Yemisi Izuora
With a growing realisation that lower oil and gas prices are here to stay, Subsea Expo 2017, which kicks off tomorrow at the Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre, will examine what the UK industry must do to survive and remain globally competitive in the current environment.
Organiser, Subsea UK, is gearing up to welcome over 5,000 delegates from all over the world to Europe’s largest, annual subsea conference and exhibition.
This year’s theme – ‘Adapting to the New Norm’ – will look at the fundamental changes the industry must make to ensure it’s well positioned to maintain its world-leading position.
Neil Gordon, chief executive of Subsea UK said: “Adapting to the prolonged period of lower oil and gas prices is a challenge that many companies throughout the UK, and further afield are currently facing up to.
This year’s conference will look at the hurdles we still face and how we can overcome them through cost-efficiencies, new technology, diversification and internationalisation.
“A huge part of this is how we work together with customers and suppliers. Robust relationships built on trust, respect and value are crucial to speeding up what is going to be a slow recovery.”
With around 150 exhibitors, Subsea Expo is an opportunity for those in the industry to showcase new technology and services. The 2017 programme is packed with high profile industry speakers from a number of companies including Aker Solutions, Xodus, Wood Group and Shell UK.
Their presentations will cover global opportunities, fields of the future, diversification, integrity management, life extension and unlocking marginal fields.
The event’s plenary session, chaired by Mr Gordon, will set the scene for the week and stimulate debate with presentations from a number of high profile industry figures including David Lamont of Proserv, Mark Richardson of Apache, Phil Simons of Subsea 7 and Andrew Reid from Douglas Westwood.
“With fewer deepwater projects being sanctioned, there is a trend to replace high cost topside developments with more cost-effective subsea tie-backs, squeezing more out of existing assets and making much better decisions on projects to maximise financial return over the operational life of assets,” added Mr Gordon.
“This appears to be the way our industry is moving and we must adapt to ensure we are in a strong position to embrace and capitalise upon the opportunities that this new norm presents. Those who transform, innovate and forge new alliances will not only survive, but they will open doors to real prospects in the future.
“The changes we make today are for good and must be embedded into everything we do from here on out.”
As part of Subsea Expo’s ‘Global Opportunities’ programme, the Department of International Trade (DIT) will be hosting one-to-one meetings with in-country experts in a bid to match UK expertise with demand from key oil and gas provinces, including Azerbaijan, Brazil, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Norway, Tanzania and the US.
Innovative UK companies will also be pitching their subsea technologies to a panel of operators and Tier 1 contractors on Wednesday 1st as Subsea UK takes its Subsea Springboard event to Expo for the first time.
In addition, NSRI (National Subsea Research Initiative), the technology arm of Subsea UK, will be hosting a workshop on Thursday 2nd February to highlight the work that has been done to maximise economic recovery from small pool developments across the UKCS.
Subsea Expo’s gala dinner and awards ceremony, on Thursday 2nd February, will see a selection of the country’s most innovative, dynamic and successful subsea businesses recognised for their success over the past twelve months.