The new center will allow GE scientists and engineers to collaborate with the oil and gas industry to develop new advanced digital and hardware solutions.
GE Oil & Gas president and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said: “We believe a strong commitment to R&D will help our oil and gas customers find new efficiencies to work through tough market conditions and lead to transformational opportunities for the industry to thrive long-term.
“The new technology center in Oklahoma City will accelerate innovation; it’s where we can bring the full power of digital solutions and technology from across GE’s industrial businesses to advance the Oil & Gas industry.”
The researchers at the center will focus on all areas of oil & gas from production solutions and well construction systems to oilfield facilities and systems and reservoir performance.
During the launch of the center, GE also introduced a prototype drone designed to detect emissions and improve operations and efficiency for customers in the oil and gas industry.
The drone, nicknamed Raven, has been designed to detect emissions precisely and cost-effectively while helping in reducing environmental impact.
In July 2016, the drone has completed successful testing in detecting emissions from oilfield equipment at well sites in Arkansas.
GE senior vice-president and CTO Vic Abate said: “At our new research center in Oklahoma City, customers benefit from the collective global brain of technologists from our 10 GE global research centers around the world, as well as our 50,000 global GE engineers who span multiple industry sectors.
“We call it the GE Store, and it allows us to bring innovation from other GE industries such as Aviation, Power, Healthcare and Transportation to transform and strengthen the Oil & Gas sector.”
