“Let’s get this straight,” Benoît Matha says at the start of our conversation on a Friday morning in February, “the subsurface upstream business is not a big data environment.” It is one of the insights that comes with having worked in other sectors, as Benoît did before he joined Eliis five years ago. “In retail, huge amounts of data are being generated; seismic and well data are definitely not big data, also because of the secrecy that is so often associated with it,” he says.
“And when it comes to AI, let’s not claim that the subsurface energy sector was quick in embracing it. But now that it has, there are some very tangible effects,” Benoît says. “First, it has accelerated the product lifecycle dramatically in all aspects of its development. It also leads to rapid commoditization of products, meaning that what we develop as cutting-edge software today is quickly overtaken in a world with multiple players in the same arena. It’s, therefore, important to be very observant of what is happening in the tech industry and ride the wave of what is coming out there.”
Updates
Our conversation clashes with the company releasing a new version of its software. But it is also a good example of how the company has adapted to changing times. “Releasing software updates once a year is a thing of the past,” Benoît says. “The pace with which our customers expect software to be updated and the pace with which AI offers new ways to implement things have grown rapidly. It means that in order to keep up, software releases have to be done more often these days, even to the point where it becomes flexible and much less planned than it used to be before.”
The upstream energy sector was a late-comer to embracing AI
This new way of working also aligns with the way Benoît implemented a strategy of working in short project delivery intervals. “We organize our development in three-month slots to mature ideas into something that works in our software. And I see that people get much more productive with a shorter timespan like this compared to looking at a blank sheet of a year,” he explains.
INTRODUCING BENOÎT MATHA
Benoît joined Eliis five years ago. Prior to that, he mainly worked as a strategy consultant in the health and insurance sector and acted as the COO of a software business. “I like to build things with a clear goal in sight,” Benoît often says. Originally from Montpellier, Benoît is pleased to be back in his hometown after spells spent in other parts of France.
From explo to expro
Eliis is well known for its PaleoScan software, which helps interpret seismic into stratigraphically consistent intervals. This software is mostly used in the exploration community, where geoscientists work with data to de-risk reservoir presence and distribution.
“Looking at how the upstream business is evolving, Benoît continues, “We see that across the world, companies are now putting more of a focus towards squeezing the last drop out of existing assets than spending cash on frontier exploration. One can even say that exploration budgets are getting scrutinized more and more. For that reason, we have decided to venture into the reservoir modelling space in the coming years, and integrate that with our existing software expertise and offering.”
And how to go about venturing into a new domain? “Obviously, we need a north star,” says Benoît, “but at the same time, I think we need some chaos too. Chaos leaves room for launching ideas without lengthy procedures. That’s why I think it is essential for people in this company to see me as an agent of chaos from time to time”, he laughs.
“Likewise, it is my role to channel this chaos too, and make sure that once we decide to start something, we finish it as well. Because that remains one of our core competencies: To act faster than the bigger players in the market.”
INTRODUCING ELIIS
Founded in 2007 and based in Montpellier, France, Eliis is particularly known across the industry for its PaleoScan software, which enables geologists and geophysicists to quickly interpret seismic data in a stratigraphically sound way. In doing so, reservoirs can be more confidently predicted and located.
Growth
Many people may have noticed that Eliis has grown significantly over the past few years. “Of course, growing for the sake of growing is not our goal,” says Benoît, “but it is certainly our ambition to grow our footprint in the industry. And if you want to remain an independent player whilst creating more impact, you need to grow. It’s a matter of life and death.”
“And let’s not overstate long-term strategies,” Benoît concludes. “I think that the difference we can make as a company is to act fast and have a strong focus on making things happen. That’s my most important mantra.” It has certainly helped him transform Eliis from a company that marketed PaleoScan as a nice-to-have attribute, to a company that offers a platform in which business decisions are being made.
