In this second Q&A, Datagration’s SVP of Latin America Francisco Suarez reveals his strategy to make PetroVisor the go-to technology for operators throughout Latin America to integrate all of their assets’ data successfully.
Francisco Suarez is a Petroleum Engineer who has worked in the oil and gas industry for the past 37 years, mostly internationally but with a focus in Latin America, as a head executive over the past 22 years. For 19 years, he worked in different roles across several countries with Halliburton until acting as VP of Latin America and Indonesia. Later, he worked with junior oil and gas operators with operations in South America and was in charge of production, engineering, and drilling operations. Recently, he served as CEO for a mid-size drilling rig contractor in Argentina for nearly five years before joining Datagration a few months ago.
Q: Which are the most important markets for Datagration in Spanish-speaking Latin America?
A: The key geo-markets for Datagration are Mexico, South America north, and the Southern Cone. Each of these markets has distinct characteristics from geopolitical and economic standpoints, different cultures, and diverse client bases. Mexico and South America north are very important markets for us and are our key priorities at the moment — I see great potential in Colombia, Ecuador, and Trinidad & Tobago.
Q: There is surely a lot of potential in these thriving oil and gas markets. What is your strategy to become the go-to technology for operators south of the U.S. border?
A: The strategy is to leverage my knowledge and experience throughout Latin America to raise awareness of our technology within our customer base, identifying the correct value proposition for each customer based on their wants and needs. We have identified business partners across the region, and today, we are working with partners in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Trinidad & Tobago. We are selecting the right partner in Argentina, a big and difficult market. Our local partners are critical in helping us optimize customer support on the ground. We trust them and do business together because of their reputation, shared values, and business standards in each market we work on.
Q: Great to have a local presence in each of your target markets. How are you developing your role as SVP of Latin America?
A: We initially conducted our technology socialization process through video conferences and webinars. We successfully launched two webinars for clients in the region, one in Spanish and one in English for the Caribbean. We will also have presentations in the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) chapters of each country in focus. As our customers continue to return to their offices after a prolonged period of remote work-only mode, we are now planning in-person visits to our customers. Initially, we will visit Colombia and Ecuador to continue exposing Datagration’s technology, and then will continue with in-person visits in the other countries — we have meetings lined up with senior management of six companies to follow up on our projects. We are committed to the region and value a physical presence in the countries we operate. In Latin America, our culture is very appreciative of in-person interaction.
Q: A great consideration for your Latin American clients. And what is it about Datagration that makes it a great fit for operators in Mexico, South America north and the Southern Cone that other similar products cannot match?
A: Datagration’s unique technology platform, PetroVisor, is a great fit for oil and gas companies in Latin America because it enables them to optimize overall company efficiency and profitability on a sustained basis, quickly and cost-effectively. PetroVisor is the only platform in the market that is truly agnostic, with open architecture and with proven engineering, artificial intelligence, and machine learning applications. It helps operators achieve higher levels of efficiency and profitability by revealing valuable insights from all their data to successfully get economic and technical recommendations for end users to make much better decisions.
August 30, 2022