The 15th annual Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), organized in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, attracted major national and international oil and gas companies from around the world to discuss common challenges and the opportunities in the region.
Involvement from Middle Eastern countries was higher than ever at the conference, with delegations from Saudi Aramco, Qatar Petroleum, Kuwait Petroleum, Sonatrach, and many other international companies discussing their strategies and technologies.
The largest oil and gas show outside North America were held under the theme “Sustainable Energy Growth: People, Responsibility and Innovation.” More than 50,000 people from 91 countries attended.
SPE organized the conference and technical sessions, which covered a number of topics that influence the industry including technical, economic, personal skills, and capability issues. More than 50 technical sessions presented by 300 industry experts were delivered during the event.
Mohamed Bin Dha’en Al Hamli, UAE minister of energy, opened the ADIPEC conference. He said the scale of ADIPEC and its setting in Abu Dhabi made it an ideal platform to address the complex technical and logistical challenges of exploring for and producing oil and gas at a time of increasing global energy demand.
Formally introducing the conference, Ali Rashid Al Jarwan, chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (Adma-Opco) and chairman of the ADIPEC 2012 conference, said the itinerary was the most comprehensive to date. “This year, the event offered more depth and scope than ever before. ADIPEC was founded on the principle of sharing knowledge and experience. This principle is as relevant now as it was 25 years ago when ADIPEC was established,” he said.
Speaking on the challenges of growing global energy demand, Christophe de Margerie, chief executive officer of Total, said that demand for oil and gas from non-OECD countries has increased and this creates a challenge. “Meeting the increasing demand is a bit challenging due to projects’ complexity, access to finance, and geopolitical constraints,” de Margerie said. “To meet this soaring demand, new LNG (liquefied natural gas) projects are needed to satisfy European and Asian demand, even with potential additional supply from shale gas.”
To address the new challenges facing the industry, companies should focus on leveraging technology, he said. “This will help unlock resources and improve recovery, optimal development through innovation, as well as operational excellence,” he said.
Sami Al Rushaid, chairman and managing director of Kuwait Oil Company, said that his company is strongly focusing on optimizing recovery through primary, secondary, unconventional, enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and development of heavy oil. “Significant oil is also expected to come from exploration activities,” he said.
Kuwait is on track to increase its oil production from 3 million B/D to 3.65 million B/D by 2020. “Sustaining this production to 2030 will require an increasingly large investment in new facilities and infrastructure,” Al Rushaid said. “The investment will support primary and secondary recovery methods, heavy oil recovery, as well as EOR schemes. And we expect to incorporate around 750,000 B/D of oil coming from exploration activities,” he added.
Al Rushaid said that production growth needs a continuous replacement of reserves aimed at an annual rate of 100% of production. “Addition of these reserves will rely heavily on technology enablers,” he said. “For example, 750,000 B/D of oil and 1.5 Bcf/D of free gas will come from exploration by 2030, while the advanced seismic techniques are expected to be the game changer.”
He also said that his company carried out two single well low-salinity trials in early 2012 without any extensive laboratory evaluation work with successful outcomes. In a very short time frame, he said, the experience opened the company’s eyes in the potential of this and other EOR techniques by playing early and fast in this arena. “Pace is not without risks,” he said.
Panelists at the second executive session focused on technology deployment and speakers discussed strategies related to technology. Mohamed Husain, chief executive officer of Equate Petrochemical, said that key elements of technology deployment includes vision and purpose, commitment, processes, skills, and capabilities.
Husain gave an example of the technical challenges across the value chain and said that 26 new technologies have been identified to address the challenges related to poor subsurface imaging, highly complex heterogeneous carbonate reservoirs, and limited matrix fracture. “This has led to the emergence of three groups of technologies including technology for reservoir characterization, reservoir management, and well construction,” he said.
Husain said that organizations will need to focus on “the big win and quick win” to meet the objectives and maximize long-term value. “However, two internal barriers appear frequently: tender/procurement and misaligned targets/objectives between organizations,” he said.
Speaking about the elements of a technology roadmap, Husain said that an identified set of technologies is required to successfully deliver objectives, which are clearly defined through project charters. “There are several key aspects to implement the technology roadmap: syndicate, review, and secure alignment from stakeholders to create final technology roadmap; clarify the technology stage gate process to support the execution of projects in the technology roadmap; and move forward on the project charters to develop and fill technology project proposals, with budget and resources that can then be implemented,” he said. “In addition to putting in place technology roadmap processes to ensure its rigorous and collaborative management and execution, as well as addressing the internal barriers to accelerate the projects, particularly regarding tendering/procurement and alignment of targets/objectives across organization.”
Matthias Bichsel, executive director of projects and technology at Shell, said the keys to technology deployment require partnership and priorities. “Technology is not about gadgets, it is about collaboration,” he said.
Bichsel said that the main priorities for technology deployment include long-term stewardship of resources, safety, and the environment, in addition to adding value for partners and consumers.
Peter Fontana, chief operating officer of Weatherford, said that this is the time to increase investments in research and development (R&D). “Oil and gas producer’s R&D intensity is significantly lower than overall global average of 3.3% compared to 0.4% for our industry,” he said.
Continuous collaboration between partners is very important when deploying technology in order to overcome hurdles and manage risks. “The collaboration should be throughout the process, from the development of the technologies that are useful and relevant, to the usage of the technology, ending up with communication through the demonstration of success and share learning,” Fontana said.
The deployment of technology is successful when technology is applied for value, but it does not always happen immediately.
Hirobumi Kawano, president of Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, highlighted the projects that his company is working on. Among the projects is the new Accurately Controlled Routinely Operated Signal System (ACROSS). “ACROSS system will be utilized for monitoring fluid movement in oil and gas reservoir,” he said. “This technology will allow permanent seismic source, and continuous monitoring of pressure and saturation changes.”
Kawano also said that his company is developing supercritical water cracking technology, which upgrades heavy oil, and can be combined with steam-assisted gravity drainage technologies to develop heavy oil fields.
Ashok Belani, chief technology officer at Schlumberger, said that producing oil and gas in complex environments requires innovation, in which the industry fosters risk-taking, which is the nature of the oil business. “Even though the risks are high, we are constantly experimenting with new technology deployment,” he said. “This led to barrier-breaking solutions in exploration, development, and production. One such example is extended-reach drilling.”
Attendance at the conference was 20% higher than the 2010 show. “The event has grown strongly in recent years, reflecting the position Abu Dhabi and the Middle East now hold in the global supply of oil and gas,” said Mohammad Sahoo Al Suwaidi, gas director of ADNOC and chairman of ADIPEC 2013. Making ADIPEC an annual event instead of one occurring every 2 years will accommodate the growing significance of natural gas in the global energy mix, Al Suwaidi said. “ADIPEC will remain an oil and gas event, but next year’s conference will spotlight the gas sector,” he said.