Turbulent times in the oil & gas sector will be the backdrop for this year's two premier offshore industry events – Houston's annual Offshore Technology Conference in May and Aberdeen's SPE Offshore Europe gathering in September. But that's nothing new for the 42-year-old OTC show and the slightly younger, biennial OE gathering. Russell McCulley and Meg Chesshyre take a look.
Despite ups and downs in the industry, OTC continues to grow, last year packing in just short of 73,000 attendees from over 120 countries and some 2400 exhibitors. The theme of the 2011 show at Houston's Reliant Park 2-5 May is ‘Diversity in energy, people and resources,' reflecting both the increasingly international OTC demographic and the expanding range of topics beyond traditional oil & gas that dot the conference's agenda.
At the conclusion of last year's conference, Noble Energy senior VP of exploration Susan Cunningham, who wraps up her two-year stint as OTC chair this year, told OE that the conference has increased ‘the content of all energy sources' as the industry comes to accept that ‘the future is a portfolio of energies'.
The 2010 gathering was dominated by news from the BP-operated Macondo well blowout and spill in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, where emergency responders were scarcely two weeks into an ordeal that would stretch on for months. A number of sessions this year will address the disaster and its regulatory aftermath, along with discussions covering global trends, sustainable energy, the natural gas boom and environmental issues.
But the meat of OTC 2011, as always, will be the 300 technical sessions running throughout the conference that cover every aspect of the offshore oil & gas industry. The massive exhibition this year will spill out into an expanded outdoor area dubbed the OTC Parkway. Another new feature is the OTC dinner, to be held at the George R Brown convention center, where the organization will recognize the 2011 distinguished achievement award recipients. Scheduled for 18.00-22.30 Sunday 1 May, the dinner replaces OTC's annual awards luncheon, traditionally held on Tuesday. Tickets are $125 each.
The annual OTC Spotlight on New Technology award recipients will be recognized at a ceremony in the Rotunda at Reliant Park Monday 2 May at 16.00.
Wake-up calls
Monday 2 May: Vsevolod Cherepanov, Gazprom's head of gas, Russia, will host a discussion called ‘Exploring Russia's energy industry.' Ganesh Thakur, VP, global advisor and Chevron fellow, will deliver an address titled ‘E&P talents: recruiting, development and retention'. And John Wright, president and blowout engineering advisor for John Wright Company, will discuss ‘Drilling relief wells and dealing with uncertainty'.
Tuesday 3 May: Doing business in Mexico will be the subject of an industry breakfast organized by OTC and the US Department of Commerce. Concurrently, Western Australia premier Collin Barnett will offer a wide-ranging view of ‘Current affairs in the Australian oil & gas market'. And WorleyParsons senior technical advisor Ken Arnold will join Subsurface Consultants & Associates chairman and CEO Dan Tearpock for ‘Professional ethics in offshore operations'.
Wednesday 4 May: The day's industry breakfast topic will focus on the Malaysian oil & gas market. The morning's other selections are ‘Marine archaeology', with Shelley Wachsmann, coordinator, natural archaeology program at Texas A&M University's Institute of Nautical Archaeology; an address on the Kuwait Oil Company by Farouk Al Zanki, CEO, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation; and a discussion of ‘Process safety in offshore operations' by Louisa Nara, technical director for the Center for Chemical process Safety.
Thursday 5 May: OTC's final industry breakfast looks at the emerging oil & gas area of Cyprus. The day's topical breakfast features Reliance Industries chief of technical services Niladri Mitra, who will discuss ‘Global energy scenario with deepwater perspective.'
Discussion and debate
While technical sessions fan out into smaller gatherings throughout Reliant Park, OTC 2011 hosts larger general sessions in the morning and afternoon each conference day. The well-attended discussions are noted for lively debates and often candid insights. Morning sessions run from 09.30-12.00; the afternoon meetings are held from 14.00- 16.30.
Monday 2 May: The morning kicks off with ‘Alternative energy: a sustainable mix for the 21st century and beyond' moderated by consultant George Richardson and Ahmed Hashmi of BP. Panelists include John Wiltshire of the University of Hawaii; Mike Musulin of Kentucky Pioneer Energy, Coal, and Coal Gasification Technology; Ted Marston, Marston Consulting; Bouke van't Riet of Arundon Mining Solutions; and energy consultant L Alan Weakly.
The afternoon session, moderated by David Holt of Consumer Energy and organized by Noble Energy's Sandeep Khurana, is ‘Offshore energy development through a post-spill reality'.
Tuesday 3 May: Moderator Gamal Hassan of Baker Hughes joins panelists from Chevron, ExxonMobil, Kuwait Petroleum, Saudi Aramco, and the US government for the morning's discussion, ‘Building a new energy future and what is the next surprise for world energy'.
Tuesday afternoon's session, ‘Gas to LNG: global trends and projects,' will be hosted by session chairs Buford Pollett, of Eni US Operating Company, and Woodside Energy's Neil Kavanagh.
Wednesday 4 May: This morning session looks at ‘Capturing carbon credits from offshore carbon sequestration', with moderator Charles Knobloch of Arnold & Knobloch. Panelists are Elaine Darby of Anchor QEA; Keith Casto of Shook, Hardy & Bacon; Ruth Ivory-Moore of ExxonMobil; Paul Williams from Baker Hughes; and Alex Rau of Climate Wedge.
Later in the day, IHS CERA's Bob Fryklund will moderate ‘Global gas markets, the new reality: is it shale and LNG, or shale or LNG?' Panelists include IHS CERA colleague Bob Ineson; David Thames of Cheniere Energy Partners; Richard Davis, from Bechtel; and Emma Cochrane of ExxonMobil.
Thursday 5 May: Thursday's morning session ‘Navigating the new corporate and project risk environment' looks at the regulatory and risk aftereffects of the BP Macondo disaster. Moderator Chris Ross of CRA International will host panelists Susan Cunningham, of Noble Energy; Statoil's Jan Erik Karlsen; Richard Westney, of Westney Consulting Group; and Denham Capital's Michael Sigman.
The final OTC general session also addresses Macondo and the regulatory environment that is emerging in its wake. ‘Oil spill: industry, government and academic views on prevention and effects' will be moderated by ExxonMobil's Joseph Reilly and feature insight from Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation & Enforcement director Michael Bromwich; Dave Payne, of Chevron; ExxonMobil's Clay Vaughn; and the University of Houston's Hanadi Rifai.
Lunch and learn
OTC topical lunches are hot tickets, and best bought in advance. The lunches run from 12.15-13.45 each day, and tickets are $50 each.
Monday 2 May: Attendees have three lunches to choose from on OTC's opening day. BOEMRE director Michael Bromwich will speak about the ‘Next steps in offshore US regulation'. Concurrent lunches cover ‘Silicon seafloor: constraints that have limited the adoption of semiconductors in subsea production systems' with Tyler Schilling, CEO, Schilling Robotics division of FMC Technologies; and ‘Saudi Aramco's gas exploration and development program' with the company's VP of production, Saad Turaiki.
Tuesday 3 May: Four lunches are on tap for Tuesday. Per Christian Bunaes, senior engineer, deepwater technology for DNV, will discuss ‘Incorporating high-integrity pressure production systems into subsea system designs'. Paulo Manuel Mendes de Mendonça, general executive officer and E&P director at OGX, will deliver a lecture called ‘OGX: a Brazilian company, a successful model'. ExxonMobil senior marine engineer Ro Lokken discusses ‘ExxonMobil: researching the fundamentals to support operations integrity'. And Christopher Smith, deputy assistant secretary for oil & gas at the US Department of Energy, will speak at a luncheon titled ‘Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico'.
Wednesday 4 May: Gather around the tables Wednesday for a trio of international lunch presentations. ADNOC director of offshore divisions Ali Khalifa Al Shamsi will discuss ‘ADNOC major offshore development opportunities and challenges'. Concurrently, Jose Formigli, Petrobras executive manager E&P-Presalt, will cover ‘Updated information on the pre-salt development offshore Brazil'. And Evita Herawati Legowo, Indonesia's director general for oil & gas, will offer a presentation on ‘Major investments in offshore Indonesia'.
Thursday 5 May: University of Houston professor and OE columnist Michael Economides will discuss ‘Energy geopolitics' during one of two luncheons on OTC's final day. The other, presented by professor James Tour of the Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology at Rice University, will discuss ‘New technologies for enhanced oil recovery'.
Event extras
OTC 2011 rounds out its activities with several special events. Monday, from 08.15- 14.30, marks the return of The Next Wave, OTC's program focusing on younger oil & gas professionals and students. This year's edition is billed ‘Oil & gas 2.0: taking the industry to the next level'. The $50 fee includes continental breakfast, lunch and an evening reception.
Attendees are invited to Robertson Stadium Wednesday 4 May, to watch the Houston Dynamo soccer team square off against the Colorado Rapids. Discounted tickets are available; game time is scheduled for 18.30.
On Thursday 5 May, OTC hosts the Teacher Workshop, a free energy education program for 100 invited Houston-area classroom teachers. The workshop, which runs from 07.30-15.00, will cover important scientific concepts of energy and its importance and information on world oil & gas E&P.
Also on Thursday, between 08.30-13.30, OTC hosts the High School Student STEM Event, geared to aspiring engineers, scientists and managers. The program includes a scavenger hunt of technology exhibits and hands-on energy lessons provided by the US National Energy Education Development project. OE
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