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Vol. 58 No. 3

March 2006

Annual Conference Promises New Depths, New Horizons

As the industry extends offshore activities to greater depths, technical expertise approaches another horizon. The 2006 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), scheduled for 1–4 May at Reliant Center in Houston, will feature nearly 40 technical sessions and more than 300 technical presentations covering numerous technical disciplines.


    Estrella


     Judzis

Panel sessions, Topical Luncheons, and Industry Breakfasts will feature leading executives from the oil and gas industry. Guilherme de Oliveira Estrella, Managing Director of Petrobras E&P, is the keynote speaker at the Awards Luncheon on Tuesday. During the luncheon, 2006 OTC Chairperson Arnis Judzis, Executive Vice President of TerraTek, will present the OTC Distinguished Achievement Awards.

Panel sessions will examine such topics as key challenges facing the industry: stranded gas; coping with the aftermath of hurricanes Ivan, Katrina, and Rita in the Gulf of Mexico; the changing dynamics of deepwater ownership; alternative energy sources for post-peak oil; technology commercialization policy; and leadership. Industry breakfasts, luncheons, and other activities are scheduled before and after daily technical sessions. The exhibition will include more than 2,000 exhibiting companies from nearly 30 countries and will be open for viewing during all conference days.

Now in its third year, the Spotlight on New Technology award will be given to companies that have developed significant advanced technologies for the offshore oil and gas business.

The following sessions and special events highlight OTC 2006, which is titled “New Depths, New Horizons.” For more information on the conference, visit the OTC 2006 website at www.otcnet.org/2006.


More than 51,000 professionals representing 110 countries are registered to attend the conference.

General Sessions

OTC 2006 features two general sessions in which industry executives, government officials, and experts participate in roundtable-style discussions on broad issues affecting the offshore industry.

The first General Session, “Reflections on an Industry in Change—Past, Present, and Future,” takes place on Tuesday from 1400 to 1630. Moderator Amy Jaffe, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Energy Studies at the Baker Inst. for Public Policy and Associate Director of the Rice U. Energy Program, will lead panelists Mark Pease, Anadarko Vice President–Domestic Operations; Dalton Boutte, Schlumberger Executive Vice President and WesternGeco President; Bob Long, Transocean President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Director; and Alexandre Oliveira, Accenture Global Upstream Lead Partner, in a discussion on the intensified search for new oil amid growing demand, the need for more cost-efficient exploration and production methods, the influence of crude-oil prices on global economies, and the need to replenish an aging workforce.

A second General Session, moderated by James Hale of Decision Strategies Inc., is titled “The Challenge of Stranded Gas” and will take place Wednesday from 1400 to 1630. Addressing the issues of stranded gas solutions, liquefied natural gas, and gas-to-liquids processing will be panelists Bent Svensson, World Bank Program Manager; Xavier Preel, Total Vice President–E&P Business Strategy; Steven Campbell, Trans Ocean Gas President; and Rodney Cook, Noble Energy Vice President–North America.


Conference attendees are presented with opportunities to stay ahead of the technology curve.

Industry Breakfasts

Three Industry Breakfasts, sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, bring global leaders to OTC to discuss current trends in key developing regions.

Tuesday morning’s topic is “India’s Offshore Oil and Gas Industry.” The event will highlight recent exploration and production activity offshore western and eastern India. Officials from India’s Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Authority of India Ltd., and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. will also look at the country’s new exploration licensing policy and the current fiscal environment for offshore oil and gas investment. Commercialization of deepwater gas resources, particularly those located in the Krishna-Godavari basin, will be a focus.

The Wednesday breakfast, “Offshore Russia Oil and Gas Opportunities,” will feature a description of Russia’s plans for developing oil and gas resources on its continental shelf, possible opportunities for foreign companies, and Russia’s fiscal and regulatory method for development. According to Russian government officials and other experts, about 4 million km2 of Russia’s continental shelf is suited for development and could produce up to 11.3 Tcf of gas and 95 million tons of oil per year.

A third Industry Breakfast on “Australia’s Offshore Developments” is scheduled for Thursday. A panel will address developments, future projects, and commercial opportunities in Australia’s offshore oil and gas sector, including the Australian government’s role in stimulating investment offshore. Senior Australian officials and a senior representative of a U.S. energy company successfully operating in Australia’s offshore sector will give presentations.

Topical Luncheons

Topical Luncheons for OTC 2006 will feature recognized global experts who will explore current global topics and issues during several Topical Luncheons over 3 days. On Monday, Don MacLiver, Senior Vice President of Intl. Business Development for Anadarko, will speak on “Challenges in International Operations.” In a second presentation, Robert Kramek, President and Chief Operating Officer of ABS, will address “Meeting the Challenge of Safely Developing the Energy Frontier.” A third talk, “The Arc of Invention: Anticipation, to Canonical Inventor, to Exponential Growth,” will be given by John Lienhard, Distinguished Professor at the U. of Houston College of Engineering. Also on Monday, Abdullah Allah S. Al-Saif, Saudi Aramco Senior Vice President–E&P, will speak. And Johnnie Burton, Director of the U.S. Minerals Management Service, will present “The Outer Continental Shelf: Deepwater and Frontier Opportunities and Hurricane Recovery.”

On Wednesday, Miklos Konkoly-Thege, President and CEO of Det NorskeVeritas, will advise conference attendees of “Lessons Learned From Major Offshore Incidents.” In a second luncheon, Keir Becker, U. of Miami Professor of Marine Geology and Geophysics, describes “Contributions by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program.” Charles Meloy, Vice President–E&P for Kerr-McGee Corp., will present “New Waves in Deep Water.” A fourth luncheon will feature Shane DeBeer, Chadbourne and Parke Partner, who will speak on “Russian Legal Environment: Pitfalls in Providing/Contracting Oilfield Services.” Subir Raha, Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Chairman and Managing Director, will also give an address from an operator’s perspective.

Thursday rounds out the Topical Luncheon series with 3 presentations: “Future of Nanotechnology in Offshore Energy Research and Technology” by Wade Adams, Director of the Rice U. Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology; “Wells of the Future: How Close Is Today’s Technology?” by Robert Hinkel, President and CEO of Enventure Global Technology; and “Global Warming, Consequences, and the Responsibilities of Oil Companies: Opportunities for the Offshore Industry” by both Louis Heuze, Senior Vice President of Total E&P, and Phillipe Jean-Baptiste, Research Director for the Climate Control Research Center.


In addition to receiving and sharing technical information, participants meet new industry contacts.

Energy Roundtable

A by-invitation-only Energy Roundtable, “Does the Price of Oil Have New Meaning,” will be held on Tuesday morning. Moderated by RMI President Steve Jacobs, the panel includes Baker Hughes Chairman and CEO Chad Deaton, PFC Energy Chairman and CEO Robin West, and Administrator Guy Caruso of the U.S. Dept. of Energy Information Administration. Panelists will consider how the $60 barrel changes decision-making rationale for new projects.


More than 2,000 companies from 27 countries will be exhibiting during the 2006 OTC.

New for 2006

OTC 2006 features a first-time event, “The Next Wave”—a program for young professionals. The Thursday program is designed to provide career insights for young professionals looking to expand and grow their role within the offshore E&P industry. Professionals 35 years of age and younger as well as all those interested in meeting and interacting with these young professionals are welcome to attend. The event will feature two panel sessions with interactive voting pads to allow real-time feedback on issues affecting young E&P professionals. The first panel, titled “Leading the Wave of New Professionals,” will include Joe Bryant, Chairman and CEO of Cobalt Intl. Energy, LP; Marisé Mikulis, Energy Industry Manager at Microsoft; and Art Smith, Chairman and CEO of John S. Herold. The second panel session, “Catching the Perfect Wave for Your Career,” will feature John Gibson, Executive Managing Director of Fox Paine and Chairman of Paradigm Geophysical; Blake DuCharme, President of Infinistar Oilfield Services; and Janeen Judah, General Manager of Reservoir and Production Engineering at Chevron.

Because the OTC exhibition has grown significantly beyond the walls of Reliant Center, two pavilions have been added. These fully enclosed, climate-controlled structures will provide more than 60,000 net sq ft of exhibit space for 200 exhibitors. A reception will be held on Tuesday evening in the pavilions.

OTC Papers Online, containing all papers from the conference’s inception in 1969 through 2005, offers the ability to download and purchase OTC technical papers online. To access the papers, please go to www.otcnet.org.