China Conference Probes Upstream Issues

Technology transfer, offshore developments in China and around the world, and critical upstream issues will highlight the International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in China (IOGCEC) that will be held 5–7 December at the Beijing Intl. Convention Center. The theme of the conference, which is being coorganized by SPE and the Chinese Petroleum Soc., is “Sustainable Growth for Oil and Gas.” The event features panel sessions with leading oil and gas industry experts and executives, technical paper presentations on a variety of upstream topics, and an exhibition.

The conference opening session will feature a welcome address by Liu Baohe of the Chinese Petroleum Soc., conference Executive Committee Co-Chairman, and 2007 SPE President Abdul-Jaleel Al-Khalifa. The keynote session will feature addresses by industry leaders from around the world, including Chen Geng, President of China Natl. Petroleum Corp. (CNPC); Chen Tonghai, President of Sinopec; Fu Chengyu, President of China Natl. Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC); H.E. Mohammed Hamed Al-Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas, Oman; Joe Leone, Vice President of Upstream Technology, ConocoPhillips; and Thierry Desmarest, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Total.

The technical program will feature 20 sessions presenting 120 papers and 60 poster displays by authors representing 32 countries. The papers to be presented have been selected by peer review from more than 800 abstracts. Technical tracks include health, safety, and environment; information management; drilling and completion fluids; heavy oil; reservoir description and dynamics; drilling and optimization; production and operations; borehole stability and sand management; completions; gasfield development; offshore China development; and stimulation acidizing.

Three panel sessions featuring industry experts will present views on topics relevant to the industry and to China. The topics are:

“Technology Exchange and Knowledge Sharing,” coordinated by Ahmed Abou-Sayed, President and CEO, Advantek Intl. and Liu Yuzhang, Vice President of the Research Inst. of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina.
“Improved Oil and Gas Recovery,” coordinated by A. Dan Hill, Professor, Petroleum Engineering Dept., Texas A&M U., and Li Xiaoming, Senior Engineer, Sinopec Petroleum E&P Research Inst.
“Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources,” coordinated by Mark Pearson, President, Energy Investment Consulting Service; Sau-Wai Wong, Manager, Subsurface Technology, Shell E&P Co.; and Andrew Seto, Senior Reservoir Engineering Specialist, Pengrowth Corp.

Daily topical luncheons will feature leading executives from two of the world’s largest service companies and Saudi Aramco. Chakib Sbiti, Executive Vice President, Schlumberger Oilfield Services, will speak on Tuesday; Bernard Duroc-Danner, Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO of Weatherford, will speak Wednesday; and Khalid Al-Buraik, Chief Petroleum Engineer, Saudi Aramco, will be the luncheon speaker on Thursday.

An Education Day/Young Pro-fessionals Workshop will take place Monday before the official conference opening, giving students and young professionals under the age of 35 an opportunity to learn about career opportunities and skill development.

The exhibition will showcase the latest trends and developments in technology, products, and services and will feature numerous national oil companies, majors, and service providers. A networking event hosted by Chinese national oil companies CNPC, Sinopec, and CNOOC will include a welcome reception, dinner, and “Beijing night.”

Sponsoring companies at the conference include CNPC; Sinopec; CNOOC Ltd.; Schlumberger; Total; Petronas; Transocean; Petroleum Development Oman; Genting Oil & Gas (China) Ltd.; Weatherford; Gaffney, Cline Assocs.; ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co. Ltd.; BJ Services China; and Saudi Aramco.

For more information on the conference, please visit www.spe.org.