The Downstream STO Summit 2014 is a gathering of professionals in the downstream sector of the Oil and Gas industry (dedicated to refining and processing crude oil and natural gas). The primary focus of the Summit is the opportunity for professionals in different ecosystems within an agency—such as planners, executives, and engineers—to learn the benefits and best practices available through intra-agency cooperation. The secondary focus of the event is to generate innovation on how to bring the downstream STO process further into the 21st century.
Houston TX – October 7-9, 2014 – Aurigo Software, the Downstream Summit is a one of a kind knowledge sharing network of downstream shutdown and maintenance professionals committed to helping the petrochemical community become more effective and not just more efficient in their shutdown turnaround and outages.
With a surge in federal and private investments, agencies are now at a crossroads. The roadblocks are no longer funding or ambition, but the systems that translate that funding and ambition into delivery. AI-driven programs, predictive analytics, modernized permitting, carbon accountability, and an unprecedented surge in “infrastructure-hungry” digital projects will compel owners to reassess their approach to planning, procurement, and construction management at scale.
“We’re entering an era where capital owners must plan smarter, build faster, and justify every decision,” said Balaji Sreenivasan, CEO and founder of Aurigo Software. “Across active programs, we’re seeing data center growth outpace local grid capacity, water availability emerge as a binding planning constraint, and permitting offices overwhelmed by sheer volume. At the same time, owners are being asked to quantify carbon impact and demonstrate responsible investment before projects even break ground. AI is no longer optional in this environment. It’s becoming the only viable way for public and private sectors to surface risk early across budgets, schedules, environmental reviews, and approvals. The pressure for decision-makers to act before constraints turn into delays, cost overruns, or lost public trust has never been higher. The leaders who succeed in 2026 will be the ones who move from retrospective reporting to real-time, intelligence-led oversight.”
Shutdown and turnaround projects are among the most complex and costly maintenance projects a company must incur. Oil, gas & petrochemical companies face the overwhelming task of finding the right balance between achieving substantial cost savings while also ensuring the highest possible quality and safety standards. As we know if turnarounds are not properly planned, managed and controlled, companies run the risks of serious budget overruns, costly schedule delays and negative impacts to the bottom line. It is essential the entire STO (Shutdown/Turnaround/Outage) life cycle, from conception, planning to restart, is optimized to ensure a smoother end-to-end STO project.
So what is the right balance? How do you ensure your STO life cycle is effective? With many uncertainties and various challenges; from planning to execution the STO world is littered with examples of poor shutdowns with massive overruns in costs and problems in resource planning. It is essential to gain insight from those with proven track records to share best practices with others who are facing your same issues and concerns. Conferences and Tradeshows are a great way to leverage knowledge through interactive presentations and roundtable discussions and to gain valuable information you can use immediately. Please join us this year at the first Annual Downstream Summit in Houston Texas, October 7-9.
This is a space for turnaround managers and executives to strategically cross the aisle. Dialogue is at the center of any forum, but to take STOs further, buy-in from turnaround managers and executive leadership to enable that change will be critical. The summit crowns Houston as the home of progressive turnaround practices. With a speaker lineup that includes Joe Jackson, Turnaround Project Manager, LyondellBasell, Sam Harkreader, Improvement Leader at Ascend Performance Materials and Brian Baca, Operations Turnaround SME Corporate Engineering at Chevron Phillips Chemicals, the Downstream summit is well positioned to yield the strategy, practice and network of contacts needed to sharpen STOs at your plant or portfolio of plants. See you in Houston…
About Aurigo
Aurigo builds software that helps build the world. Aurigo provides AI-native platforms that help capital owners connect planning, construction, and operations in a single environment, improving decision-making and execution. Trusted by over 300 organizations across infrastructure and facilities, Aurigo manages more than $450 billion in capital programs, with over 40,000 projects throughout North America. Aurigo is a privately held U.S. corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas, with global offices in Canada, South Africa, and India. Learn more at www.aurigo.com.