Richard Ward

Richard Ward joined Weatherford in 2024 and brings over three decades of international expertise in managing large-scale oilfield operations and effectively leading teams in oilfield services. His experience guiding corporate strategy teams across industrial sectors and geographical boundaries positions him to add significant value as we pursue growth opportunities and navigate the dynamic industry landscape. After receiving a BS in Geology from London University, Richard joined Baker Hughes, where he spent his career before joining Weatherford. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President of Subsea Production Systems and, throughout his tenure, held leadership roles in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Session Overview

Tuesday, 4 November

11:25

Digitalisation & AI Conference Room A 11:25 - 12:05

Upstream unleashed: AI from discovery to production

From the first seismic shot to steady-state production, upstream success hinges on countless interdependent decisions, many of which are still made with siloed data, human bias and hours-old information. An integrated AI fabric spanning exploration, drilling and completions, and day-to-day production is the breakthrough that can turn upstream into a self-optimising value engine. This next-generation approach reduces exploration uncertainty and accelerates prospect identification by using synthetic data and enhancing subsurface models. Facilitated by AI's powerful analytics capabilities, this progressive energy strategy promises to uncover drastic cost reduction opportunities across the entire upstream workflow, allowing us to harness every available energy source.

Attendee insights:

Learn how AI can be leveraged across exploration, drilling and production to secure a competitive advantage and position businesses at the forefront of energy innovation.