Devon recently hosted another first– collaboration among employees, technology vendors, competitors and people who know nothing about the energy industry.

Over three days, more than 75 people participated in the first Devon Hackathon, developing software and using automation to solve real problems in oil and gas operations.

“This type of event isn’t about inventing new technologies, but rather harnessing the existing technology and data capabilities in new ways,” said Ben Williams, chief information officer. “It was exciting to see the enthusiasm of the participants and learn from each other while collaborating on problems that are not unique to Devon.”

The winning team, called Stragglers, had no previous experience with oil and gas operations. They demonstrated an app to help the field site’s person in charge improve operational decisions by “talking to” and asking questions of a virtual personal assistant to get the information needed, using simple chat functionality. The assistant, similar to Alexa, Siri and Cortana, draws from operational data tied into the app.

Second place went to Team Hackapeake for software designed to improve the physical security of individual well locations. The app visually tracks vehicles and personnel coming on and off well facilities and sends alerts for unrecognized vehicles. The app also displays crime reports and weather forecasts for the particular area.

The software solutions created are available to all participants to enhance and further develop for their own company use.

Published: December 2017