About

It is the ambition of this SPE Workshop to play a role in filling the knowledge gap by not only focusing on the best technologies for deepwater subsea developments but to also address the regulatory and local content issues common for emerging frontier areas. In addition to the usual SPE Workshop technical participants, decision makers in government, and civil society will be encouraged to attend.

The outcome of the SPE Workshop is to provide an information platform for sustainable value growth in the Suriname-Guyana Offshore basin. The workshop will highlight how to optimize technology, regulatory systems, local content and capacity-building of the human resources required for national development.

Technology Focus Area

Offshore oil and gas development, especially deepwater, is a costly and highly risky business. These vast, high- quality oil and gas reservoirs have multiple engineering challenges. Balancing costs and technical complexity is crucial to long-term project viability, particularly in offshore frontier regions of the world that are lacking in an infrastructure and human resource base.

Over the years a growing standardization in the industry has resulted in greater technology and knowledge transfer between operators in offshore oil and gas provinces. These advances have brought enhanced feasibility and improved project investment returns.

Regulatory Processes Focus Area

There will be an emphasis on involving the regulatory agencies so they may better understand and manage the risks. In turn, this education will enable the appropriate local legislation to be enacted and help the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the region. Sharing information and experiences could help significantly reduce delays and costs.

Local Content (Capacity Building) Focus Area

In the value and supply chains, tremendous value for a host country is created by generating local content. This step guides and prepares local staff and service companies for the upcoming offshore industry. In the workshop, various local companies will be exposed to the various aspects of the offshore industry. New jobs created in the Oil and Gas arena can only make the stakeholders in Suriname and Guyana welcome the industry and Operators.

The international oil and gas service companies, and the international oil companies (IOC), now actively conducting petroleum activities in the Suriname-Guyana basin, will have an opportunity to engage with local service providers. This opportunity will allow the international service companies and IOCs to provide direct guidance to the local companies concerning the services that the international service companies and IOCs may provide. In turn, the international service companies and IOCs can learn from the local companies what local plans are in place and their overall preparedness.