OTC celebrates 50th anniversary of showcasing offshore innovation

The flagship Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is not only gearing up for another year at NRG Park (formerly Reliant Park) in Houston, but it is celebrating its 50th anniversary! The conference will be held May 6–9, 2019.

A global event. Sponsored by 13 industry organizations and societies, OTC uses its revenue to invest in important programs for its members, such as training and technical journals. This year, more than 60,000 energy professionals are expected to attend from more than 100 different countries around the world. Attendees also will hear from over 100 speakers, who will deliver talks on the latest in offshore technology, as well as what innovations we can expect to see within the industry over the next 50 years.

OTC offers more than 500,000 ft²of exhibit space, highlighting leading innovations from more than 2,000 of the industry’s top product and service providers, all at once, Fig. 1. It is a place for energy professionals to meet and exchange thoughts and opinions, in an effort to advance scientific and technical knowledge for the safe and effective extraction of offshore resources.  

Fig. 1. Including outdoor exhibits, as well as the floors of the NRG Center and NRG Arena, more than 500,000 ft² of space will be used to exhibit technology and products from more than 2,000 companies, representing over 40 countries. Image: OTC 2019.

This year’s new program, Around the World Series, will showcase the latest information from principals representing countries around the globe. Industry leaders will discuss new licensing and business opportunities, as well as recently introduced technologies.

Day One. The first day of the conference will open with presentations from Petrobras, BP, Northern Offshore and Borr Drilling. Petrobras will highlight its new agenda, while BP presents on the “energy transition” and meeting energy demand while reducing emissions. Representatives from the two drilling contractors will give their perspectives on the challenges and work scopes of mobile offshore drilling unit reactivation.

Morning sessions will cover topics including advances in technology for identifying and characterizing; model-based digitization of engineering systems; geotechnics for offshore renewables; unique applications for managing the integrity of floating systems; methods of wind load estimation; and robotic technology enabling future offshore operations. Sessions will be presented by representatives of the U.S. Department of the Interior; BOEM; University of Houston; NGI; BP America Inc.; Chevron ETC; Spire Engineering; SOFEC; MARIN USA; and Shell E&P.

Midday sessions will consist of a presentation from the State Cabinet of Brazil on the unparalleled opportunities in Brazil; a session from Chevron on the delivery of major capital projects through partnerships; and an update on the current state of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) from Equinor, TechnipFMC and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

Afternoon sessions will cover topics including venture capital investment driving innovation in deep water; shallow site characterization of offshore energy projects; artificial intelligence and machine learning; advances in subsea production and processing and technologies; advancements in soil-structure interaction modeling; advances in mooring technology; and a presentation detailing the fast-track Libra EWT project’s innovative solutions to overcome a challenging scenario in ultra-deep water. The sessions will be presented by representatives from Halliburton, Saudi Aramco, Chevron, WellDiver, Hunt Energy, BOEM, Shell, OneSubsea, Energy Valley Inc., Schlumberger, Genesis, ExxonMobil Upstream Research, the University of New Orleans, Petrobras and Total E&P. 

The first day of OTC’s technical program will conclude with a session on the future of alternative energy. Speakers from the University of Houston and Rice University will discuss shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Attendees can wander the room to read posters and speak directly with experts in various areas of renewable energy.

Day Two of the conference will open with presentations from Brazil’s ANH, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Texas Board of Professional Engineers, and the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists. Morning sessions will cover topics including the Colombian offshore, technology and market challenges, and ethics in engineering and geology.

The following sessions will cover the past, present and future of global gas markets; advancement in subsea, umbilicals, risers and flowlines; case studies in digitalization; flow assurance engineering and project learning; smart materials; system engineering in the offshore industry; and technical advances for cost reduction of offshore wind energy. Speakers will include representatives from Baker Potts, Mexico Pacific Limited, Chevron, Tellurian and IHS Markit, among others.

Midday sessions will cover topics including the energy transition, the future of the drilling rig, and the future of deepwater drilling in Brazil and Mexico. Speakers from Siemens Oil and Gas Solutions, Transocean and Shell will be presenting.

The following sessions will feature talks by energy professionals from Mott MacDonald, Equinor Wind U.S., Principle Power, NYSERDA, Orsted and BOEM, among others. They will discuss topics that include offshore wind energy in the U.S.; phased deepwater field developments; offshore decommissioning or life extension; offshore drilling, reservoirs and foundations; and cost effective production chemistry solutions for sustainable production; ranging to data analytics, modeling and digitization. There also will be a technical presentation on Norway’s Aasta Hansteen project, the largest spar platform installed, to date.

The day will conclude with a session on supplier diversity. Speakers will include managers and executives from the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, the Jackson Offshore Operators, Schlumberger and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. 

Day Three. On Wednesday, OTC’s technical program will kick off with presentations from entrepreneurs and energy professionals from the Entrepreneur and Global Business Builder, Dril-Quip Inc., Shell and NOV. The day will start with Women in the Industry Sharing Experiences (WISE), where attendees can delve into diversity, inclusion and innovation. There also will be sessions exploring investments in Argentina’s unconventional and offshore development, as well as life cycle water management.

Morning sessions will cover topics including deepwater basins of the Americas, advances in offshore floating wind turbines, HPHT solutions, innovations in subsea processing, and reservoir characterization and monitoring. Representatives from Ecopetrol America, Equinor, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Talos Energy and Anadarko, will be among those speaking on the subjects.

Likewise, mid-day sessions will cover gas hydrate R&D, floating offshore wind and the PFLNG Satu,Petronas’ first FLNG facility. Speakers will include professors and lecturers from the Colorado School of the Mines and Stanford University, as well as Petronas’ V.P. of LNG assets/upstream.

There also will be sessions on the state of the seismic industry; subsea electrical and production systems; HPHT solutions; underwater and FLNG technology; advances in fluid flow and thermal behavior modeling for flow assurance engineering; and advances in gas hydrate production technology in the afternoon. Industry executives from Polarcus, TGS, WesternGeco, PGS and CGG will be among those speaking.

The day will conclude with a networking event for young professionals, where attendees can mingle and participate in a fun game of networking Bingo. The event also will include a panel discussion, where attendees will have the opportunity to learn from successful industry leaders.

Day Four. The final day of OTC’s technical program will open with sessions on the development goals of Guyana’s oil and gas industry; digitalization; and new technology, as well as an update on the U.S. offshore regulatory environment. Among those presenting will be representatives of the Chatham House, Anadarko, Chevron, Equinor and BOEM.

Several panel discussions and technical sessions will follow. Speakers from the University of Houston, ABS, NOV, KBR Inc., Equinor, Shell, Schlumberger, NAS, Rowan and BP will be among those discussing Big Data; erosion and corrosion prediction, monitoring and mitigation; advances in offshore marine and hydrokinetic energy; advances in chemical EOR technologies; offshore renewables and offshore CO₂storage.

The technical program will continue with presentations from the Center for Offshore Safety, the Brazilian Agency for Petroleum and Hess Corp. Among the topics discussed will be digitalization and new technology; the transformation of Brazil’s oil and gas sector; and meeting future energy demand through the offshore sector.

OTC 2019 will conclude with panel discussions and technical presentations on the Big Foot project, project monetization, new generation deepwater development concepts, metocean advances, standardization, and advances in smart completion technologies and drilling technologies. WO