Go to Thursday Topical Luncheons »
Topical Luncheons
1215–1345, Wednesday, 6 May
Rooms 202, 204, 206, or 300, Reliant Center, Level 2 – rooms to be determined on-site.
Purchase tickets to these events.
Arctic, the Next Frontier?
Philippe Rondy, Planning Manager, Shtokman, Total
Sponsored by 
The rate of exploration and development of the Arctic hydrocarbon provinces has sharply increased lately. It is a new frontier that daring pioneers are set to cross. The challenges are numerous including weather conditions/low temperatures, respect of environment, societal acceptance, demanding working conditions, and more.
Our industry must invent, innovate, develop new technologies, and then install and operate them with novel techniques under new latitudes. Project budgets are considerable, and the price of oil has had an obvious impact on the business decisions to develop these large reserves, which are untapped thus far.
Philippe Rondy from Total, who is working on the Shtokman project, will share with us the challenges and promises of this new era of the petroleum story.
Hurricanes in a Warmer World
Gerald North, Harold J. Haynes Endowed Chair in Geosciences, Texas A&M University
Sponsored by
How will tropical storms of all categories change as the Earth’s temperature rises? This question is the subject of intense debate in the climate change research community.
It seems intuitive that the temperature of the warming sea surface should affect either or both the number of storms and/or their average intensity, but of course other factors matter. And if there is a change, will it be large enough to matter?
This presentation will survey the record of past hurricanes and indicate the two sides of the argument from the empirical point of view. Differences arise over the adequacy of the historical sample and the quality of the data.
In addition, the luncheon speaker will review the current thinking on the theoretical side of this issue. The presentation will include new information and results that are available at the time of OTC.
Peak Everything: Oil, Water, Raw Materials, and Other Constraints
Matthew Simmons, Chairman, Simmons & Company International
Peak Oil just entered the oil industry lexicon over the past few years. The problem of oil supply peaking is still not well understood even by many industry participants. Unfortunately, Peak Oil is a real issue that will profoundly reshape the entire energy business.
But there are also signs that many other natural resources are also becoming harder to find new sources of supply. Excess capacity of natural gas is gone. The power grids of most parts of the world are at full capacity. Iron ore, uranium, copper, and other rare minerals all show signs of supply falling despite enormous price increases.
The presentation will address this issue and how it might impact the future of offshore oil and gas.
Construction Strategies for Future Deepwater Production Facilities
Robert A. (Bob) Deason, President and CEO, J Ray McDermott
The past 10 years have seen significant changes in the market for deepwater production facilities. From emerging subsea processing solutions to the more conventional FPSOs, these facilities are being built and installed under ever-challenging conditions.
This presentation will focus on the challenges facing those responsible for building and installing these facilities and will address issues related to construction resources, risk management, and contracting strategies.
The move to deeper-water production facilities—although a trend since the birth of the offshore industry—is joined with other trends, including new construction design challenges, more severe installation environments, more remote locations, and reservoirs that are more difficult to drill and produce.
The industry, which has been built on a supply chain primarily accustomed to delivering large numbers of conventional production facilities, is still adjusting to successfully delivering deepwater solutions.
