Press releases
SPE CTCE: Challenges And Changes - But Also Opportunities
Astana, Kazakhstan (7 November 2016) - SPE's third Caspian Technical Conference and Exhibition (CTCE), has come to a close after three packed days, having seen over 400 industry professionals and students pass through the doors of the Palace of Independence in Astana.
CTCE drew senior speakers from the highest echelons of government, operators, service providers, advisory firms, and energy research companies including: Sauat Mynbayev - Chairman of the Board, KazMunaiGas; Magzum Mirzagaliev - Vice-Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Bolat Akchulakov - General Director, KAZENERGY; Kenzhebek Ibrashev - General Director, PSA; Cheryl Gomez-Smith - Managing Director, ExxonMobil Kazakhstan; and Duncan van Bergen - Vice-President, Upstream and Country Chair, Kazakhstan, Shell to name a few.
Twelve technical sessions across the conference programme focussed on the common theme of how cutting edge tools, technology and techniques are being applied in the Caspian in response to current cost pressures. 36 oral papers and 6 posters were presented in the technical programme.
Over the three days of the event, three high-level topical panel debates also took place, with senior participation from TCO, NCOC, KPO, KMG, Meridian Petroleum, KAZNIPI, Eni, PSA, Shell, Schlumberger, Total and GE.
Summing up the final keynote panel session on business realignment on the final morning, Cheryl Gomez-Smith, Managing Director, ExxonMobil Kazakhstan felt that the oil price context has added urgency to efforts to change the way the industry works, and made value creation a necessity. The oil and gas industry in the Kazakhstan and broader Caspian region also needs to think about where it wants to be in the future, since it is competing for increasingly scarce capital with other countries, regions and industrial sectors.
There is no single fix however - addressing the situation will involve processes, systems, people, behaviour, technology, and there are opportunities to create value in all of these areas.
Reflecting the immense importance of developing the next generation of oil and gas engineers, there was also a strong school and university-focussed strand running parallel to this year's event. During the SPE Regional Student Development Summit, 37 students from 19 universities across the region participated in a mixture of technical sessions and soft skills courses.
On the final day, 50 primary and secondary school teachers from Kazakhstan and beyond took part in a free interactive workshop, part of SPE's energy education programme energy4me. Energy4me is aimed at providing teachers with comprehensive, objective information about the scientific concepts of energy and its global significance, while discovering the world of oil and natural gas exploration and production. The energy4me workshop took place with the support of the British Council.
SPE would like to thank this year's host, KazMunaiGas; supporting partners the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, KAZENERGY and PSA; and sponsors ExxonMobil, NCOC, TCO, Chevron, Weatherford, Schlumberger, DeGolyer and MacNaughton, Shell, Eni, Halliburton, KPO, ModelTech, Tieto and Wipro.
CTCE was also supported by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), local service and supply companies, represented by KAZSERVICE, and the academic community, in the form of the Kazakhstan Association of Petroleum Geologists (APGK).
Technology transfer and the implementation of new technologies in the Kazakh oil and gas industry are critical for the future health of the industry, and during this year's event, SPE signed a Memorandum of Understanding with KAZENERGY. The objective of the MoU, which was signed by Bolat Akchulakov, General Director of KAZENERGY and John Boden, Vice-President for IT and Membership Services at SPE, is improved collection, dissemination and exchange of technical information, and increased opportunities for oil and gas professionals to enhance their professional skills and knowledge.
If you were unable to attend the conference, the papers will be available to download very soon at:
https://www.onepetro.org/
The next edition of CTCE will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2017.
Any questions on the 2016 event, or the 2017 event (including sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities), should be directed to Phil Chandler, Senior Manager, Sales and Business Development at SPE (pchandler@spe.org).