Exploring the future of oil and gas technology at SPE Offshore Europe 2017

Transforming the offshore oil and gas sector through new technologies was the focus of discussions at this year’s SPE Offshore Europe 2017 Conference & Exhibition, attended by NERA Chief Executive Miranda Taylor and General Manager Operational Performance and Skills Nigel Haywood.

The theme ‘Embracing New Realities: Reinventing our Industry’ set the scene for more than 900 exhibitors from over 40 countries, to connect with more than 35,000 industry peers, explore the newest technologies, and learn about the latest business trends.

Ms Taylor said one of the biggest topics at this year’s event was the role of technology in shaping the future of oil and gas.

“Australia’s oil and gas industry has made significant progress in implementing advances in robotics, composite materials, additive manufacturing and augmented reality, however opportunities remain to further guide the industry in the uptake of these technologies,” Ms Taylor said.

“This opportunity exists not just in Australia and Europe, but globally.”

NERA met with representatives from the UK-based Oil & Gas Technology Centre to explore learnings and potential opportunities for future technology partnerships with Australia’s energy resources sector.

“The Centre is encouraging industry to think differently, and is looking for technology beyond the ‘usual suspects’ to stimulate discussion about their transformative potential,” Ms Taylor said.

“They want to get down to creating real strategies for adopting, adapting and deploying these technologies to help recover the estimated 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent in the North Sea.”

The exhibition included a new Technology Zone facilitated by the Oil & Gas Technology Centre, which hosted technology providers and innovative organisations, and showcased solutions from outside the oil and gas industry.

As part of this, a village of start-ups and SMEs gave operators and big companies in the supply chain a look at the solutions they have or are developing.

Another first for the event was the inclusion of a Decommissioning Zone which featured a themed exhibition and conference space.

The zone included more than 40 decommissioning technology and service providers in the exhibition, as well as a comprehensive conference programme.

NERA will share some of the presentation findings from the event with the Australian industry through the proposed new decommissioning research collaboration – CRC Decommissioning.

For more information on the Australian oil and gas CRC Decommissioning please contact Jill Stajduhar at jill.stajduhar@nera.org.au

For information on the SPE Offshore Europe event please contact Nigel Haywood at nigel.haywood@nera.org.au