Monday 11 February 2002

Oil Industry Commits £8 Million To New North Sea Technology

A total of £8 million was committed by oil and gas companies in 2001 towards the development of new technologies that will be vital to the future of the North Sea, it was announced today (11 February 2002).

The funding has been secured through the oil and gas Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF), which promotes the development of innovative technology through joint industry projects. Last year approval was given for a total of 30 projects, including two major collaborative programmes, which will develop advanced technologies to improve the search for and recovery of hydrocarbons on the increasingly challenging UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). A similar level of funding is envisaged again for new projects in 2002.

Technology will be the key to unlocking Britains estimated remaining reserves of between 26 34 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), says ITFs managing director, David Ellix. The technologies being developed for the UK today should lead to more successful exploration, maximum recovery of reserves and improved competitiveness in the North Sea. But they also have potential for worldwide application.

ITF received over 250 proposals last year from leading researchers around the world seeking funding for innovative ideas and technology in response to its call for proposals driven by the business needs of UK operating companies. Following rigorous refinement and review, the most promising were recommended to the oil companies for their support.

Two key current projects are:

* The Structurally Complex Reservoirs Programme, established to promote technology advances in the areas of detection and prediction of geological faults and fractures, and their properties. ITFs member companies need to understand and model the structural complexities of their reservoirs. Improvements in these areas will yield real business benefits in terms of optimising reserves, well targeting, eliminating development surprises and improving exploration success.

* The Seismic Reservoir Characterisation Programme, established to promote technology advances in the areas of seismic resolution and rapid prediction of reservoir performance from seismic data. The benefits of this programme will include better placement of wells, better definition of reserves and where they are to be found, and improved day to day well and reservoir management.

The two programmes, each lasting three years, consist of nine interlinked projects led by major UK and overseas universities, with active participation from the SME sector. They will be funded by a consortium of ten oil companies and the UK Department of Trade and Industry.

Ellix said, These programmes represent an exciting and different approach to the development of cross-industry funded R&D. Beginning with a clear statement of business needs from the oil companies, we were able to attract proposals from leading researchers around the world. The oil companies specialists supported the exercise from the outset, and will now help to steer the two programmes.

Other projects launched last year include a novel adaptation of a pipeline cleaning pig (pipeline internal gauge) to detect corrosion, a downhole electric cutting tool, two new developments addressing produced water cleanup techniques and an examination of alternatives to umbilicals for subsea power supply.

This year ITF will continue to seek proposals in the subsurface, wells and facilities areas. The focus remains on technologies to underpin the vision of PILOT, the Government/Industry initiative, to maintain UKCS competitiveness, maximise economic recovery of the nations indigenous oil and gas reserves, and preserve jobs. Key topics will include long subsea tiebacks, emissions control, and brownfield recovery and reservoir management.

As part of the 2002 thematic approach, ITF will be looking at technologies which could meet business needs, but which are stalled at the first application or field trial stage. This more difficult stage in the technology development process will require even greater levels of collaboration involving all sectors of the industry. ITF hope to play a major part in facilitating the dialogue and understanding needed to make this work.

Note to editors:

1. The Industry Technology Facilitator is a not for profit company, established as an initiative of the Oil and Gas Industry Task Force, now PILOT. ITFs role is to broker technology development projects by matching the needs of the end users with the capabilities of the contracting and supply community. The targets of the technologies, in the areas of subsurface, wells and facilities, are to prolong the life of existing fields and facilities, and to unlock the reserves in undeveloped discoveries.

 

2. ITFs delivery vehicle is joint industry projects (JIPs) in which one or more technology development companies are supported on a collaborative basis by a group of end user companies, who expect to benefit from the application of the new technology in their fields.

 

3. ITF is funded by subscription by 15 member oil companies, and was supported in its first year by the DTI.

 

4. More details about ITF are available on the website www.oil-itf.com.

 

5. £1.4 mm has been committed to the Seismic Reservoir Characterisation Programme and £2.4 mm to the Structurally Complex Reservoirs Programme.

6. PILOT is the successor body to the Oil and Gas Industry Task Force (OGITF) and was established in January 2000 to ensure the OGITF deliverables and vision are achieved. PILOT is made up of twenty-three key Government representatives and recognised leaders from the industry and meets on a quarterly basis. The strategy is for 10 years of Industry/ Government co-operation aimed at achieving the following vision in the year 2010.

* To maintain oil and gas production at 3million boe per day

* To sustain investment at £3bn per annum

* To prolong UK self sufficiency in oil & gas

* To preserve up to more than 100,000 more jobs than would have existed

* To secure a 50% increase in exports (by 2005)

For further information please contact

David Ellix, Industry Technology Facilitator Tel: 01224 853401 Fax: 01224 853480 Email: itf@oil-itf.com Web: www.oil-itf.com