Oil & gas show yields surprising trends
Posted: 23 December 2006
Cheap energy is a thing of the past, and gas is the up and coming energy resource in the coming years.
These are the industry trends spotted by two energy analysts who spoke at the Offshore Southeast Asia (OSEA2006) conference held at Suntec Singapore from 5-8 December 2006.
According to Michael Smith, head of the global oil and gas forecasting company Energyfiles, offshore exploratory drilling in Southeast Asia where the majority of exploration expenditure is directed, is not increasing substantially.
Despite high oil prices, deepwater oil drilling is only growing modestly compared to other parts of the world. Conversely, growth in gas activity is expected from all gas-producing countries in Southeast Asia.
“Gas output has been increasing rapidly every year since 1980 and will continue to do so, reaching a peak between 2015 and 2020,” Smith said.
John Westwood, head of energy analyst at Douglas Westwood, said despite skyrocketing oil prices, they are grossly underpriced even at current levels. The top issue in the next five years will be the disparity between flagging production and growing demand for oil, which is likely to peak between 2010-2015.
According to Westwood, there is a severe lack in physical and human resources. Investments in drilling rigs and vessels do not correspond with recruiting and training the personnel to man these infrastructure. Energy security was also identified as another issue that looms high in the list as these precious global resources could become politicized and potentially used as a means for terrorism.
These issues were discussed in a series of production, upstream and gas recovery conferences.
William J. Sember, Vice President of Energy Development, ABS, USA, described the conferences as “well-presented”.
"There’s a good range of topics and information regarding present and future oil & gas projects. Definitely worth participating," Sember said.
The biennial oil and gas trade event saw a list of dignitaries over the four days. US Ambassador for Singapore, H.E. Patricia L. Herbold, visited the exhibition on December 6 and stopped by the booth at Conoco Phillips, United States’ third largest integrated energy company.
Australia’s Minister for Business and Economic Development, Honourable Konstantine Vatskalis, attended the event to promote gas exploration opportunities in the Timor Sea and the Northern Territory as an offshore business location.
The Second Secretary from the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Singapore, Saeed Ali Al Zaabi, also dropped by at the show.
OSEA2006 grew 18 per cent in size over the last showing. More than 1,000 exhibiting companies from 43 countries, including nine group pavilions from Australia, China, Germany, Italy, Norway, Singapore, UK and USA, exhibited at the show.
Key exhibitors included Areva, Bartec, Conoco Philips, Fugro, Veripos, Technip, Global Process Systems, ABS, Aqua-Terra Supply Co., Ltd, Bluewater Energy, GE Supply, Converteam, J Ray McDermott, Keppel Marine & Offshore, Kiswire, Kongsberg Maritime, KS Energy Services, Haskel, Radio Holland, and Rico.
National oil companies also attended the event. They included the Kuwait Petroleum Company, the Directorate General of Oil and Gas (MIGAS) under Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, and the Timor Sea Designated Authority which was promoting unlicensed acreage and outlining plans for further acreage releases, onshore and offshore.
Francisco Ferreira, Health, Safety and Environment Supervisor from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Minerals and Energy Policy in Timor Leste, Indonesia, gave a positive review of the exhibition.
“Singapore is definitely Asia’s oil and gas hub and OSEA certainly serves the industry well. The international component of the event is very strong,” she said.
OSEA attracts industry players, governments and investors from the oil and gas sector.
It showcases the latest drilling and exploration equipment, handling systems, LNG terminals, pipeline components, communication technologies, safety and environmental systems, seismic surveys, and other oil and gas related equipment.
The trade show will return from 2-5 December 2008.
For more information about OSEA, visit www.osea-asia.com.
Posted by Richard Price, Editor, EnergyME.com
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