NG Oil & Gas Africa Summit 2011 - 5-7 April

NG Oil & Gas Africa Summit 2011 

Arabella Western Cape Hotel, South Africa
5th - 7th April 2011

The Next Generation Oil&Gas Africa Summit April 2011 will once again serve as an arena for senior level executives to engage in clear and focused dialogue with their peers and examine their management objectives in a relaxed and vibrant environment.

FIRST OIL PROVES HISTORIC FOR GHANA 

Striking first oil is significant for any nation – and for any oil and gas company. But when oil flowed at the Jubilee field in Ghana, it was a particularly historic event. Read more....

Angola set to strike it big

Key exploration rights issue herald a new frontier in the African nation’s history

It could be the biggest oil discovery in decades – and some of the globe’s major oil companies look set to grab a piece of the action.

BP Angola and Exxon Mobile Corp were among companies awarded rights to explore offshore pre-salt blocks in Angola that may contain deposits to rival the biggest discoveries in decades.  read more....  

Key industry figure underlines importance of deepwater drilling

 BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico turned the spotlight firmly on the oil and gas industry’s disaster preparedness, response and regulation. One of the industry’s leading voices, Ivan Sandrea, explores the future of deepwater drilling.    

 When BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded on April 20, 2010, claiming the lives of 11 workers and injuring 17 before unleashing five million barrels of crude oil into the ocean outside the coast of Louisiana, a collective shiver went through the oil industry.

 The disaster led to a moratorium on offshore drilling in US waters and new regulations aimed at reshaping the global oil and gas industry which critics have said will raise costs and could reduce output.

 Yet according to Ivan Sandrea, VP International Exploration & Production at Norwegian oil company Statoil, any slow-down or delay in deepwater drilling globally could have a “huge impact” on the oil market.

 “About one-third of oil production globally comes from offshore projects,” Sandrea was reported as saying. He added the level was expected to rise to about one-half by 2015.

 “Deepwater wells have accounted for 40 percent to 60 percent of new oil discoveries in recent decades. Deepwater sources are a big thing for all of us.”

 Venezuelan-born Sandrea, who previously worked as an industry analyst for the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), believes the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico will lead to a “higher cost environment in the future because of new regulations, inspections and other factors. There will also be a reduced interest for the most environmentally sensitive areas.”

 However, while costs will rise, he expects the proportion of oil from offshore production to stay at roughly the same level as previously forecast.

 “Deepwater oil production will account for probably over 30 percent of worldwide oil growth. We don’t see that the potential for offshore has changed. We do see a higher-cost environment going forward. Taxes, rigs, the lack of equipment will come into play in one form or another.”

 It’s an issue that will no doubt be top of mind for Sandrea at the prestigious Next Generation Oil & Gas Africa Summit 2011 which takes place at the Arabella Western Cape Hotel in South Africa from 5-7 April 2011.

 This closed door summit, hosted by GDS International, will also tackle such critical issues as the changing drilling environment, seismic surveying and production optimisation, particularly as it relates to enhancing well productivity and reservoir management.

 Other leading industry figures who will be lending their skills and experience to the event include Andrew Windham, MD Africa of Tullow Oil; Noe Mateus, Geophysicist of BP Angola; Francisco Lopes da Cunha, Chief Geophysicist of Sonangol, and Vincent Gervy, Deputy Head Subsea Production Angola of Total.

 Next Generation Oil & Gas Africa Summit 2011 is an exclusive C-level event reserved for 100 participants that includes expert workshops, facilitated roundtables, peer-to-peer networks and co-ordinated meetings. 

 For more information, visit www.ngoafricasummit.com

 GDS International is a leading business-to-business events company. We offer financial, healthcare, IT service management, telecoms and oil and gas summits for senior executives throughout the Asia Pacific, Africa, China, Europe, North America and Russia markets. Our value proposition is simple: we deliver real results. And we’re very good at it. www.gdsinternational.com <http://www.gdsinternational.com