RIYADH, 21 November 2007 — The need for deploying carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology for environmental pollution control and recovery of oil from depleted reservoirs will come in for renewed focus at the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) to be held in Dubai on Dec. 4-6 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center.
The third OPEC summit that concluded on Sunday here expressly called for the establishment of a mechanism to protect the environment while equally guaranteeing reliable oil supplies. The Saudi government, in its resolve to promote further research on CCS technology, has initially allocated $300 million to fund the project.
Public discussion of energy reserves is often focused on their eventual depletion, but oil and gas professionals are keen to demonstrate an alternative vision to promote the sustainability of supplies, Marc M. Duran Durandeau, geosciences manager - UAE, Total S.A., and IPTC reservoir subcommittee co-chairperson, has announced in a message received here.
He said the energy industry is combining cutting-edge technologies and best practices in order to maximize its development of resources, according to experts set to meet in Dubai next month at the IPTC. Over one-third of the sessions in the conference’s technical program will be devoted to the management of reservoirs so as to maximize fossil fuel extraction by sharing insights and case studies. Conference delegates will learn from examples drawn from professional practices across the globe.
“The global energy industry continues to innovate, as demonstrated by a huge number of reservoir-themed presentations and by the enthusiasm for reservoir technology, measurement and management at IPTC,” Durandeau said.
“Bringing together many of the world’s foremost reservoir experts is also a forum from which to address public concerns with sustainability, not least by using oil recovery,” he added.
He said enhanced oil recovery techniques pump substances — typically gas — into oil reservoirs to increase flow and greatly increase capture, allowing for the exploitation of a greater proportion of the contents of each reservoir. One exciting prospect is the use of carbon dioxide to increase oil flows, which would simultaneously direct the CO2 away from the atmosphere, reducing global warming.
Public concerns with sustainable development underline the importance of seeking new energy supplies, while working to ensure that their detection and extraction is done in a responsible manner. By gathering reservoir specialists, the conference organizers will facilitate a sharing of best practices by experts from across the energy sector.
IPTC delivers an in-depth program addressing both upstream and midstream challenges for the oil and gas industry while providing a forum to discuss technical applications of the equipment and services displayed. The technical sessions, presented concurrently with the exhibition, focus on exploration, production, reservoir, midstream gas, and overarching issues while bringing together the perspectives of multiple disciplines including petroleum engineering, geology and geophysics.