McLaren to open Technology Showcase 2017 - Oil and gas industry urged to look beyond the sector
Keynote speakers at the ITF Technology Showcase in Aberdeen will highlight the benefits of cross-over technologies from Formula 1™ and other industries to deliver oil and gas solutions with high readiness levels for deployment.
Dr Geoff McGrath, Chief Innovation Officer at McLaren Applied Technologies and the KPMG McLaren Alliance will give a keynote on ‘innovation from outside our industry’ at the conference and exhibition at AECC on Wednesday 1st March.
Other plenary speakers include Colette Cohen, Chief Executive of the Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC), Dr Geoff Nesbitt, Group Head of Technology Strategy at Petrofac and Willie Reid, Director of the Strathclyde Oil and Gas Institute. Gunther Newcombe, Director of Operations, Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) and Greta Lydecker, Managing Director, Chevron Upstream Europe will also join the morning panel session.
Dr Patrick O’Brien, CEO of ITF said: “Technology has a fundamental role to play in supporting the industry’s recovery, unlocking remaining reserves and helping us work more efficiently to maximise production from ageing assets. The downturn has focused minds on the innovations that can make the biggest and most rapid impacts and we must not lose sight of the opportunities on offer if we look beyond our sector. The Showcase will shine a light on solutions helping to make the North Sea basin more viable.”
The theme of this year’s event is ‘technology in action, opportunity to adopt.’ Other organisations involved include operators Total and BP, industry organisations such as Advanced Forming Research Centre and National Composites Centre along with dozens of technology innovators.
Willie Reid, of the Strathclyde Oil & Gas Institute believes there is a common misconception that the university sector is only suitable for front-end oil and gas research. He added: “There is a blurred line between what universities can deliver for transferable technologies to the oil and gas industry and corporate technology development as we have centres of excellence with the right critical mass to get involved in solving the bigger challenges. Awareness is now growing about how we can work much further up the value chain delivering transferable technologies from research teams with access to hundreds of specialists.”
Dr Geoff Nesbitt of Petrofac will give a global perspective on technology development, commenting: “From my experience, risk appetite varies according to client, geography, project type and so forth. But in the current cost environment it is my personal opinion that there are numerous ways in which technology can underpin long term cost optimisation.”
The Technology Showcase will feature lively Q& A sessions stimulating discussion around technology needs, investment and support. An Innovation hall will be dedicated to supporting the innovator community and showcasing the very best in new thinking, products, solutions and services.
The technology sessions are facilitated by oil and gas operators with a keen interest on getting technology to market through the most effective routes possible. The three sessions this year will focus on:
Applied Digital Technologies to Improve Operational Efficiency and Performance
Transformational manufacturing and new materials to reduce costs
Emerging Inspection and Condition Monitoring Technologies to Prevent Failure in Operation and Avoid Downtime
The event is supported by KPMG McLaren Alliance, OGA and Innovate UK.
For more information on the programme, sponsorship and exhibition opportunities please visit https://showcase.itfenergy.com/ or contact showcase@itfenergy.com
