Gulf Quest LLC to hold 15th MCEDD conference in Milan, Italy
After announcing their partnership and officially forming Gulf Quest LLC in October, Gulf Publishing Company and Quest Offshore Resources are set to host the 15th Marine Construction Engineering Deepwater Development (MCEDD) conference in Milan, Italy.
Committed to the advancement of global E&P, it is the leading conference addressing technical issues related to engineering, development and production of oil and gas in deepwater and ultra-deepwater fields around the world. Gulf Publishing Co. President and CEO John Royall said, “The global industry needs one place to meet and discuss challenges and solutions for operators in deep water, especially in the current industry climate. With its superior technical content and history of support from the major operators, MCEDD offers that meeting place.”
Also hosted by Eni, the conference is scheduled to take place at Milan’s Marriott Hotel on April 9–11. In addition to the exhibit hall, the three-day event will feature a technical program examining various topics and trends related to drilling and subsea technologies, including production, processing, monitoring, umbilicals, power and IMR; pipelines, flowlines and risers; floating production systems, which will include case studies and talks on mooring solutions, turrets and FLNG; and marine construction, covering installation, offshore construction and fleet challenges, Fig. 1.
This year, Gulf Quest LLC received more than 140 abstracts for the 2018 technical program. Because of the fierce competition and the sheer volume of submissions, MCEDD 2018 has expanded its technical program with an additional 20 presentations. With that, the conference will feature a total of 68 technical presentations, Fig. 2.
The event is expected to draw a large crowd of engineers, contractors, consultants and representatives of service suppliers and major operating companies. Last year, the conference was held in Amsterdam, where operators made up a fifth of the attendees—nearly 60% of whom held senior management positions. The show reported registrants from every continent in the world, except for Antarctica.
Day 1. Following a keynote address from Luciano Vasques, CEO of EniPrognetti, MCEDD’s technical program will kick off with an operator panel session, “Deepwater Vision: How do we ‘lock-in’ what we have achieved?” Panelists—including Benoît Ludot, V.P. of deep water at Total; Steve Makin, director of global subsea systems at BP; and Michael Gassert, V.P. of offshore and pipelines at EniProgetti—will delve into differing approaches to deepwater development. They’ll discuss and compare different methods and benefits, as well as the value proposition that their respective strategies are delivering to shareholders. The panel discussion will be moderated by David Bloom, Subsea 7.
The first day of the conference will conclude with an ice breaker reception, allowing attendees to mingle and connect with industry peers, Fig. 3.
Day 2. On Tuesday, April 10, the conference will open with an operator-contractor forum, “What are the supply chain effects following merger mania and large company integrations?” During the forum, a panel—including Stuart Fitzgerald, executive V.P. of Commercial & Strategy at Subsea 7; Hallvard Hasselknippe, president of TechnipFMC’s Subsea Global Business Unit; and Umberto
Nespolo, global sales and commercial director of Oilfield Equipment at BHGE—will discuss efficiency increases throughout the upstream value chain, as well as how operators and contractors best share the benefits of added value.
Several breakout sessions are then scheduled to be held in the early afternoon. Attendees can choose to listen to a series of talks related to Contracting Strategies in the Age of Collaboration, or a series of technical presentations related to Deepwater Drilling and Well Completion Technologies.
A feature presentation will follow, during which Total’s Benoit Ludot, V.P. of deep water and subsea, upstream, will deliver a keynote address, “The future, beyond today, for ultra-deep offshore, ultra-harsh metocean environments through achievements in cost reductions, in both drilling (total well cost), capex & opex.”
More breakout sessions will follow Ludot’s keynote. Attendees can hear a series of speaker presentations related to Technical Solutions for Deepwater Drilling Operations, Flow Assurance Technology Enablers for Long-Distance Subsea Tie-backs, or Deepwater Flexibles.
Day Two of the conference will conclude with a final breakout series, including sessions related to Innovative Pipelines Applications, HS&E Initiatives and Floating Production Enablers. Afterward, another opportunity for networking will be available at the evening reception.
Day 3. The final day of the conference will feature a full series of breakout sessions that attendees can choose from. Following a continental breakfast, attendees can hear talks from representatives of offshore companies including EniProgetti, Eni, Schlumberger, Risertec Ltd., Oil States Industries, Subsea 7, Trelleborg Offshore, Aker Solutions, Siemens, Saipem, BHGE and BP. Presentations are listed under three categories: Deepwater Collaborations & Success Stories, Subsea Technologies & Reliability, and Advancements in Deepwater Floaters.
The next session track will include presentations on Advancing Life of Field, Marine Construction, and Subsea Robotics & ROV systems. The sessions will cover a variety of topics, including EPCI projects, pipe laying, subsea robotics and seismic. Several case studies will be presented, as well.
The afternoon sessions will cover Cost-Effective Subsea Solutions, Novel Deepwater Technologies and Deepwater Flow Assurance. Industry professionals from companies including TechnipFMC, Fugro, Royal IHC, OneSubsea and McDermott Marine Construction, among others, will discuss subsea technologies and development in leading deepwater fields, such as Zohr gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean. 
