General Sessions
Reflections On An Industry In Change – Past, Present and Future
Tuesday, 2 May 2006, 1400 to 1630
During OTC 2000, the general sessions reflected on the challenges facing the offshore oil and gas industry in the new millennium. Today, a number of those challenges remain and new, unexpected ones have emerged.
This general session will focus on the changing face of the offshore oil and gas industry, and reflect on the key contributors including the:
- Role of the National Oil Company
- Technology advances that have opened new frontiers
- Continuing search for the most cost efficient exploration and production
- Influence of crude oil pricing on global economics
In addition to these issues, the panel will also address the push toward local content, supply chain sourcing from developing countries and the continued search for human resources to meet the needs of an expanding industry.
As the roles of national and international oil companies have become more blurred and the search for new oil has intensified to feed the demand of the emerging economies of China and India, there is concern over the security of supply, the protection of intellectual property and the replenishing of an aging workforce.
Audience participation is encouraged.
Moderator
Amy Jaffe, Baker Institute, Rice University
Panelists
Mark Pease, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
Dalton Boutte, Schlumberger
Mohammed Hamel, OPEC, Head, Energy Studies Division
Bob Long, Transocean
Alexandre Oliveira, Accenture
Stranded Gas to Commercial Reality
Wednesday, 3 May 2006, 1400 to 1630
The World Bank has a Global Gas Flaring Reduction Initiative that has been supported by a number of countries. Global oil production capacity is forecast to increase 60% over the next 20 years, and a similar trend is expected for associated gas production. Much of the incremental oil production will come from countries and regions that currently have large flaring problems. According to the EIA/DOE’s International Energy Outlook 2005, the global demand for natural gas is projected to increase nearly 70% over the next 20 years where as oil is expected to grow roughly 40% over the same period. A significant portion of the natural gas that is flared comes from countries that are located far from the major markets centers of the US and Europe, such as Africa and South East Asia.
To develop natural gas in these remote areas, constraints will need to be removed. New regulations and improvement in institutional capacity for host countries will need to be developed that provide appropriate investment signals for developing both the internal domestic market and export markets. Typically, a large “anchor” project (usually a power plant) is required to develop new natural gas markets, which may require reforms in the electricity sector, particularly with respect to pricing to expand the local demand for natural gas.
Natural gas has historically been transported by pipelines and more recently by LNG tankers for export markets. In remote areas, with smaller reserves, stranded natural gas will require other solutions such as CNG, or conversion to methanol or liquids by GTL processing to become viable.
Panelists will share their experience in dealing with the issue of stranded gas and offer suggestions on a path forward. Audience participation will be encouraged.
Panelists
Bent Svensson, World Bank
Rodney Cook, Noble Energy
Steven Campbell, Trans Ocean Gas Inc.
Xavier Préel, Total Exploration and Production
