Phillips to Address SPE ICoTA Conference

Ian Phillips, chief executive of the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC), will highlight how the pace of innovation in the oil and gas industry is significantly lower than in comparable industries  at the 20th SPE ICoTA Well Intervention Conference in Aberdeen this week.

Mr. Phillips will give the keynote address on Wednesday, 12 November, where he will highlight the contributing factors including the slow pace of technological uptake in the industry and comparatively low spend on research and development activity.

The government backed OGIC has been established to address these issues, offering the knowledge, support and funding required by companies to increase the pace of innovation within the oil and gas industry.

Ahead of the conference, Mr. Phillips said: “Events such as the SPE ICoTA Well Intervention Conference provide an ideal opportunity for us to assess the progress made within the industry and identify the gaps and barriers to further technological innovation.

“OGIC will facilitate and increase access to funding and research for companies across the oil and gas companies, offering a ‘match-making’ between industry and academia. In a world where budgets are becoming smaller and time is often stretched, OGIC is a valuable resource which will support companies with the development of pioneering technology.”  

The conference will also feature over 20 influential presentations and more than 40 exhibitors, representing a variety of major oil and gas operators and service companies including BP, Shell, Schlumberger (SLB), ConocoPhillips (COP), Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Weatherford and Statoil (STO).

Papers being presented at the event will cover production optimization, enhancing well integrity, advances in intervention technology, vessel-based intervention operations, coiled tubing drilling and challenging coiled tubing operations.

Michael Taggart, conference chairman, is looking forward to welcoming delegates to the event: “A key objective of both SPE and ICoTA is to promote skills and knowledge transfer within the oil and gas industry. We see this as crucially important to its longevity and success.
 
“I’m delighted, therefore, that this conference has come to be regarded as Europe’s premier forum for exchange and discussion of the latest developments in well intervention and completion techniques.”

Taking place 12-13 November at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, the annual conference is hosted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Aberdeen Section and the Intervention and Coiled Tubing Association (ICoTA) European Chapter.