ITF: Industry operators discuss pressing technology issues

A host of operators will give their views on where UK oil and gas technology development needs to be focused to help maximise recovery rates at the ITF Technology Showcase being held in collaboration with Oil & Gas UK on Wednesday 5 March.

Leading industry figures from operators and major service companies including AMEC, BP, Chevron, CNR International, Fairfield Energy, GE Oil & Gas, Nexen-CNOOC, and Shell, will outline the most pressing technology issues facing the sector at the event at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.

The recent Wood Review highlighted that technology would play a vital role in recovering the estimated 24 billion barrels of reserves in the UK North Sea reporting “an urgent need for industry to focus in-depth on the five or six most critical technology challenges.”

At the conference Paul White, Director of Subsea Technology at GE Oil & Gas will speak about three growth areas for subsea technologies. He said: “New and emerging subsea technologies have a vital role to play in maximising value from existing North Sea assets. Subsea processing technologies which can extend field life and improve recovery factors will be a priority. Innovations that can help ensure and manage asset integrity and give a view on how the condition changes over time will also be increasingly important along with monitoring and diagnostic technologies.”

2014 marks 50 years since Chevron drilled the first well in the UK North Sea and Craig May, Managing Director of Chevron Upstream Europe, will speak about the role of technology in managing oil and gas projects of increasing technical complexity including seismic imaging; enhanced oil recovery and digital integrated operations. He will also highlight the opportunities the industry has to transform its culture, apply lessons from other industries and basins, and leverage the full spectrum of the region’s intellectual capital around the world.

James Edens, Vice President and Managing Director of CNR International will speak about the technical challenges that have been observed during recent decommissioning operations and will challenge the developer community to innovate new technology that delivers lower cost solutions.

The conference and exhibition, which is supported by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the UK Technology Strategy Board, enables technology innovators to network with key figures in the industry and discuss the challenges around unlocking the remaining reserves on the UK continental shelf (UKCS).

The conference programme includes four key focus areas:

· Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)

· Digital Monitoring for Production Efficiency and Integrity

· Increased Oil Recovery (IOR)

· Advanced Materials and Corrosion.

Dr Patrick O’Brien, CEO of ITF said: “The Technology Showcase provides a unique environment to hear first hand examples from operators about the challenges and opportunities for investment in UKCS technologies and a networking platform where the most innovative ideas will be brought to life. We would urge anyone with an interest in maximising UK oil and gas production to come along and start collaborating on bringing forward the game-changing ideas that the industry needs.”

The conference will be chaired by Oonagh Werngren, Operations Director of Oil & Gas UK. She said: “We really appreciate the commitment of key industry figures who will be contributing to the Technology Showcase. It provides the ideal arena to hear about the innovative solutions that could help us make significant technical advances in industry challenges ranging from deep water operations and advanced seismic processing to subsea engineering and equipment that helps to improve safety offshore.”

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Press Release, March 03, 2014