NELL LUKOSAVICH, Senior Editor
As advancements continue to be made in offshore technology, and resources are discovered in new, ever-deeper waters around the world, Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) 2012, one of Europe’s premier oil and gas shows, will explore some of the varying challenges—economical, geopolitical and regulatory—in today’s offshore operations.
The biennial conference and exhibition was launched in 1974 and will stage its 20th event next month. While primarily focused on operations in the North Sea, ONS has grown to encompass development of offshore resources all over the world. This year’s event is themed, “Confronting energy paradoxes,” and will be held Aug. 28–31 at the usual ONS showgrounds, five minutes from the center of Stavanger. ONS officials predict that this year’s show will draw a record-high level of attendees—over 50,000.
The conference’s opening session, entitled, “Confronting Energy Paradoxes – A geopolitical perspective,” will feature participation by high-level executives from Saudi Aramco, Statoil, Shell, the International Energy Agency and the government of South Africa. Aside from the main conference program, ONS will also include a series of exhibitions and awards ceremonies.
This year’s conference committee decided on the ONS theme, to address the mounting paradoxes facing the energy sector today. “The most important paradox is that while this business drives our economic growth and prosperity, our energy use is damaging our planet,” said Are Rørtveit, vice president of the ONS Foundation. “This is why renewables now are in the limelight, but the paradox is that they arguably lack the scope, immediacy and economics to change the outcome as much as we would like. At ONS 2012, we will focus on deconstructing these paradoxes, in an effort to create new opportunities. By choosing this theme, we are attempting to create an arena for discussion and a climate for finding the solutions needed.”
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| One of the major exhibition stands at ONS 2010 |
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WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR
ONS Centre Court. This new conference arena, located in the middle of the exhibition area, will be shaped like an amphitheatre, placing the audience much closer to the speakers than usual. The primary goal of the Centre Court is to promote dialogue between the audience and the speakers. ONS tested the concept on a smaller scale during ONS 2010 and decided to develop the concept further for this year’s show.
The presentations at Centre Court will be shorter and more fast-paced than those at the main conference, but the presentation topics are just as interesting, including economic analyses, energy market prognoses, and debates on political and ethical themes.
BMW ArtCARs. There will be seven BMW ArtCARs on display at ONS 2012 as an extension of the show’s theme, exhibiting the parallel paradoxes that the automobile industry faces, versus those of the energy sector. Also, the history of the car has been an ongoing clash between art and technology, but the two cultures have always found common ground. “As well as enjoying the Art Cars as great works of art, we hope our visitors will be inspired by the collaborative process between art and technology, which they represent,” said ONS President and CEO Leif Johan Sevland. “This project introduces us to people with daring and different ideas. While some may claim that the result is just art, I think the lessons we learn by crossing cultural boundaries to achieve our goals are vital to the energy industry.”
Introductory sessions. This year’s conference will kick off on Tuesday, Aug. 28, with a day of opening panels and discussions, including the arrival of HM King Harald V of Norway, an official inauguration, opening remarks and a series of panel discussions about the show’s theme. An opening address by Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg will be followed by a panel discussion, led by moderator Zeinab Badawi of BBC World News TV.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) will also present it NPD Award for Improved Oil Recovery (IOR), a prize presented since 1998. The prize is awarded to production or other companies, projects and individuals, whose innovative concepts and projects promoting improved oil recovery have created added value on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
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| ONS showgrounds in Stavanger, Norway |
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Innovation Awards. At noon on Aug. 29, Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten Moe will present the Innovation Awards, which will honor the finalists & winners of the Innovation Award, SME Innovation Award and Special Innovation Award. A keynote speech will be given by Dr. Trond Unneland of Chevron.
The ONS innovation awards recognize the crucial importance of cutting-edge products and solutions. The first award, The Innovation Award, was initially presented in 1982. The SME Innovation Award for small and medium-sized enterprises was introduced in 2004. The Special Innovation Award, presented to an individual or organization that has played a significant role in the wider energy sector, was introduced in 2010.
Show program. While ONS is not a technical conference, where papers are presented, the show’s more than 30 sessions and discussion panels aim to explore a variety of topics, including geopolitical and economic challenges, resource development, risk management, environmental policy and sustainable energy.
Specific topics to be discussed include Arctic resource development, risk and responsible management, the story of the Greater Luno Area, Shell’s GTL project in Qatar, unconventional shale gas, oil spill response, and Norway’s silicon valley. A detailed schedule of these sessions is available at http://www.ons.no
ONS Parks. As in previous years, ONS will be held in three separate areas, Renewable Energy Park, ONS Centre Court and Innovation Park, introduced in 2010. Renewable Energy Park will focus on products and technologies in the fields of wave and tidal energy, offshore wind power and biogas, while ONS Centre Court will serve as an arena for presentations, debates and discussions on the themes of ONS Special Parks.
Innovation Park hosts the most innovative companies in the wider energy sector, which will present “progressive products.” Twenty of the most innovative companies in Norway are featured on stands in Hall F of Innovation Park, which is organized jointly by ONS, the Research Council of Norway and Innovation Norway. Some of the technologies featured include new exploration methods, reservior monitoring for EOR, casing integrity and downhole imaging.
HSE initiatives and Safety Luncheon. ONS is a member of the Eco-Lighthouse scheme, a Norwegian foundation that issues environmental certification to companies and organizations. In accordance with these initiatives, ONS 2012 will have a number of safety regulations in place, based on an approved risk and vulnerability analysis. Precautions include approved fire extinguishers in all pavilions, safeguard security, waste disposal procedures, an emergency rescue boat in the harbor at all times and ambulance personnel on site.
On Thurs., Aug. 30, the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA), in cooperation with ONS, will host the ONS Safety Lunch, which provides an international perspective on health, safety and the environment in the oil and gas industry. The lunch will begin with a keynote speech by Hans Henrik Ramm, manager, Ramm Energy Partner, on “Confronting safety paradoxes in the oil and gas industry in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.” The PSA will also present its fourth biennial award for HSE excellence during this luncheon. 
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