From Recovery to Responsibility: Reimagining Capital Investment in Energy at World Utilities Congress 2025
At the World Utilities Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi, Andy Sutherland, SVP Copperleaf APJMEA at IFS, shared a compelling perspective on the future of capital allocation in the energy sector. Drawing on over 35 years in upstream oil and gas, and now leading asset investment planning at IFS Copperleaf, Andy explained why data-driven, value-based decision-making is key to unlocking sustainable growth.
Energy’s Efficiency Evolution
We are now in our 5th generation of oil and gas production in the Middle East and initially companies typically recovered only 20 to 25 percent of available subsurface resources. Today, thanks to advanced recovery technologies, some fields reach even 70 to 80 percent efficiency. With smarter extraction, the industry is not just significantly increasing output but also reducing emissions by requiring less activity.
Carbon, Repurposed
Carbon is often seen as a challenge, but it can also be a powerful tool. Andy described how CO₂ is now re-injected into oil fields to support further recovery, and then also can be stored in depleted gas reservoirs. This closed-loop approach is helping energy leaders reduce emissions and manage carbon more responsibly. At IFS we have sophisticated AI driven tools which optimise projects from conceptual design and planning through operating for the entire asset lifecycle. It’s worth adding that technology is enabling assets to operate and produce way beyond the initial planned lifetime.
Enter IFS Copperleaf: Capital Allocation with Purpose
To fully leverage these innovations, energy companies must rethink how they allocate capital. This is where IFS Copperleaf adds real value.
As part of the IFS platform, IFS Copperleaf provides a complete solution for strategic capital planning. It helps organizations:
- Prioritize investments using a value-based framework that accounts for ESG, risk, revenue, and operational goals
- Explore “what-if” scenarios to visualize future investments and reduce risk with 5 to 20 percent more value from capital invested
- Align CAPEX and OPEX decisions with business strategy through modular, advanced financial models
This is more than project prioritization. It is a digital transformative shift in how organizations make investment decisions, enabling faster, smarter, and more defensible choices.
A Region Ready to Lead
The Middle East, with its vast reserves and growing commitment to innovation, is well positioned to lead the next chapter of the global energy transition. Supported by integrated technologies from IFS and Copperleaf, the region can maximize both financial and environmental performance.
Capital allocation is no longer just a finance decision. It’s how we drive sustainability, resilience, and strategic growth.
Andy Sutherland
SVP Copperleaf APJMEA
IFS
Key Takeaways
- Enhanced recovery now delivers up to 80 percent efficiency with fewer emissions
- CO₂ is reused to rejuvenate assets and stored in depleted fields
- Copperleaf helps energy leaders simulate “what-if” scenarios, prioritize portfolios, and increase value of capital investment typically by 5 to 20 percent
Andy’s message is clear: as the world decarbonizes and digitizes, we must invest not only in physical assets but also in the intelligence that guides those investments. It is time to move from reactive spending to proactive value creation.