DUBAI, 5 December 2007 — The energy industry in the region needs to take urgent steps in order to be better equipped to face the various challenges posed by the fast developments in the industry regionally and globally, Shell executives said.
At the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) that opened here yesterday, Raoul Restucci, executive vice president, Shell Middle East, Caspian and South Asia, said “we see continued rapid growth in population and energy demand, decreasing reserves of easy oil and sweet gas and continuing shortfalls in experienced human resources all set against the need to improve security of supply while reducing the CO2 footprint.” According to the International Energy Outlook 2007, he said “the worldwide marketed energy consumption is projected to grow by 57 percent between 2004 and 2030.”
“The world consumes energy now at a rate of 200 million boe (barrels of oil equivalent) per day, with 80 percent supplied by oil, gas and coal”, said Michael Naylor, vice president technical, Shell Exploration & Production. “So, our industry will have to consider three things. Firstly, we will increasingly be exploring for deeper targets, often in more difficult environments.
Secondly, we will have to find ways to commercialize difficult and unconventional hydrocarbons. And thirdly, society increasingly expects us to mitigate the effects of hydrocarbon use — i.e. find solutions to CO2 emissions to counteract climate change.”
The energy executives said Shell faces these concerns with a three-pronged approach — integration across all businesses, technology and innovation and human resources and capabilities. It is essential to ensure a combination of the above is employed in order to secure a future of sustainable energy.
They said that successful exploration companies integrate different technologies and capabilities and as such this leads to better business decisions. The use of technology also helps to maintain adequate financial performance through de-risking plays and prospects. Shell uses three principles with regards to technology: innovate, integrate and replicate.
A skilled taskforce is ultimately the most important factor for the success of any organization, said Dr. Zara Khatib, manager, EPM Technology Marketing, Shell Exploration & Production, who chaired the Education Week being held at the IPTC 2007. Education Week will enable final-year undergraduate, science, geoscience and engineering students from qualified institutions worldwide to interact with major industry employers to gain insight into the industry they will be working in.
“Given the meteoric rise of demand from countries such as China and India, these are challenging times for the energy industry,” said Farouk Al-Zanki, executive committee co-chairperson of IPTC 2007.
“Increasing supply requires that we break out from conventional oil fields, and instead find innovative techniques to obtain the maximum resources from as diverse sources as possible,” he added.
Keynote speaker Daniel Yergin, chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, argued that the “flight to oil” as a source of economic security places new pressures on the industry to locate, extract and refine oil and gas in line with a dynamic new understanding of social, natural, and technological pressures.
This movement has particular significance for major oil-producing countries in the Middle East.
In Arab Oil & Gas Show (OGS), the other energy exhibition being held simultaneously with IPTC at the Dubai International Exhibition Center, Anselm Godinho, managing director, International Conferences and Exhibitions (IC&E), said “the OGS 2007 will play an important role in helping determine new prospects and solutions to various challenges, as it is our ultimate goal to open new channels for growth and promote the sustainable development of the industry.”