense ultrahigh-temperature and high-pressure bit intelligence
UltraSense integrates ultrahigh-temperature sensors, electronics, and onboard storage into a drill bit to directly measure rock/bit drilling dynamics. Operating up to 420°F and 30,000 psi, it enables measurements in ultradeep high-pressure and high-temperature wells. It records temperature, shock, vibration, and rotation to diagnose drilling dysfunctions, optimize performance, reduce downtime, and advance intelligent drilling and drill-bit design.
www.cnpscusa.com
Fugro
GeoAI Framework
Fugro GeoAI Framework automates the interpretation of geophysical and remote sensing data using fine‑tuned models and workflows guided by subject‑matter experts, with quality-assurance and quality-control validation. Built in Esri ArcGIS, it delivers consistent and accurate geohazard, habitat, and infrastructure insights up to 10 times faster, helping accelerate decision-making and reduce risk for nearshore and offshore projects.
www.fugro.com
Oil States
GeoLok high-temperature geothermal wellhead
Oil States’ GeoLok leverages field-proven oilfield technology to decrease casing requirements in geothermal well applications. Its cut-and-pull approach reduces material costs, heat loss, and cementing voids, decreasing well downtime and operational expenditure while boosting thermal energy output and efficiency. GeoLok allows continuous monitoring and provides greater protection for shallow aquifers.
www.oilstates.com
Oil States
Managed-Pressure-Drilling Drill Ahead Tool
Oil States’ industry-first Drill Ahead Tool streamlines managed-pressure-drilling (MPD) operations by allowing packer installation without removing and reinstalling the drillstring. Its notched piston-and-spring assembly eliminates the need for extra trips to the surface, significantly reducing downtime and operating costs during MPD equipment deployment.
www.oilstates.com
SLB
Retina at-bit imaging system
The Retina at-bit imaging system redefines formation evaluation by delivering high-resolution, complete borehole images directly at the drill bit. Integrated into polycrystalline-diamond-compact drill bits, it captures pristine formation detail before drilling impact, enabling confident decisions, optimized well placement, and expanded subsurface understanding without impacting drilling performance or efficiency.
www.slb.com
SLB
FIV-III dual-trigger formation isolation valve
The SLB FIV-III dual-trigger formation isolation valve, equipped with eTrigger IV electronic activation, delivers steadfast redundancy for well control in demanding environments. Its remote operation, robust sealing, extended suspension capability, and adaptive activation ensure enhanced safety, efficiency, and compliance in offshore operations, setting a new benchmark in reliability and operational performance.
www.slb.com
TB Global Technologies Ltd.
CHOKUSEN contactless automatic connection system
CHOKUSEN is a breakthrough system delivering automatic marine loading-arm connection without a mechanical link between floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) and LNG carriers. Combining high-accuracy visual sensing for real-time vessel motion capture and adaptive motion control, it redefines offshore transfer operations by enhancing safety and efficiency, reducing manpower, and strengthening operational flexibility.
www.tbgtech.co.jp
TB Global Technologies Ltd.
Harmless Emergency Release System for Offshore Ammonia Transfer
The high-speed, nitrogen-purged Emergency Release System (ERS) is designed for safer maritime ammonia transfer. By rapidly purging residual ammonia between isolation valves before disconnection of emergency couplers, it reduces ammonia exposure to negligible toxicity levels. Lightweight, computational-fluid-dynamics-validated, and optimized for bunkering booms and offshore loading arms, the ERS enhances safety without compromising operational efficiency.
www.tbgtech.co.jp
Teledyne Marine
eXtreamer Seismic Streamer
eXtreamer, developed by Teledyne Marine and Geometrics, combines rugged streamer construction with next-generation electronics to deliver ultrahigh-resolution (UHR) seismic data in a compact, flexible system. Designed for demanding environments, it reduces downtime, supports rapid redeployment, and easily scales for evolving UHR and ultraultrahigh-resolution survey needs in today’s fast-changing energy exploration market.
www.teledynemarine.com
2026 Spotlight Small Business Winners
(listed alphabetically by company)
HYTORC
TorcSync synchronizing technology
When bolts are tightened unevenly, joints can fail. HYTORC’s TorcSync technology wirelessly synchronizes electric torque tools to deliver true parallel joint closure with consistent, controlled parameters. The result is faster bolting, fewer errors, greater portability, and safer, stronger joints—every time.
www.hytorc.com
KeyDrill Technology
Gyro While Drilling system
KeyDrill Gyro While Drilling (GWD) is a rugged, compact microelectromechanical-systems-based gyro system delivering true-north surveys every 20 seconds and continuous north toolface, azimuth, and similar measurements while drilling. Field-proven and cost-efficient, it ensures high accuracy in magnetic-interference environments, improves directional control, and reduces operational costs by approximately 55% vs. conventional GWD systems.
www.keydrill.com
i2k Connect Inc.
EnRG-LLM solution
Power your workflows with the EnRG-LLM model—the only artificial-intelligence platform built on the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ authoritative, peer-selected technical corpus. By integrating petroleum engineering terminology through fine-tuning, the EnRG-LLM delivers expert answers. Enhanced by technologies including Chat and geographic information systems, it transforms vast energy archives into actionable, high-stakes intelligence.
www.i2kconnect.com
Oliden Technology
MaxFusion Telemetry Measurement While Drilling Tool
Oliden’s MaxFusion is a latest-generation high-speed telemetry measurement while drilling (MWD) tool providing 15 bits-per-second physical telemetry using a continuous wave siren and a 200-W turbine for bottomhole-assembly power. It provides more real-time data at a faster rate, allowing customers to optimize well placement, improve real-time decisions, mitigate risk, and maximize return on investment.
www.olidentechnology.com
