Leaving the Legacy: Architecting Technical Centers in Energy Enterprises

Abstract

As major oil and gas companies compete in a landscape of evolving regulations, growing demand for diverse energy sources, and rapid digitalization, they face increasing complexity in adapting to the changing world. While historically, the technical centers embedded within these enterprises have driven technological advancement, the traditional way of working may not be delivering the required value to the broader enterprise. This thesis examines enterprise architecture transformation for a technical center in the oil and gas sector, emphasizing the need for greater agility, resilience, and innovation in the face of intensifying regulatory, technological, and market pressures. In response to complex challenges such as decarbonization mandates, digitalization, and evolving stakeholder demands, the research explores how technical centers, as key hubs of expertise and innovation, can be strategically positioned to support effective organizational change. A qualitative, design-oriented methodology is employed, integrating literature review, stakeholder analysis, and application of the ARIES framework to a technical center. The study maps internal and external enterprise landscapes, assesses current architectural practices using structured models, and develops future-oriented concepts evaluated against criteria aligned with sector-specific transformation needs. Findings reveal the limitations of conventional enterprise architecture in addressing dynamic industry conditions and illustrate how a holistic, stakeholder-centered approach can improve alignment, innovation capacity, and operational effectiveness. The thesis concludes with future areas of research and exploration.