Delek US CTO: “Our competitive advantage is Israeli technologies”
Delek US EVP, CTO & Chief Data Officer Ido Biger added: "There are opportunities here for any technological company that can make us better and we will be their gateway to the U.S.”
"The energy industry is divided into three parts, the upstream - exploration and production, with a global daily rate of 97 million barrels of crude oil, the midstream - those companies that store the oil and take care of transporting and distributing it, and the downstream - which turn the crude oil into products in the refineries, and distribute them further to the final consumers, among other things at the gas stations," explained Ido Biger, EVP, CTO and Chief Data Officer at Delek US, speaking at the Calcalist Forecasts conference.
Delek US is a downstream company, founded in 2001 by Uzi Yemin, and after several years, in 2006, became a public American company traded on the NYSE. The value of the company today is about $2 billion. The company has four refineries, two of which are in Texas, one in Arkansas and one in Louisiana. In addition, the company has dozens of terminals and hundreds of gas stations in New Mexico, Texas and Arkansas, a fleet of trucks, trains and logistics.
"Just to put the numbers in proportion, Delek US is bigger than all the energy companies in Israel combined in terms of the daily amount of barrels, the gas stations and the pipeline and distribution systems," Biger said.
"So why is a public American company appearing at the 2023 Forecasts Conference? I have worked in various and diverse industries, including the financial world, communications, software, and aviation. But without a doubt, this industry is the most challenging in terms of digitization. After all, the last refinery in the U.S. was built more than 50 years ago. We will still rely on this industry in the next 20-30 years and it is adapting itself to today's methodologies. In the end, as a company we distinguish ourselves as one that relies on the Israeli technological ecosystem. We believe that this connection sets us apart from all other companies. This includes global cooperation in the field of cyber defense in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Israeli Ministry of Energy, in research bringing together Ben Gurion University, Arizona State and Georgia Tech, which together with a variety of Israeli cyber companies are jointly developing the most advanced cyber laboratories for the operational world."
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How does this model work?
Biger explains that the company's innovation team - DKI, which is located in Israel and the U.S., meets, examines and builds an investment and cooperation mechanism with relevant Israeli companies. "There are opportunities here for any technological company that can make us better and we will be their gateway to the U.S.”
Delek US is exploring more and more technologies and possibilities for development in the worlds of renewable energy. “We already have several sites in the field, but even here, the Israeli anchor is important and interesting," he said.
"In every industry, and in every company, you are always looking for the difference maker, your competitive advantage in the market. We see and realize our advantage through the strong connection with these Israeli technologies. That's why I'm here," concluded Biger.
