Oil & Gas on show

Despite the skyrocketing cost of oil, it is grossly underpriced even at current levels. The top issue in the next five years will be the disparity between flagging production and growing demand for oil, which is likely to peak between 2010- 2015. So said John Westwood, Managing Director of industry analysts Douglas- Westwood, speaking at a conference session during Offshore Southeast Asia (OSEA2006), the biennial event for the oil & gas industry, held in Singapore inDecember.

According to Westwood, there is a severe lack in physical and human resources. Investments in drilling rigs and vessels do not correspond with recruiting and training the personnel to man these infrastructure. Energy security was also identified as another issue that looms high in the list as these precious global resources could become politicized and potentially used as a means for terrorism.

In another highlighted trend, Michael Smith, head of the global oil and gas forecasting company Energyfiles, offshore exploratory drilling in Southeast Asia where the majority of exploration expenditure is directed, is not increasing substantially. Conversely, growth in gas activity is expected from all gas-producing countries in Southeast Asia. “Gas output has been increasing rapidly every year since 1980 and will continue to do so, reaching a peak between 2015 and 2020,” Smith said.

OSEA attracts industry players, governments and investors from the oil & gas sector, showcasing the latest drilling and exploration equipment, handling systems, LNG terminals, pipeline components, communication technologies, safety and environmental systems, seismic surveys, and other oil and gas related equipment.

According to organizer Singapore Exhibition Services (SES), OSEA2006 grew 18 percent in size over the last showing. More than 1,000 exhibiting companies from 43 countries, including nine group pavilions from Australia, China, Germany, Italy, Norway, Singapore, UK and USA, exhibited at the show.