When the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible rig exploded, caught fire, and then sank while on station at BP PLC's Macondo prospect in 4,993 ft of water 40 miles off Venice, La., triggering an oil leak estimated at 5,000 b/d mere days before the 2010 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC 2010) in Houston, it could not help but have some bearing on the conference's course. And it did.
A topical luncheon entitled 'The Challenges and Rewards in Operating in the World's Offshore Basins," which was to have addressed BP's Thunder Horse and Atlantis fields among other topics, was cancelled. So too was Cameron's annual OTC reception.
But the industry did not duck and cover. "We are coming together at a very sobering time for the offshore energy industry," said Susan Cunningham, OTC 2010 chairman and senior vice-president, exploration, at Noble Energy Inc. "Although we don't yet know what caused the accident, we know that this industry takes safety and environmental stewardship very seriously. That is why when we do learn how this occurred, I know that all of us in the offshore industry will work together to prevent this from happening again anywhere in the world," she said.
Silent moments
Moments of silence occurred in a variety of settings. While introducing Xizhao Yang, president and director of China Offshore Oil Engineering Co. Ltd., at a topical breakfast outlining development strategies for China's offshore segment, the moderator called for a moment of silence and emphasized the need for all in attendance to support both their colleagues in the offshore industry and the agencies which regulate it.
BP presented technical papers on both Thunder Horse and Atlantis, with Jackie Mutschler, vice-president for research and technology, calling for a minute of silence in memory of the 11 who lost their lives and describing the process of presenting at OTC in light of such events as difficult.
The keynote speaker for the OTC awards luncheon, Noble Energy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles Davidson said, "Today's reality is yesterday's impossibility. Our willingness to take on the 'impossible' has led to immense change and success. Believing that anything is possible is critical to that success." He cited US gas shale plays, Chevron Corp.'s Jack field in the lower tertiary Gulf of Mexico, and Israel's gas field discoveries of the past 18 months as examples of achievements that once seemed impossible.
Innovation buzz
Outside the meeting rooms and luncheons, however, on the convention floor, the overlying hum of activity was palpable. People were doing business and doing so with enthusiasm. Respect was always shown to those who had died and to the need to stem the flow of oil from the well, but even more pronounced on the part of those participating was the excitement they felt regarding the new products, techniques, tools, and methods they'd come to display.
Steel pipe manufacturers touted the virtues of their products in transporting oil and gas through deepwater environments that increasingly included not just long free-spans, rough seabed, and strong currents on the outside of the pipe, but sour, high-temperature, high-pressure product streams on the inside.
Coatings companies explained the innovations they'd made in impeding corrosion on all manner of offshore equipment and infrastructure, from ships' hulls, to platform legs, to piping, and cases holding tools and electronics. Elsewhere, all manner of other widgets from couplings to remote monitoring tools to lifeboats were on display, and between them all bottlenecks of attendees busily exploring it.
Attendance at OTC 2010 reached 72,900, surpassing the 2009 total of 67,700. The sold-out exhibition was the largest in 28 years, totaling more than 568,000 sq ft, up from 557,000 sq ft in 2009.
The root causes of the Deepwater Horizon accident must be investigated and identified if similar events in the future are to be avoided. But at the same time, it's important for the offshore industry as a whole to keep moving forward so that when the lessons of the current tragedy are finally known, it is in a position to implement them with vigor, dedication, and enthusiasm.
Judging by those at work during OTC 2010, the industry already knows this.
More Oil & Gas Journal Current Issue Articles
More Oil & Gas Journal Archives Issue Articles
View Oil and Gas Articles on PennEnergy.com