Thursday 31 May 2007

Oil & Gas UK Seminar Highlights Need for Highly Skilled People to Sustain Subsea Technology Innovation

The first of Oil & Gas UK's new seminar series today (May 31, 2007) highlighted the need to attract highly skilled people into the subsea industry to help the UK retain its status as a world leader for subsea technology innovation.  

Over 80 delegates attending the event at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre participated in an active debate about the subsea sectors future direction; the technologies that will be needed to maximise recovery of the North Sea's oil and gas and how these can be delivered. 

Paul Dymond, Oil & Gas UK's operations director, said: "The subsea oil and gas sector is a high-tech, high investment industry of tremendous importance to the UK.  It is a frontier of technological development, akin to the aerospace industry, with a key global centre right here in Scotland.  

"About 40% of production on the UK continental shelf (UKCS) is now extracted using subsea technology and it forms the linchpin of export activity in the sector.  It is a high growth sector which deserves greater profile, not least because continued development of subsea technology in the UK will require the brightest people.

"The biggest challenge we face is to attract the talent needed to facilitate that innovation, and we need UK universities to provide those highly skilled people."

A key speaker at the seminar was Neil Poxon, managing director of the Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF).  Presenting the findings of a recent consultation with Subsea UK and industry delegates, he identified five subsea technological themes - Enhanced Recovery, Smart Subsea, Asset Maturity, Technologies for pushing the boundaries and Optimisation of established and new energies -  all of which, he explained, need to be addressed in order to ensure the UK maintains and extends its lead in the subsea oil and gas sector.

"Subsea is fundamental to the future of the UK oil and gas industry. That means we have to work together to inspire and innovate, to create the new technologies that will allow us to unleash the huge potential that still exists in the North Sea", said Neil Poxon.

"Today's seminar sets out a clear direction for our industry. It builds upon the recent workshop ITF hosted with Subsea UK, which clarified technology needs, and ensures that we have a common strategy in terms of subsea development.

"We need technology to push the boundaries of exploration and production and to ensure that we maximise energy potential. With clearly identified subsea technology themes, ITF will now seek out the ideas and innovations that we hope will secure the prosperity of the subsea industry."

The seminar was chaired by David Pridden, chief executive of Subsea UK.  Other speakers were Dave Turner and David Kaye of BP who outlined how operators are working with both large and small contractors and through the industry-government body PILOT, Oil & Gas UK and the Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) to promote the development of subsea technology. Ian Stevenson and Brett Howard of Technip highlighted how products developed in the UK are being used both on the UKCS and abroad.

NOTE TO EDITORS

Oil & Gas UK is the leading representative organisation for the UK offshore oil and gas industry.  Its members are companies licensed by the Government to explore for and produce oil and gas in UK waters and those who form any part of the industrys supply chain.  It has 60 members.

For further information, please contact:

Sally Fraser, Oil & Gas UK Media Relations                  Tel: 020 7802 2404 Email: sfraser@oilandgasuk.co.uk Pager: 07659 1983 999

Kerry Rohan The PR Partnership BonAccord House Riverside Drive Aberdeen AB11 7SL Tel : 01224 588900 Fax : 01224 588200 Email : kerry@prpartnership.co.uk Mobile : 07809650017