Creating an Open Digital Ecosystem from Project to Operations

KEYWORDS: Open Asset Digital Twin (OADT), Interoperability, Digital Ecosystem, Knowledge Graphs, Data Quality, Open Standards

Introduction

On October 8, 2025, ARC Advisory Group facilitated a Digital Ecosystem Industry Leadership Summit, hosted by and held at Shell’s Woodcreek facility in Houston. This event was designed for senior executives and industry experts to come together and discuss pressing issues impacting digital twins in industry. The Summit focused on the evolving role of digital ecosystems in capital projects and operations, bringing together leaders from major companies such as Shell, ExxonMobil, BP, BASF, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Petrobras, Saudi Aramco, and others. More than 50 attendees learned from prominent speakers including Shell and ExxonMobil who shared insights and best practices from their organizations’ digital transformation journeys.

The goal of the event was to foster open discussion and collaboration on how to extract real business value from digital ecosystems. Key themes included the current state of digital ecosystems in industrial sectors, strategies for scaling value and managing ROI, organizing expertise for greater impact, and the benefits of open digital ecosystems such as improved governance, component reuse, and reduced technical debt. The Summit also addressed the challenges of integrating legacy systems with new digital and AI-driven solutions.

The agenda featured a mix of keynote presentations, executive panels, and interactive sessions, including a showcase of Shell’s digital twin journey and discussions on the operational impact of AI.

Leading the Path to Open: ARC Open Asset Digital Twin Working Group

The Summit’s opening remarks focused on the evolution and importance of open asset digital twins (OADT) in industrial sectors, particularly oil & gas, chemicals, and increasingly, other verticals like nuclear solutions. The event was part of a broader Open Ecosystem initiative led by ARC Advisory Group, which organizes global summits and working groups to foster collaboration among asset owners, vendors, and standards organizations. The goal is to advance digital twin technology, emphasizing openness, interoperability, and user-driven principles.

ARC’s Open Asset Digital Twin (OADT) Working Group (WG) was formed to unify messaging and drive industry change. Unlike traditional standards organizations, this consortium is end-user focused, giving asset owners a platform to voice their needs without supplier influence. The group aims to remove inefficiencies, reduce technical debt, and define guiding principles for digital twins, with a strong emphasis on interoperability and open standards. Since its inception in 2022 with five founding companies, the consortium has grown to ten, representing nearly $3 trillion in global revenue and including major oil & gas and chemicals firms and companies from other industry sectors. The OADT WG collaborates with standards bodies like the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) and the Digital Twin Consortium, extending its influence across the industry.

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