OTC 2022. By Ana Paula Ferrer.
Offshore Low-Carbon solutions took the spotlight at this year’s OTC, where energy professionals had the opportunity to exchange ideas and opinions.
The Offshore Technology Conference or OTC took place in Houston, Texas. Here, they welcomed more than 24,000 attendees, from which nearly 7,000 came from countries outside the United States. Moreover, according to OTC’s official website; the total estimated economic impact of the conference amounted to more than USD 20 million.
“OTC is widely recognized as a central hub for energy professionals and industry thought leaders to collaborate and develop solutions to address global energy challenges, particularly ways in which we can meet energy needs in a cleaner and more affordable manner,” said Paul Jones, Chair of the OTC Board. “As the energy industry works to deliver sustainable solutions and reduce carbon emissions, OTC continues to play a key role by facilitating knowledge-sharing, learnings, and discussions around the technologies and experts that can deliver these low-carbon solutions now.”
The conference occurred from May the 2nd to May the 5th, 2022. In addition, according to the OTC; throughout the week, 1,064 exhibit companies from 39 countries showcased the future of offshore activities.
Likewise, the conference held 44 technical sessions that presented more than 300 technical papers. Also, the program included 17 executive dialogues and keynote speakers, as well as 11 panels and 5 networking events. Throughout the Around the World series, the conference showcased 7 countries.
OTC Keynote Speaker series
The OTC was initiated with The Role of Resilient Hydrocarbons on the Path to Net Zero: bp’s Perspective from the Gulf of Mexico. The speaker was Starlee Sykes, Senior Vice President, Gulf of Mexico and Canada of bp. During the session, the SVP shared how the Gulf of Mexico business will continue to develop existing projects; as well as his perspective on bp’s strategy to pivot from an international oil company to an integrated energy company.
The Sustainability and Energy Transition: The Road to Net Zero panel was next. Its main focuswas on sustainable energy transition, decarbonization efforts, and a roadmap to Net-Zero. Moreover, it showed the potential of new and renewable energies in the future mix as well as how the latest discoveries can accelerate the energy transition. The speaker was Kamel Ben-Naceur, President of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
On Tuesday, the next panel in the Keynote Speaker Series was titled Collision Space: Air-Sea Interactions and the Intersections between Weather, Climate, and Technology. Here Carol Clayson, Senior Scientist, Physical Oceanography of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; talked about current research at the air-sea intersection and the importance of better tools to improve the models that underly decisions in all sectors.
An Evolving Energy Company; How CCS Fits was the following panel. Tim Duncan, Founder, President, and CEO, of Talos, presented the company’s leadership in the CO2 capture and sequestration (CCS) arena. Also, how Talos has morphed to attain initial success securing CO2 storage sites with innovative structuring projects.
More on the Keynote Speaker Series
On Wednesday, the two panels that took place were Alternate Energies: Hydrogen Impact and Economics; and Business Ethics and Professional Conduct in International Offshore Operations. On the first panel, the speakers, Cody Bateman, CEO of GenH2, and Mathew Wilson, Principal-element energy, and ERM Group Company; discussed the role and importance of the future of H2 in the energy transition over the next decade.
Furthermore, on the second panel of the day; Karen Ohland, President-Elect-ASME, demonstrated how nearly instantaneous communication provides new opportunities for collaboration. This collaboration can be in education, research, and standards-setting, creating a better future.
Thursday began the Shaping of the Future: Offshore Wing Growth in the United States session. Here Jocelyn Brown-Saracino, Offshore Wind Lead, Wind Energy Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy, explored new opportunities for the existing offshore energy industry in the U.S. to support advancing development.
Then, Martha Ramos-Gomez, Low Carbon Segment Lead for North America at DNV; spoke at the Hydrogen: The Green Fuel of the Future panel. Here she shared DNV’s research, views, and forecast of the enabling technology.
Finally, the Keynote Speaker Series ended with the Center for Offshore Safety; Perspectives on Safety, Safety Management, and Offshore Policy Updates from Regulatory Senior Leadership. On this panel, there was a discussion about offshore safety, offshore compliance, learning from incident investigations, and the efforts to advance a safety-minded approach in offshore operation. The speakers were Captain Matthew Dessing of the United States Coast Guard and Michael Saucier, Regional Supervisor for District Field Operations at the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
Executive Dialogue at the OTC
During the OTC, there were 7 executive dialogues from Monday to Wednesday. One of them was: A Targeted Approach to Improving Diversity in Energy, where speakers Stephanie Hertzog, CEO of Sodexo Energy, and Kassia Yanosek, Consultant at McKinsey & Co. Inc., talked about the urgency of increasing diversity in the workforce.
Another session was Energy Sustainability: Are Hydrocarbons Compatible with Getting to Carbon Neutrality by 2050 and Achieving the SDGs? Iman Hill, Executive Director of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers, shared the critical role hydrocarbons have in achieving global net-zero goals. Also, the importance of sustainable energy for developed and underdeveloped countries.
Furthermore, Nicholas Andersen, Chief Operating Officer of the Invictus International Consulting, was the speaker at The Cyber War Among Us. Here he discussed the importance of cyber security to protect businesses.
More about the Executive Dialogue
Also, at the panel Empowering the Energy Industry through Digital Transformation, Hany Soliman, Americas Business Leader, Energy, and Sustainability at Microsoft, how the company is empowering the energy industry. It is doing this across its value chain with digital solutions to drive transformation towards a low carbon future.
There was also the Timor-Leste Rising with the Greater Sunrise Fields panel. Antonio de Sousa, President, and CEO of Timor Gap, discussed the company’s vision. Also, the efforts to develop the Greater Sunrise fields, and its value in delivering transformational and generational change to Timor-Leste as well as to set it in alignment with the Paris Agreement goals.
Lastly, Jeff Weidner, Vice President of Deepwater Portfolio at ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, was the speaker at The Critical Role of Deep Water in the Present and Future Energy Mix. This session explored the role of technology and digitalization in maximizing the resilience of deepwater and upstream business as a whole.
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Notable Panels
Among the panels that took place at this year’s OTC were Offshore Wind: Implementing Goals for Rapid Growth, where panelists discussed prioritizing and addressing the fundamental obstacles in offshore wind energy. Moreover, they explored how the community’s broad offshore energy experience can be effectively applied to meet the U.S. targets.
Also, at the Creating Value in Offshore Renewable Energy: The Pioneers panel, some of the best minds in the business discussed the future of the offshore industry. They talked about how they built their companies; what they see as the challenges ahead and how to advance the goals of reducing dependence on oil and gas.
Furthermore, at the panel Shifting to a Low Carbon Offshore Industry; panelists provided an in-depth discussion of the low carbon trend in the Offshore industry. It also covered a market analysis on the energy industry, and an overview of the challenges and opportunities in the current oil and gas environment.
More Notable Pannels
The panel Accelerating the Energy Transition: Synergies for Effective Opportunity Derisking and Monitoring took place on Wednesday. In this session, panelists discussed the critical role that geoscience support of the energy evolution or the energy transition, plays in the industry.
Moreover, the panel How Unified International Standards Enable Efficiency in the Energy Transition was about how standards development organizations and operators are working together. This teamwork is in order to build on the success of standards implementation to promote change; learn about the challenges that remain ahead, and the value of cooperation to help transfer knowledge.
Automation, Robotics, and Remote Operations: Lessons Learned from our Industry and Cross-Industry was the final session. Here, panelists spoke on how the energy industry has used current circumstances and challenges as an opportunity to conduct operations in a different way. Also, what they can learn from other industries and incorporate them in an efficient and successful way.
Around the world
Some of the highlights from Around the World sessions were Offshore Wind: French Knowledge and Experience in a Fast-Growing Market. This session was dedicated to offshore wind power. Speakers presented how the French companies’ know-how has been developed around the world. Also, they shared their experience in all phases of offshore wind farm projects.
In addition, West Africa’s Oil & Gas in Search of Investment in the Wake of Energy Transition. Here the speakers focused on the security concerns of the region. Also, it talked about the policies, laws, and regulations covering the exploitation and development in some countries.
Finally, the panel Accelerating the Energy Transition: Highlighting Developments in Brazil and Argentina explored how companies in both countries are racing to reduce emissions. Also, to increase efficiencies and lower oil and gas production costs through innovation and digital technologies.
