Technology Street
Find out how ITF is facilitating innovation & technology developments in the global oil, gas and energy industry.
Global oil companies set technology priorities for 2012
The top priorities for oil and gas technology investment in 2012 were agreed at an international gathering of ITF members in Aberdeen.More than 80 senior oil and gas figures travelled from the Middle East, US, Asia-Pacific and across Europe for ITF's Annual Technology Conference (ATC) on Thursday 22 September to debate and agree the issues that they want to see tackled next year.
Neil Poxon, Managing Director of ITF said the findings would be of huge interest to technology companies and universities as the challenge is now for them to come forward with the groundbreaking solutions that address these industry-wide issues. Approximately £9 million is expected to be invested in ITF joint industry projects (JIPs) next year.
He said: "A high number of innovative technologies have been implemented into the field as a direct result of ITF members collaborating on funding and we want to see even more industry projects launched next year. The clear message to come from our operator members is that funding new technology is a growing priority as reserves are harder to secure and new frontiers are being developed.
"This presents a major opportunity for any company inventing new technologies to receive up to 100% funding whilst retaining their intellectual property rights.
"Our global technology challenges also contribute to the wider interests of the oil and gas industry by highlighting the needs and ambitions of the sector to potential employees as well as encouraging the next generation of talent."
Discussions at the ATC identified strong support for five key priorities to be taken forward by ITF in 2012, these include:
- Unconventional Reservoir Characterisation
- Unconventional Tight Gas Productivity Stimulation
- Subsea Power
- Subsea Produced Water Separation Clean Up for Re-Injection or Disposal Direct to the Ocean
- Nanotechnology for Maximising Recovery
Azuddin Zaid, Manager of Future Positioning and Technology Strategy at Petronas said: "By attending the ATC we realised that what we regarded to be unique challenges for us are common issues throughout the industry and it gives us the opportunity for oil and gas companies to come together to find a solution.
"ITF brings together national and international oil companies as well as service companies and research institutions in a single forum to discuss issues and reach a common good.
"Technology development is crucial to us to improve the way things are done in terms of efficiency, increasing production - which is the ultimate goal of any oil company - and reduced costs to continue operations at an acceptable level."
Abdulrahman Al-Mulhem, Science Specialist for Saudi Aramco's Production Technology Team said: "The technology challenges identified today will help developers and researchers to focus on what is important and they could get a lot of support from the industry.
"We are interested in about 80% of the challenges put forward and would be interested in supporting solutions to them as we aim to increase our recovery factor from 50% to 70%.
"Technology development is very important to the industry because as fields mature it will become increasingly cost prohibitive to produce and extract oil and gas. New solutions and technology are crucial to sustaining energy production going forward."
Government bodies and non-member companies were also in attendance to develop an industry-wide perspective on the issues. Organisations such as Oil and Gas UK and the Industrial Power Association contributed their ideas for technology progression.
A not-for-profit organisation, ITF is owned by its operator and service company members. ITF has invested more than £60 million in the funding of new technology developments from early stage projects through to field trials and implementations. With 173 joint industry projects launched to date, ITF aims to secure a further £50 million to launch 40 per year by 2015.
A number of calls for proposals have been issued this year with applications still being sought for Well Intervention and Subsea Technologies, which both close on Thursday, October 13.
Picture caption: Left to right Neil Poxon, Managing Director of ITF, Abdulraham Al-Mulhem from Saudi Aramco and Azuddin Zaid and Rashidah Adb Karim from Petronas.
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