Offshore staff
HOUSTON –Exploration and production offshore Saudi Arabia in the little explored Red Sea is promising, Khalid Al-Falih, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco told a plenary session at IHS CERA Week.
One successful well is reported, with the results of a second well drilling into subsalt strata in deepwater expected soon, he said.
Al-Falih went on to say there is a paradigm shift under way in the oil and gas industry, and it is based on four factors:
1. Energy demand has moderated
2. An abundance of reserves supports industry’s ability to respond to disruption
3. The global financial crisis forced re-examination of priorities
4. The place of renewables and the impact of environmental rules.
Going forward, he said market stability is a key to success and that lessons of the past indicate a need to better manage risks within the industry. For Aramco’s part, Al-Falih said prudent diversification is part of that risk management and that Aramco is in the process of diversifying its risk.
Industry must continue to create transformative technology and that more spending on research and development is required. One area in particular in which technology could provide an important benefit is in enhanced recovery of existing reserves. He said improved recovery has the potential to quadruple proven reserves.
Another area in which industry spending is required to succeed is in attracting quality personnel and harnessing their creativity.
3/07/2013
