Gary Goldberg: How Data will Help BP Become an Integrated Energy Company

Gary Goldberg, Chief Data Officer, Trading and Shipping at BP,
talks about the role data will play as the firm transitions into an
‘integrated energy company’

With the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference just weeks away, the
pressing need for the global economy to transition to greener
energy sources is ‘top of mind’ for leaders across the globe.
This need will be a defining feature of business and data
strategies for energy companies including BP in the coming years.


In this week’s Business of Data podcast, BP Chief Data Officer,
Trading and Shipping Gary Goldberg outlines the role data will
play in helping BP to realize its vision of becoming an
“integrated energy company”.


“BP is transitioning into an integrated energy company,” Goldberg
says. “That, especially from a data perspective, creates a whole
load of opportunities. When we look at new sources of energy,
when we look at production techniques, there’s a need for data to
support those initiatives.”


“[This] also means that the company is moving from a historically
siloed approach to different commodities to (as the title would
imply) an integrated approach,” he adds. “It puts data more and
more at the heart of everything we’re trying to do.”


“That integration of data and what that means for the company and
what we can do is incredibly inspiring,” he continues. “It means
bringing together data from across our commodities, from across
the new products we’re bringing to market, and getting the
interrelationship insights that are gained in offering a
portfolio of products to our customers.”
BP’s Data-Driven Business Transformation

For any historic organization, achieving such an ambitious goal
is like turning an oil tanker at sea. Creating a truly
data-driven organization will take time. But Goldberg highlights
several key milestones his team has already reached on that
journey.


“We’ve got some pockets of real excellence and are trying to
scale up,” he says. “For me, the transformation on the data comes
down to fundamentally allowing people to understand the value of
data.”


“When we can articulate what [our data] assets are, we can then
have a conversation about how you want to manage them,” Goldberg
continues. “For us, one of the first [milestones] was just to
establish that inventory.”


He notes: “[It was about] changings the conversation from an
ethereal one around, ‘Let’s just make it better’, to, ‘This is
what we have. This is what we could have. It will generate a
return if we use it for the following purposes. How much would
you spend to get that return?’”


“For me, when I changed that conversation to where the
conversation was one of investment return, that’s the
transformative moment,” Goldberg concludes. “It’s when the
business was properly engaged.”
Key Takeaways


Data integration can enable business
innovation. Breaking down data silos is essential for
uncovering insights that stem from the interconnectedness of
data


Articulating the value of data is key for securing
buy-in. Reframe governance conversations around
increasing the value of the company’s data asset and achieving
business outcomes


Cataloging data is the first step to quantifying its
value. Before leaders can talk about how to increase
the value of their data assets, they should understand what
data their businesses have