OTC Highlights Technical Challenges, Effects of Oil Price Volatility
Authors: Parshall Joel 
Published: June 2016

2015 OTC Conference Review

The effects of oil price volatility on operators and service companies, technological advances, safety and environmental risks, economic and regulatory impacts, and sustainability were highlighted in the sessions and discussions during the annual Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) held 4–7 May in Houston.

More than 94,700 attendees from 130 countries gathered to exchange ideas and opinions. It is the sixth largest attendance in the conference’s 47-year history. This year’s conference also had 2,682 companies exhibiting, up from 2,568 in 2014, representing 37 countries. International companies made up 42% of exhibitors.

The event featured 11 panel sessions, 29 executive keynote presentations at luncheons and breakfasts, and nearly 300 technical paper presentations. Speakers from major, independent, and national oil companies, federal and regional government officials, and academics presented their views on a variety of topics such as future industry directions, operational integrity, and risk management.

North American Energy Outlook

The North American energy outlook, simultaneously reflecting surging production and resource abundance and the uncertainty surrounding the steep decline in oil prices, Mexican energy reform, and the future shape of regulation, was the focus of panelists from Canada, Mexico, and the United States in one of the sessions.

Gamal Hassan, chief executive officer (CEO) of ADH International, described North America as being “at an inflection point in energy” and said, “The biggest question is how the US [industry] will restructure itself.”

Gustavo Hernandez-Garcia, director general of Pemex Exploration and Production, forecast a moderate recovery in oil prices late this year through 2016 but with significant long-term risks.

Addressing the changes at Pemex as Mexico undertakes industry reform, Hernandez said the company needs to improve its cash flow, is divesting itself of noncore assets, and is looking to acquire complementary assets “on the cheap” while prices are down. “We are trying to produce more value barrels rather than just volume,” he said.

Hernandez outlined three possible outcomes for Mexican energy reform: 1) Achieving full potential and being competitive in the market; 2) Mixed results with part of the company being market competitive and part continuing to rely on state support; and 3) Unrealized potential because of “slow-motion implementation.” He said that Pemex prefers the first scenario.

Paula Gant, deputy assistant secretary for oil and natural gas at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy, stressed the importance of the ongoing trilateral cooperation on energy between the US, Canada, and Mexico and pointed to “the robust and resilient infrastructure” of the three countries’ energy systems.

The continent’s oil and gas resources are abundant, and the US DOE is focused on the three countries “working together to maximize this regional abundance,” Gant said.

To achieve the potential held by the continent’s resource base depends on maintaining public confidence, and the US DOE plays a critical role in this by providing “a solid scientific base” for public policy decisions, Gant said.

David Ramsay, government minister of the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada, spoke on unlocking the energy potential of the territorial area. The NWT hold shale oil resources estimated at 3 billion to 5 billion bbl, and Trans- Canada’s proposed Mackenzie Gas Project would build a 750-mile pipeline to link 80 Tcf of natural gas in place in the NWT with North American markets, he said.