The connected world of energy | Special episode from Wood Mackenzie
Energy Gang
Wood Mackenzie
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 14 October 2025
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Host Ed Crooks talks to Jason Liu, Chief Executive of Wood Mackenzie and co-author (with Chief Analyst Simon Flowers) of a new book, Connected, about the fast-changing world of energy. They are also joined by Sunaina Ocalan, formerly Senior Director for Corporate Strategy & Climate at the oil and gas company Hess, now Senior Analyst and Co-Head for Americas Energy & Transition at Bernstein Research. Together, they explore how energy leaders can plan, invest and operate operate in a world where different sectors, technologies and geographies are interconnected in more powerful and complex ways than ever before.
They talk about the language of “the energy transition”, and whether it can lead to misconceptions. Global demand for hydrocarbons is still growing, and they will continue to play a critical role in our energy system for decades to come, even as new supply from renewables and other low-carbon sources surges higher. A wider appreciation of that reality is driving a shift from siloed thinking about individual sectors to integrated solutions. For example, companies are increasingly looking at pairing solar and storage with gas generation to meet demand from data centers for reliable low-carbon power.
Sunaina takes us inside the the thinking of energy leaders as they assess strategies and investment decisions. She sets out a practical approach to scenario analysis, with “exit ramps” so companies can pivot as facts change. The aim isn’t to predict one future, but to be ready for a range of possible outcomes. That means balancing the advantages and disadvantages of a wide range of technologies, and taking a strategic view through short-term fluctuations as far as possible.
Effective decision-making is impossible without reliable data. Jason warns about three traps: using too little real data, leaning on synthetic/modelled data without ground truth, and poor integration across different sectors. Data collection technology is advancing rapidly, and with sensors, satellites and market intelligence, decision-makers can increasingly see what’s really happening with precision and granular detail, often in real time.
Then there’s AI. Like other industries, the world of energy is being transformed by the tools that have become available over the past few years. Scenario runs have been cut from months to minutes, with hundreds of models combined to give a comprehensive coherent picture. AI tools can even assess the best models to use on particular data sets: a capability Jason calls hyper-modelling. And still there is a vital role for human intelligence and judgement, to find and interpret the information that the AI tools miss.
The challenges in the energy sector today are vast. It is a cliche to say that uncertainty is higher than ever, but today it genuinely seems true. The pace of innovation in AI is changing the world in ways that have never been seen before. But the opportunity is vast, too. The energy industry will need $75 trillion or more in investment over the next 25 years, to meet ever-growing demand while reducing the impact on the environment. The businesses that succeed in making the most of this opportunity will be the ones that get three things right: the right data, the right AI capabilities, and the right people, all brought together to deliver actionable insights.
Let us know what you think. We’re on X, at @theenergygang and Bluesky, at @theenergygang.bsky.social. Make sure you’re following the show so you don’t miss an episode.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Energy Gang, a discussion show from Wood McKenzie about the fast-changing |
| 0:06.9 | world of energy. I'm Id Crooks. And welcome to a special episode we're going to be talking about |
| 0:11.8 | understanding the connected world of energy. The reason for this is that we're at Wood |
| 0:16.4 | McKenzie have just published a new book, which is called Connected, and it's written by our chief |
| 0:20.6 | executive Jason Yu and our chief analyst, Simon Flowers. |
| 0:24.2 | You can actually download it from our website, woodmack.com, so please do do that. Go ahead and check it out. |
| 0:29.3 | What it's about is about the key challenges facing the energy industry today and what we see as some of the solutions. |
| 0:36.8 | And to talk about that, it's a great pleasure to welcome Jason Liu, who, as I say, is our chief executive here at Wood Mackenzie. Hello, Jason. Welcome to the show. Hey, Ed. It's great to be here. It's pleasure. Yeah, thanks very much for joining us. And it's also a pleasure to welcome to the show for the first time. Another new guest, Sonaina O'Dulan. Sonina was until recently the Senior Director for Corporate Strategy and Climate Change at Hess, the Oil and Gas Company. And you've recently started a new job, haven't you, at the investment company, Bernstein. Hello, Sinai, welcome to the show. Thanks, Ed. Thanks for having me. Hey, Jason. It's really good to be here. Yes, I'm excited to say that I'm going to be an equity analyst for Bornstein in the energy and energy transition sector. Fantastic. Yeah, well, great that you're able to join us and great to take part of this conversation. I think that's a fantastic perspective to share this discussion we're going to be having about the future of the energy industry. One of the things we always like to do when we get people on the show for the first time is talk to them a bit about their careers, how they first got interested in energy and how they got to the roles they now hold. Maybe Jason, to start with you on this. As I say, what attracted you to energy and what was the pathway that took you to being chief exec at Wood McKenzie? |
| 1:42.3 | Oh, great, Ed. You know, I just would probably start off and say that. I think energy's been a bit of the family business. My father was a civil engineer and actually a wind expert. And so in my youth, we would actually spend vacations touring wind farms. You know, I think we, you know, as younger kids would have preferred being on the beach or amusement parks, but we'd be touring wind farms. |
| 2:02.6 | So I guess that's where it all started. I will say over the last 30 years, I've had an opportunity and a pleasure to run some of the larger software and data companies in the world. |
| 2:12.1 | And, you know, I did have one stint where I ran one of the largest energy software companies in the world, Allegro. |
| 2:18.2 | And now I've been at Wood McKinsey now for about 15 months as CEO. |
| 2:22.9 | And the only thing I would add is, I think of Wood McKinsey, we have this fantastic 100-plus year |
| 2:27.6 | history, but I'm the first outsider from Wood McKenzie, but also the first one with a tech, |
| 2:32.2 | you know, AI, you know, background. |
| 2:33.7 | And I think that's part of the |
| 2:35.5 | outsider's perspective that I think I can help bring to the energy world is that kind of, how does |
| 2:40.6 | energy meet tech and AI? Yeah, absolutely. That is very interesting. And as you say, very much |
| 2:45.5 | traditionally with McKenzie, we've appointed CEOs from inside the company. You, I think, the first one |
| 2:50.5 | in the whole history of the business to come from outside. As you say, really interesting to bring that tech perspective. And that's definitely something we're going to be talking about on this show. Before we get to that, though, Senai, and tell us about your career. So you spent a long time at Hess, didn't you? But what's your journey been? You know, I was reflecting on this, Ed. I actually entered energy by accident. It was early |
| 3:12.5 | 2000s, and I found myself with not one, but two electrical engineering degrees at a time |
| 3:19.7 | when tech was crashing. Slumberjay was hiring. It was not a company that was on my radar, but oh well. |
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