Anadarko Halliburton Chevron Schlumberger OTC
Anadarko OTC commentary： Extensive Gulf infrastructure creates network for future development
By Al Walker Chairman， President and CEO， Anadarko Petroleum
As Houston once again welcomes energy leaders from around the world to the Offshore Technology Conference， it’s always impressive to me that the oil and natural gas industry continues to find new and innovative ways to safely produce oil and natural gas right here in the Gulf of Mexico – a region that has been a linchpin of domestic energy supply for decades.
Oil and natural gas from the Gulf of Mexico continues to be a key element in the United States’ energy mix， accounting for 17 percent of total U.S. oil production according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration （EIA）. While EIA estimates that production from the Gulf will increase to record-high levels in 2017， the current volatility in oil prices， presents new challenges and new opportunities to find efficient and cost-effective ways to develop these essential resources.
Through the application of leading-edge technology and expertise， our deepwater development teams are committed to safely and responsibly maximizing the value of our projects by leveraging existing infrastructure to produce new resources throughout the Gulf of Mexico even in a lower to moderate price environment.
As one of the largest independent producers and leaseholders in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico， with nearly 2 million net acres and seven operated hub facilities， Anadarko – along with our service providers – has built a strong reputation for our ability to tie back new discoveries to existing infrastructure. This hub-and-spoke philosophy continues to add significant value， enhances rates of return and maintains longer-term activity in this vital energy-producing region of the U.S.
Our two most recent deepwater floating production facilities， Lucius and Heidelberg are great examples of this approach.
Lucius established infrastructure in a new area of the Gulf and with existing discoveries – like our Phobos field – and surrounding industry discoveries like Hadrian， Buckskin and Moccasin， we are producing new oil and natural gas resources today， and we expect to have additional volumes produced through the facility in the future.
At Heidelberg， we achieved first oil ahead of schedule from the first three wells， and we have additional prospects and development phases planned to increase production at this facility for years to come.
We continue to see a lot of opportunity in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.It’s an area we know well， and it’s an area where we have invested billions of dollars over the years to build a network of infrastructure few can match.
Our tieback opportunities provide a distinct advantage that benefits the Gulf Coast economy，our shareholders and American consumers. The Gulf has proven to be resilient even in challenging market conditions.
As others attending OTC can likely attest to， its future remains bright provided that the new regulations recently enacted continue to support safe， responsible and efficient development.
Halliburton OTC commentary： A key to future energy needs is developing mature fields
By Ahmed Kenawi Senior Vice President for the Middle East & North Africa region， Halliburton
Today， approximately 70 percent of global oil and gas production comes from mature fields. A mere 1 percent increase in production could mean an additional two-year supply. Given， however， that the International Energy Agency forecasts a whopping 37 percent increase in the demand for energy over the next 20 years， we must shift our focus now toward developing the technology to boost recovery production in mature fields， both offshore and on land.
What is a mature field? Halliburton considers a field to be “mature” when reservoir production has dropped significantly below primary recovery results， often due to a drop in the natural pressure.
Why mature fields? Mature fields typically still hold about 30 percent of their original gas and 65 percent of their original oil. It is also considerably more cost-effective to continue production from mature fields than it is to bring new discoveries into production; in the Middle East， for instance， production from new wells can cost up to twice as much as production from existing fields. As we confront today’s challenging markets， it is crucial that we focus on maximizing the recovery potential of each well and lowering the cost per BOE.
Increasing recovery in mature fields involves either extending the peak production period or flattening the decline curve using enhanced or secondary methods. Likewise， using outdated equipment and infrastructure in these fields can significantly complicate extraction. Halliburton continues to develop more efficient and economical ways to produce hydrocarbons， and to breathe new life into mature fields by modernizing facilities， identifying bypassed pay zones， re-evaluating infield drilling， and conducting well intervention and conformance.
Halliburton’s strategies for mature fields are threefold： （1） immediate impact intervention; （2） optimized reservoir management; and （3） discovery of new pay zones. The goal of immediate impact intervention is to rapidly remediate underperforming wells and restore production to quickly yield more BOE.
In the Middle East and North Africa regions， new technologies such as our Acoustic Conformance Xaminer™， or ACX™， Service help us to locate and describe communication paths and flow areas vertically and radially in real time. We are able to quickly identify leaks， thereby helping to reduce nonproductive time and operational risk， and to reinvigorate production.
The goal of optimized reservoir management is to yield more BOE in the long run. To keep pace with a reservoir’s changing characteristics， we adapt and optimize operations along the way. Our BaraLogix™ Density and Rheology Unit （DRU） — a winner of this year’s OTC Spotlight on New Technology Award — allows us to measure drilling fluids in real time and to reduce the need for repeated manual fluid tests， which helps reduce risk， increase efficiency and improve well communication.
To discover new pay zones， Halliburton provides advanced sensor technologies that help detect and access incremental reserves. Our TMD3D™ and RMT3D™ pulsed-neutron saturation logging services can help you identify remaining pay zones to extend the life of your asset， so you leave nothing behind.
The recovery potential from mature fields is enormous. Of estimated reserves， mature fields account for approximately 43 percent in the Asia Pacific region， 24 percent in Latin America， and 80 percent in the Middle East and North Africa regions. At a time when operators and service companies are greatly impacted by low oil prices and reduced operating budgets， developing hydrocarbons from mature fields offshore and on land is not only vital — it just makes good sense. This plan of action propels us into tomorrow so we can meet the world’s energy needs today and well into the future.
Chevron OTC commentary： Don’t overlook promise of natural gas
By Ali Moshiri President， Chevron Africa and Latin America
While oil is likely to steal the spotlight at the Offshore Technology Conference this week in Houston， the industry cannot underestimate the promise and potential of natural gas. Successful natural gas development in emerging markets – where the gas resources are abundant – could spur economic growth and improve living standards.
As emerging economies look to be part of the gas opportunity value chain， we must ask ourselves what it takes to be successful.
Regions like Africa， Latin America， and parts of Asia share a unique set of challenges in the quest to meet energy demand through natural gas.
They have limited infrastructure， fewer regulatory and contractual frameworks， and a less mature utilities and service industry than in developed economies.
Some of these regions are starving for electricity. Globally， there are approximately 1.2 billion people – 17 percent of the global population – who don’t have access to power at all， according to the International Energy Agency （IEA）. Many more endure an electricity supply grid that is simply unreliable. More than 95% of these people are either in sub-Saharan Africa or developing Asia.
At the same time， more than 2.7 billion people， or 38 percent of the world’s population， are estimated to use solid biomass such as wood for cooking. Developing Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa once again have the lion’s share of the world’s total.
During the next two decades， the demand for energy will continue to rise driven by demographics and infrastructure development.
The global middle class is expected to double to nearly 5 billion， which means twice as many people will need fuels for heating， mobility and manufacturing. The world is going to need all forms of energy， and crude oil and natural gas are indispensable to match this energy equation.
Amid this urgency for reliable and affordable energy， it’s imperative to build the infrastructure necessary to use natural gas in the developing world. Natural gas is an abundant， cleaner-burning fossil fuel that is economical to produce and commercialize; complementary to renewables， such as solar， wind or hydro power; and increasingly being used in transportation vehicles.
More important for emerging economies， natural gas is an economic environmentally acceptable fuel for generating electricity. Universal access to electricity， according to IAE， is expected to be attained in the Middle East， Latin America， and Asia by 2030 while growth will continue in Sub-Saharan Africa. Better infrastructure for the utilization of regional natural gas supplies could increase access to electricity and contribute to this transformation
The development of the natural gas industry stimulates local economies via domestic consumption and creates significant foreign revenue from exports and. Foreign direct investment， leadership and partnerships could play a major role in overcoming hurdles to achieve these goals.
Governments need to offer energy and utility companies the right incentives to look at the entire natural gas value chain. For example， the contract terms for natural gas producers need to be internationally competitive so companies will increase their investment and， consequently， their production.
Policies should also incentivize the investment in much-needed infrastructure， the muscle and bone of modern economies. For example， the existing power distribution infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa， including pipelines and power-generation plants， is often not available， reliable or sufficient.
Additionally， many major private investors are waiting to see if governments can establish policies that can boost political and regulatory stability.
Gas-rich nations， such as Nigeria and Angola， have taken significant steps to better use their resources. Through the investment of billions of dollars， large oil-and-gas producers have sharply reduced routine flaring of natural gas that is extracted along with crude oil – known as associated natural gas. Chevron， one of the largest oil and gas producers in Nigeria， has reduced routine gas flaring by more than 90 percent from 2008 to 2016.
Despite steps like this， there is still work to be done to increase domestic use of the gas in West Africa and other emerging markets.
Government， industry and private investors – all of us – must take every opportunity to efficiently convert natural gas resources into valuable fuel for generating electricity.
Providing reliable energy can create sustainable expansion of the emerging economies. This will be vital for driving the future economic transformation of the developing world and support for the global economy.
OTC Commentary： Transforming oilfield services to cut costs， improve efficiency
By Jean Francois Poupeau Executive Vice President of Corporate Development & Communications， Schlumberger
The combination of escalating finding and development costs， relatively flat global oil production， and a steep decline in commodity prices has put significant pressure on profitability and free cash flow throughout the entire exploration and production （E&P） value chain.
An alarming statistic is that a quadrupling of global E&P spend over the past decade has only yielded a 15 percent increase in global oil production.
Much of this production increase has come from relatively expensive new frontiers such deep water and shale. In addition， there has been significant cost increases throughout the upstream industry due to labor costs， material costs， inefficiencies in supply chains and logistics， as well as the complexity of project design， customization， and decreases in equipment reliability.
Now faced with unparalleled challenges， the upstream industry is transforming to reduce costs and improve efficiency levels and financial returns. Key areas for transformation are innovation of integrated technology systems， reliability， efficiency， quality of processes and workflows， and expanding and strengthening commercial business models.
Schlumberger began actively transforming its business in 2008—well before the downturn. The first phase of the company’s transformation focused on boosting the performance of its technology research and engineering organization in several areas including shortening time to market， and speeding up the rate of innovation.
Significant acceleration in the rate of technology innovation is being achieved in two ways. First， by giving scientists and engineers greater flexibility and freedom in how they pursue fundamental research. Second， by complementing internal sources of innovation with external sources such as universities， other industries， and targeted acquisitions.
A second area of focus is reliability. If upstream service companies could improve the reliability and performance of their downhole tools， rig equipment， petrotechnical software and other critical technologies， oil and gas companies could significantly improve the turnaround time and financial performance of complex projects.
Boosting reliability can be done by reducing or eliminating the need for redundancy—such as extra back-up tools and systems in the event of failure.
Another key transformational strategy for reducing costs is efficiency. This can take several forms， the most important of which is people productivity.
Schlumberger’s goal is to increase productivity at least 20%， by borrowing best practices from other industries.
One example of this is the company’s recent transition from a highly distributed service model to a hub-and-spoke model. In this model， the vast majority of trained specialists work out of one or a handful of centralized hubs， rather than dozens or hundreds of locations. This streamlines the distribution of goods and materials， and requires far fewer experts to serve a particular geographic market.
Lastly， one way to reduce the ultimate cost per barrel of oil equivalent is to improve the integration of technologies throughout the various phases of a project.
We are looking to accelerate the rate of technology system integration by shifting our development focus from discrete technologies to the creation of complete digitally enabled system technologies.
As we have sought new ways to drive total system performance， it has become clear that there is huge potential in a much closer integration of surface and subsurface technologies in both the drilling and production domains. With the recent close of the Cameron transaction， we are now ready for the next phase of this technology integration.
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