Deepwater Development conference highlights renewed interest in that sector
World Oil’s Deepwater Development Conference (MCEDD) got underway on March 25 in Madrid, Spain, and has been thriving this week. There is no mistaking the renewed, growing interest in deepwater projects, and the attendance and program confirm it, Fig. 1. Attendance is running significantly ahead of last year’s conference, and the list of topics presented/debated is more extensive.
The opening edition of MCEDD featured a half day of panels and presentations during the afternoon of March 25. Representing the host operator, Repsol, Alvaro Ranero, Managing Director of his company’s Groupement Reggane Nord division in Algeria, delivered an extensive keynote address, detailing his assessment of the global deepwater market, as well as his firm’s operating philosophy and vision for the next several years.
Operators’ Panel 1. Following Ranero was the first Operators’ Panel, entitled “Strategies for efficiency in deepwater projects.” In addition to Ranero, the panel included Thierry Charles, Manager of Development Studies, Deep Offshore Projects, at TotalEnergies; Pablo Gomes, R&D Manager for Subsea Pipelines at Petrobras; and Grant McKenzie, Vice President of Developments at Woodside Energy. Moderating the panel was Chris Barton, Vice President, Strategic Account Management, at Wood.
There was a general feeling among the panel that “oil is back,” particularly deepwater projects. It was noted that the latest projects coming onstream will not only replace existing production, they will increase the overall global supply. In achieving these results, the various panel members agreed that partnerships between operators and equipment/service firms and drilling contractors are more important than ever.
Some technological factors cited in the panel were robotics playing larger roles in projects, as well as using advances in materials to reduce the weight of facilities. To help shorten the timeframe of projects, one panel member said the industry needs to look at the approval process and make it faster. Standardization of equipment was also discussed.
Individual presentations. After a coffee break, a very informative update on the Shah Deniz 2 project, offshore Azerbaijan, was delivered by David Saul, Senior Advisor for Subsea bp Solutions at bp. He was followed by Francisco Nunez, Vice President, Sales and Commercial, at SLB OneSubsea. Nunez presented his company’s take on the expanding deepwater market, including various technological trends.
Operators’ Panel 2. A second, smaller panel of operators held forth in the late afternoon, including Adriano Bastos, Head of Upstream at Galp, and eric Dekeyzer, Deep Offshore Technology Transfer Manager for TotalEnergies. Moderator for the session was Obo Idornigie, Senior Vice President for Energy Trends and Analytics, at Welligence. Agreeing with the first panel from earlier in the day, these panelists talked about the expansion of frontiers that will require deepwater drilling, as well as a host of subsea solutions that will need further refinement. The need to expand deepwater operations while keeping flaring and natural gas emissions to a minimum was stressed, along with expansion of the practice of reinjecting gas. Greater innovation of infrastructure was also a topic. Panelists provided their ideas of where the next big deepwater opportunities lie and whether the industry is ready to unlock them.
