While BHP recently decided to sell off its onshore unconventional acreage in the US, it still has a portfolio of oil and gas assets in the Gulf of Mexico, and CORE CEO Tamryn Barker told Energy News that the Big Australian has already benefited from its Houston agreement.
The agreement with Station Houston provides a high-level framework for cooperation and referrals between organisations, enabling members from both communities to access space at one another's hubs in Perth and Houston.
"BHP in Perth wanted to connect with the start-up community in Houston, but instead of asking their Houston office they came to us to connect to figure out who they should be talking to in Houston's early innovator space," Barker told Energy News.
"That demonstrates our good relationships here and how those networks can work, especially since the space that we partnered with happens to be physically right next door to BHP in Houston.
"A shared culture helps us become closer to each other, and we have an opportunity to bring corporates into that culture through the ease of our network, and through that BHP now has a great relationship with that Houston space through the ease of our network."
Station Houston will also host Digital Tribes - its first internationally-organised technology hackathon - from October 13-15 in conjunction with Unearthed, CORE's resident open innovation and accelerator program.
Unearthed will collaborate with BHP and Houston-area innovators to focus digital problem-solving skills on the energy sector's global challenges, prototyping solutions over a weekend.
Perth and Houston have been "sister cities" since 1984 having both been founding members of the World Energy Cities Partnership in 1995.
Barker said that as the oil and gas capitals of their respective countries, the strength of the relationship between the cities lies in the deep roots shared in the oil and gas business and ambition to continue to support this industry while embracing the emerging renewable energy industry.
Companies such as Chevron Corporation, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Eni, Shell and BHP have offices and major projects in Houston and Perth.
Barker said new connections between emerging technology and innovation hubs like CORE and Station Houston add ideas and capabilities to the regular exchanges of skills, people and technologies between the two cities.
The Houston agreement is CORE's first engagement with a start-up hub serving "the energy capital of the world".
Former WA Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion launched the program last October to provide a co-working, collaboration and innovation hub focused on solving global resources and energy sector challenges through digital technologies.
Barker said the expansion to Brisbane, link to Houston and a looming physical expansion into another two floors of its Perth base on St Georges Terrace, was all part of the second phase of growth following the successful conclusion of its pilot, which will effectively double its space for 140 people.
She said the pilot showed "the business is viable, we're at capacity and we're able to take existing members into our growth plans with us, which I take as an indicator of success".
"The capability that some of our members would be providing like operations and maintenance is not just something only applicable in Perth, so to be able to trial and test that in other parts of Australia is important for us to be in more than one location, and Brisbane is the natural pick, as foundation partner METS Ignited is also based there too," Barker said.
She described the Houston agreement as an "open-door ecosystem partnership" as Australian companies want to showcase their prototypes in Houston.
While it's similar to the Landing Pad program as part of the federal government's National Innovation and Science Agenda, it doesn't have a particular focus on mining, oil and gas, so it was necessary to create the link with Houston.
CORE's other international hub partners are Caterpillar Ventures, a mining technology hub in San Francisco and Santiago-based non-profit organisation Fundacion Chile that has a strong focus on the mining and energy sector, and encourages innovations that "move the border of the possible".
"Houston has gone through an interesting transition having suffered a lot in recent years so has had to double down and diversify into other areas [particularly in the digital space], which provides some interesting lessons," Barker said.
"When we had a partnership with Caterpillar Ventures [in] Silicon Valley, we've already had six companies be introduced and pitch to companies over there over the last six months. I wasn't expecting that, I thought it might take longer."
