What are your initial goals for the institute?

ADRIEN CAUDRON Our ultimate goal is to become a major player in the energy industry in Mexico. We are a new offering here and are looking to reach out and increase our exposure. This is why we are present in major industry tradeshows such as CMP. ITPE is a fresh and innovative company, and we are one of the few institutes in Mexico with such an offering: university, training, R&D, and consulting. ITPE was born as a university four years ago, after which we added a division for professional training and a center for research and investigation. Our group also owns a service company called Rise Energy. Our main customers and partners are national institutions such as PEMEX, IMP, UNAM, IPN, ASEA, and the National Hydrocarbon Commission. We are also increasing our footprint with local and international companies present in Mexico.

What are ITPE’s current strategies for growing its international presence?

AC Our first focus is Mexico and providing education, research, and professional training to create innovative and highly skilled energy professionals here. We also have strong international alliances, such as the ones with Texas A&M University, Aberdeen University, and the French Institute of Petroleum, each of whom we are working with on joint education programs. We are also working on exchange programs with other countries in Latin America, such as Colombia. We cannot be everywhere at once, but we are definitely already thinking where we want to be over the next five years, and our main focus is to develop the innovation and best practices in Mexico in other countries. We want to provide technology and methodology transfers, which we are doing through ITPE and Rise Energy.

What was the strategy behind the creation of ITPE’s Rise Energy, and where do you hope to see this component of the institute in five years?

José Ramón Silva Arizabalo Rise is a young company, but we are focused on disruptive technologies. We are revolutionizing the software being used in Mexico, particularly related to geoscience. What we are doing is distinct from other companies here. We will cater to the new players entering the market as a result. In the big picture, Rise is one of the four main pillars of ITPE. The medium-long term vision for Rise is to make the company the geoscience leader in Mexico and Latin America. We are researching and developing new technologies, including some projects with PEMEX. This has been a total success thus far. We only have a few more steps before taking it fully into the market. Our plan is to introduce our technologies to increase productivity and focus on new companies in the market.

AC We have a synergy between Rise Energy and the other offerings of the institute. For example, some students at ITPE are helping on consulting projects, while we have professors from the academic side that will be part of the research and development of the company. It is a fresh and different approach to education and solving problems in the sector.

2019 will be five years since the energy reforms were passed. What is your assessment of their implementation and success?

AC We have only seen the beginning of the energy reform, which in the long-term will be very positive for Mexico. There was some bad timing with the oil downturn, but it was completely necessary to open up the country.