Publications

The past several years have been a period of dynamic change in the global oil and gas industry. Uncertainties in the market forces of supply, demand and price have resulted in cost cutting, contractions, down sizings, mergers and alliances. At the same time, new frontiers in exploration and production were emerging. These and other factors have caused significant changes in business strategies, decision making and modes of operation. In order to survive and grow, there is an ever increasing need to reduce cost, manage risk and enhance profitability. In the 70's, the hunt was for giant fields, even in relatively high cost areas. The fields were developed in an era of rising prices and cost became the secondary consideration. The collapse of prices in the late 80's, coupled with declining production from large, mature fields and rising demand, caused an upheaval in the industry. From 1973 until now the demand for oil has increased about 20 percent while, in real terms, the price remained virtually flat. The business drivers of value added reserves, cost control and profitability caused a major uplift in innovative technologies which allowed the development of fields that were formerly considered uneconomic and extended the producing lives of mature fields. For example, in the 70's and early 80's, fields in the North Sea required at least 150-200 million barrels for development. Now, 10-20 million barrels can be developed economically. Deep water projects provided the impetus for innovative design of drill ships, drilling techniques, subsea completions, and platforms. The rapid, global changes in the oil and gas industry and breakthroughs in science and technology caused changes in the style and focus of technology development and application which resulted in the re-engineering of organization structure. The emphasis now is on the delivery of high impact technology and the integration of disciplines. Partnerships with National oil companies must also be factored into new business strategies. The alignment of technology with business needs, focused development and application of high impact technology as well as capitalizing on the strength of human resources are not only the keys to growth, they are the keys to survival.