First IPTC Tackles Technology, Human Resources Challenges
Authors: Donnelly John 
Published: February 2015

The first-ever International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) brought together a host of leading energy experts, government officials, and industry executives to discuss the significant technological and human resources challenges facing the industry. Set in Doha, Qatar—site of a burgeoning gas industry under development—the conference featured more than 250 technical papers on exploration, production, reservoir, midstream gas, and other areas, while bringing together the perspectives of the multiple disciplines of petroleum engineering, geology, and geophysics. Attendance totaled 2,677. IPTC was sponsored by four leading industry societies—the American Assn. of Petroleum Geologists, European Assn. of Geoscientists and Engineers, Soc. of Exploration Geophysicists, and SPE. A thread woven throughout this event was the critical need for partnership and collaboration—among operators and service providers, international oil companies and host nations, and different technical sectors of the industry.
"The success of the first IPTC demonstrates the vibrancy of the oil and gas industry," said Abdul Jaleel Al-Khalifa, IPTC Management Committee Chairperson. "In addition to a thriving venue, the multidisciplinary technical program shows IPTC's commitment to becoming one of the most significant and comprehensive gas and oil conferences in the eastern hemisphere."
Under the heading "Sustaining World Growth—Technology and People," the conference explored technological advances needed for innovative solutions to meet future global energy demand and reviewed the human resource challenges facing the industry. The conference featured seven panel sessions presented by key industry executives and experts discussing and debating such issues as global oil and gas strategies, supply and demand, sustain-able development, human resources, exploration, reserves, and research and development.
"It is hard to overestimate the importance of this multidisciplinary conference," said Malcolm Brinded, Executive Director of E&P, Royal Dutch Shell, who, along with Nasser Jaidah, Director of Oil and Gas Ventures of Qatar Petroleum, was conference Executive Committee Cochairperson. "The world is beginning to comprehend the real challenge of meeting expanding energy demand while tackling its impact on our climate. Both depend on our ability to develop new technologies and deploy them together effectively. And the Middle East is at the heart of meeting this challenge."

Qatar a Fitting Backdrop
Brinded applauded the strides Qatar has taken in innovation and technology development, such as the creation of its Science and Technology Park. "It is fitting that this first-ever combined technology conference, organized by four of the industry's leading professional societies, should be here in Qatar," he said. Qatar is clearly a growth region for the industry, with great strides being made in liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) and gas-to-liquids (GTL) developments. Qatar is home to the world's largest nonassociated gas field, is already a leading LNG exporter, and has taken a leadership role in the emerging GTL industry.