Looking ahead about 10 years, oil and gas capex and “drilling intensity” must increase and new technology must be developed to meet future energy demand, according to Schlumberger Chairman and CEO Andrew Gould.

Bureau Veritas has agreed with COPPE/UFRJ, the Ocean Engineering department of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro to form a joint development center for deepwater technology.

A paucity of new giant discoveries in mature onshore petroleum provinces and restricted access to new business opportunities in major oil and gas producing countries are pushing the industry to explore offshore locations and especially frontier deepwater and ultra deepwater basins.

The macro-economic outlook

The Tot exploration well, 1-ESS-185D, located in the ES-5 block offshore Brazil, is a discovery, according to El Paso Corp.

The Offshore Technology Conference annually showcases breakthrough tech-nology for the exploration of global off-shore regions. For the 35th year, the conference brings together offshore oil and gas leaders from around the world to "Envision, Enable, and Enact."

Two common themes run through presentations by the individual members of Offshore's 1995-1996 Editorial Advisory Board - risk management in a technically challenging environment, and flat oil prices. Oil and gas are now commodities. As such, they drive out all excess and maximize competition, and at the same time, can cycle steeply in price levels based upon market perceptions. The latter situation pushes up risk for producers and support companies alike.