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Leaders from Marathon Petroleum, Shell, Dow, Chevron Phillips Chemical and more told Reuters Events that broad claims of “digital” or “AI transformation” no longer move the downstream industry forward. Without technically grounded discussions that reflect operational realities, organizational constraints and measurable business outcomes, transformation efforts risk stalling before value is realised.
Across reliability, maintenance, turnarounds and capital projects, executives highlighted the same pressures: the need to improve asset performance and uptime while budget margins tighten and skilled workforce availability declines.
The consensus was clear: meaningful progress happens when digital initiatives are tied to specific workflows, with defined data boundaries, ownership models, system integration points and KPIs. Just as critical is sharper problem definition, ensuring technology directly addresses operational pain points.
In in-depth discussions, leaders positioned automation as the essential foundation for scalable AI, while highlighting the organisational barriers that continue to undermine data-driven value delivery.
Download the report to access insights from the Reuters Events Downstream USA Steering Committee.
