Nikolas Perrault discusses the impact technology has on natural resources.

1. T E C H N O L O G Y A N D
N A T U R A L
R E S O U R C E S
NIKOLAS PERRAULT

2. The World Business Council for
Sustainable Development
estimates humans have exceeded
Earth’s capacity to sustain our
current levels of consumption,
and are on track to consume
more than twice what the planet
can regenerate.

3. T E C H N O L O G I C A L
A D V A N C E S
But, advances in technology are changing
the way resources are produced and
consumed. Energy consumption has
become less intense and more efficient
as people use less energy in their daily
lives, and as energy-efficient technology
becomes more integrated into our homes,
businesses and transportation.
Technological advances are helping to
lower the cost of renewable energies, like
solar and wind energy.

4. I N T E R S E C T I O N
Resource producers also benefit from the intersection of
technology with natural resources. According to McKinsey
& Company, “resource producers are increasingly able to
deploy a range of technologies in their operations,
putting mines and wells that were once inaccessible
within reach, raising the efficiency of extraction
techniques, shifting to predictive maintenance, and using
sophisticated data analysis to identify, extract, and
manage resources.”

5. M I N I N G
In terms of mining operations,
technology will help to raise
productivity and improve safety.
Advanced in-situ leaching will
open up difficult-to-reach ore
bodies at low ore grades.
Expanded data collection and
analysis of rock fragmentation will
help inform blast patterns.
Autonomous continuous hard-rock
mining could lead to faster
development of underground
mines, which eliminates the need
for drilling and blasting.

6. Oil drilling is another industry
that will be positively impacted
by technology. On-site drones
and robots can take over
activities too dangerous for
humans, which reduces cost and
improves safety. Subsea
processing units will help limit
surface infrastructure, which
reduces capital costs and makes
it not necessary to lift water and
sand to the surface. Also,
increased use of enhanced oil
recovery will extend the life of
fields, raising the recovery rates
with less capital investment.

7. T R E N D S
These trends have the potential to unlock
anywhere from $900 billion to $1.6
trillion in savings throughout the global
economy in 2035. At least two-thirds of
this figure comes from the reduced
demand for energy, resulting from higher
energy productivity. The rest of the
number comes from productivity savings
from resource producers.

8. G R I D
Technology will enable a more resilient grid and more
responsive and productive utilities. Cogeneration and
combined heat and power systems will increase the value
of thermal power generation and will raise resilience
through micro-grid applications.