On an FPSO (floating production storage and offloading vessel), change is never simple. Out at sea, any modification has to be carefully evaluated for risk.

So when you ask a customer to replace a working technology, performance data alone isn’t enough. You need complete confidence in the alternative—and that confidence can take years to build.8

I joined SLB in 2014 in digital and data management, working with real-time monitoring and support. Later, I moved into production systems to understand the FPSO market more closely.

That’s when my journey with Cynara began.

Cynara membranes weren't designed to decarbonize. They were developed to separate gas and improve production performance. But in Brazil’s pre-salt fields, where operators manage significant volumes of CO₂ , Cynara’s reputation and reliability opened the door to new applications.

The technology became part of how the local industry separates CO₂ from produced gas before reinjection. Why? Because the trust it earned in one application encouraged people to find new ways to create value with it.

One conversation marked the turning point for me. A senior manager at one of our customers asked me, “Rodrigo, why aren’t you talking more about the performance of this product?”

I realized Cynara’s message was no longer coming only from us. Our customers had their own experience with the technology—and they were willing to talk about it. Cynara had stopped being something I was selling and had become something customers genuinely believed in.

Soon, I began hearing the same thing elsewhere. An independent operator in Brazil contacted me because others in the industry had told them about Cynara’s performance. For someone in sales, that kind of call means a lot. It tells you that trust is spreading from one customer to another.

It also reinforced my belief that human connection matters. That’s one of the reasons I insist that customers visit our manufacturing facility in California. I don’t just want them to see the quality of the product; I want them to witness how much our teams care about its development.

I also want our impact to go beyond the equipment. In one customer application, our technology improved CO₂ removal, increased gas export capacity, and supported higher oil production using the existing FPSO infrastructure. Seeing this technology create value for both the operation and the people behind it is one of the most rewarding aspects of my work.

As SLB celebrates 100 years, Cynara reminds me that innovation isn’t only about developing better technology. It’s about earning enough trust for someone to put that technology to work, supporting them, and delivering so consistently that they start telling others about it.

That combination of technology, teamwork, and trust has shaped SLB for a century. And I’m proud to help carry it forward into the next.