At a GCE NODE Innovation Seminar in Kristiansand Tuesday, the founder of APL and Sevan Marine and current CEO of Cefront, gave a presentation of the development in the oil and gas industry.
“Technological progress has always been connected to the price of oil. Looking back, we have introduced new technology at the end of an upward trend or at the start of a downward trend. Oil companies are not receptive for new ideas when prices are high”, says Smedal.
He introduced new loading systems when prices were falling in 1991, a drilling ship in a downward spiral in 1996, and the iconic cyclical structure of Sevan in 2001 in the wake of the financial crisis.
“A good idea these days should include a higher level of automation. There is also room for considerable improvement in the construction phase”, says Smedal.
This seminar was supported by Sørlandets kompetansefond, Regionalt Næringsfond Arendal, Grimstad og Froland and Listerfondet.
