Bertrand (senior advisor), Author at VERDAZO

April 26, 2018 by Bertrand (senior advisor)

Tyler Schlosser presenting on Machine Learning for SPE

Verdazo Analytics’ Chief Data Scientist Tyler Schlosser will deliver a presentation titled “Machine Learning: Practical Examples in Upstream Oil & Gas” for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). The presentation takes place from 7:30-9:30 a.m. on May 31, 2018 as part of the SPE’s Oil & Gas Analytics Breakfast Series. The presentation will provide a quick overview of Machine Learning, how it can be applied to Oil & Gas problems with a focus on time-to-value, the challenges it presents, and specific case studies to illustrate its power. Schlosser was recently appointed Chief Data Scientist at Verdazo Analytics after over a decade of experience across Oil & Gas, mostly recently as Director of Economics and Risk at GLJ Petroleum Consultants. Learn more about the presentation and register here.

April 26, 2018 by Bertrand (senior advisor)

Verdazo Analytics exhibiting at Geoconvention 2018

Verdazo Analytics will be exhibiting during Geoconvention 2018 at booth #100. The Verdazo Analytics team invites all convention attendees to drop by and learn more about the company’s VERDAZO visual analytics software and its recently-launched Machine Learning division and capabilities. Geoconvention is an annual convention produced by the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (CSPG), Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (CSEG) and the Canadian Well Logging Society (CWLS). It takes place in Calgary, AB from May 7-9 at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre and is expected to attract over 4,000 people. Learn more about Geoconvention 2018 and register here.

February 20, 2018 by Bertrand (senior advisor)

Bertrand Groulx speaking on Smith Business Club data analytics panel

Verdazo Analytics President Bertrand Groulx is a featured panelist for Calgary chapter of the Smith Business Club of Queen’s University. The panel, titled “Leveraging Data Analytics in Your Business,” takes place Wednesday March 14, 2018 from 5:30-8:30 in the Petroleum Club in Calgary. The panelists will cover why employing analytics is a critical enabler of business and some of the common pitfalls to avoid when integrating and deploying them across an organization. Additional panelists at the event include Kaush Rakhit (President – Canadian Discovery Ltd., Upstream Oil and Gas Analytics, Data and Expertise), Pavel Rahman (Lead – IBM’s AI & Advanced Analytics Consulting Practice in Canada), and Simon Rivard (Manager – Ember Resources; Specialties: Oil and Gas Data Management). Register for the event and learn more here.

January 24, 2018 by Bertrand (senior advisor)

Verdazo Analytics appoints Ryan Bielefeld to lead U.S. expansion

Verdazo Analytics today announced the appointment of Ryan Bielefeld as U.S. Sales Manager as part of its expansion into the U.S. market. Bielefeld will lead the company’s business development efforts and be based out of Houston, Texas. Previous to joining Verdazo Analytics, Ryan spent nearly five years in Account Management at Pason Systems, Inc., which acquired Verdazo Analytics last year. At Pason, Ryan split his time between Calgary and Houston. He focused on offering his clients integrated data solutions that enabled users to collect, manage, report and analyze real-time drilling data. He’ll continue that work in his new role, helping to further integrate Pason’s wealth of drilling data into VERDAZO software and the company’s newly launched Machine Learning Division. “We have the Oil & Gas industry’s best visual analytics software and we’re excited for Ryan to start sharing it with our new partners in the United States,” says Bertrand Groulx, President of Verdazo Analytics. Ryan brings deep industry experience and expertise, with over 20 years in upstream Oil & Gas, including multiple roles at Schlumberger, and Weatherford Drilling Services. “Our U.S. clients should expect the same thing our Canadian clients do: industry-leading service and best-in-class software that enables them to...

January 22, 2018 by Bertrand (senior advisor)

Verdazo Analytics presenting on Machine Learning at CSUR workshop

Verdazo Analytics President Bertrand Groulx will deliver a presentation on Machine Learning for the Canadian Society for Unconventional Resources (CSUR). The presentation is titled “Machine Learning: Opportunities & Challenges for the Oil & Gas Industry” and will provide an overview of Machine Learning, how it can be applied to O&G problems, the challenges and dangers it presents, and a specific case study to illustrate its power.It also comes on the heels of the company’s 2018 launch of its Machine Learning Division, which will deliver Artificial Intelligence solutions to the Oil & Gas industry. The CSUR workshop takes place on January 31, 2018. Its focus is on “Data and Data Analytics for the Upstream Oil & Gas Sector.” It takes place in the ConocoPhillips Canada Theatre in Gulf Canada Square. Groulx’s presentation takes place from 11:10-11:30 am. Learn more about Verdazo Analytics’ Machine Learning Division here. Learn more and register for the CSUR event here.

January 17, 2018 by Bertrand (senior advisor)

Verdazo Analytics Launches Machine Learning Division

Verdazo Analytics entered the field of Artificial Intelligence today with the launch of its Machine Learning Division, which will deliver targeted and accessible Machine Learning solutions for Oil & Gas. Verdazo Analytics will initially deliver Machine Learning solutions through a consulting offering, with a software product to follow later in 2018. Machine Learning capabilities will eventually be fully integrated with the company’s flagship VERDAZO visual analytics software. The Machine Learning Division of Verdazo Analytics will be led by Tyler Schlosser, the company’s new Chief Data Scientist. Tyler joins the company from GLJ Petroleum Consultants, where he was Director, Economics & Risk. Tyler brings a background as a petroleum engineer, as well as over a decade of focus in the Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence spaces. At GLJ, Tyler developed an industry-wide reputation as a trusted advisor on specific Oil & Gas topics, including reservoir engineering, economic modelling and energy markets. “Machine Learning is a key pillar for the future of Oil & Gas analysis,” says Verdazo Analytics President Bertrand Groulx. “Tyler will be working directly with our clients to target specific industry opportunities with our new capabilities. Ultimately, Machine Learning will further enable our clients to generate value across their...

January 15, 2018 by Bertrand (senior advisor)

Innovation or Dishwashing Robot?

The start of a new year is often accompanied by commitments for change and improvement, both business and personal. We’re all striving to innovate, “to introduce something new; make changes in anything established”. In business, this often involves technology. How you approach the introduction of technology could be the difference between realizing true innovation or ending up with a “Dishwashing Robot”. Dishwashing Robot Image Source: Popular Science 2010 A friend introduced me to the expression “Dishwashing Robot” as a way of describing what happens when you apply new technology to an old way of doing things. It seems innovative on the surface, but it doesn’t bring true, impactful change to an organization. “Innovation” (e.g. a dishwasher) occurs when you leverage the full potential of new technology to change a process and realize optimal benefits. So my challenge to you, and myself, is to consider how we can change processes in our organizations to maximize the benefits of any new technologies we introduce. A common “Dishwashing Robot” in O&G producing companies A common focal point when introducing business intelligence solutions to an Oil and Gas producer is to replace the tedious task of assembling the Weekly Production Report – delivering it faster...

November 13, 2017 by Bertrand (senior advisor)

Should you build or buy software for your company?

I have to admit right from the start: I am not what anyone would call a neutral observer on this topic. After all, I run a company that builds and sells visual analytics software. I’ve done so for over a decade. It’s in my interest that someone – you, perhaps – be interested in buying that software. I come to these biases honestly and I state them upfront. However. Like many senior leaders and executives out there, I’m also trying to do more with less. I want to achieve my business goals with only the most calculated investments. I’m trying to deliver value as quickly as possible and make sustainable choices that will serve my company, and my clients, well over the years to come. At Verdazo Analytics, we have a unique perspective on the question of build vs. buy, not just because we’re a software vendor but because we might actually have the capabilities to build some of the software products we need to run our business or some of the tools we might embed in our software offering. So, here are six questions I consider before deciding whether to build software or buy it. I hope they’ll be...

November 6, 2017 by Bertrand (senior advisor)

Managing Uncertainty: the difference between Investing & Gambling

The last week of September had me doing three industry presentations that all shared a common theme, “uncertainty”. Today’s blog will focus on the presentation Uncertainty Considerations for Development Planning Type Curves. Uncertainty extends through the reservoir, drilling, completions & operations and is compounded by commodity prices. What is certain is that shareholders have little tolerance for production shortfalls. The following image show the reduction in stock price of 8 companies in 2017 that occurred following the announcement of production shortfalls. Figure 1: Stock price reactions to production shortfalls I could have easily showed you several companies who hit their production targets and maintained or increased their stock price. While it’s not important to know who these companies are, it is important to know that there are best practices that can help protect you from targeting statistically unachievable results and falling short of your production promises. Wait a minute, isn’t that called “sandbagging”? “Sandbag is a tactic used to hide or limit expectations… in order to produce greater than anticipated results” according to Investopedia. A disciplined approach to characterizing, understanding and managing uncertainty is a strategy to mitigate your downside and is consistent with the practices of “investing”. “Gambling” typically...

June 13, 2017 by Bertrand (senior advisor)

IP90 and the Datasaurus: The dangers of summary statistics

I recently read the article Same Stats, Different Graphs which spoke about Anscome’s Quartet, four highly varied datasets that are identical when examined using summary statistics, then took it to the next level with the Datasaurus Dozen by demonstrating how highly varied datasets could produce the same summary statistics. Datasaurus Datasource: Alberta Cairo The article states “It can be difficult to demonstrate the importance of data visualization. Some people are of the impression that charts are simply “pretty pictures”, while all of the important information can be divined through statistical analysis.” It also references Alberto Cairo who created the Datasaurus dataset to urge people to “never trust summary statistics alone; always visualize your data” because visualization can reveal valuable insights that could be otherwise missed. This inspired me to revisit my 2015 blog How useful are IP30, IP60, IP90 … initial production measures where I illustrated how two wells with identical IP90 production performance measures had very different production profiles. To further illustrate the dangers of using near-term production performance measures like IP90, without visualizing the production, I’ve expanded the dataset from my previous blog to show just how different the production profiles are of 33 Montney Regional Heritage wells...

Posts by Bertrand (senior advisor)