OE 2015 confirms a positive outlook for the industry
Published: 17 September, 2015
SPE Offshore Europe 2015, held in Aberdeen, Scotland from September 8-11, sent out a very clear message that the oil and gas industry has a future for many years to come.
The theme of the 2015 event, inspiring the next generation, allowed the industry to address the technical, business and people challenges it faces now and into the future. At the heart of this is the need to attract and encourage the next generation of talent into the industry.
“One of the challenges facing the industry is inspiring the next generation,” said Charles Woodburn, CEO of Expro and Technical Chairman of SPE Offshore Europe 2015. “I hope that the honest and open conversation we have had over the last few days will lead to real progress in this area. While we don’t have all the answers yet, it’s important we take this dialogue and turn it into a clear framework that can be delivered by the industry as a whole.”
Attendance figures remained very strong according to the organiser, who said the figure reached 55,947 with delegates drawn from 104 countries.
A record 1535 global organisations from 44 countries exhibited this year, showcasing their products, services and expertise. This included 336 companies exhibiting at the event for the first time.
Over the four days of the world’s largest upstream oil and gas conference and exhibition outside North America, around 5,000 visitors attended the conference plenary session, 11 keynote sessions, 80 SPE technical paper presentations, and daily topical lunches and breakfast briefings.
Stephen Graham, chief operations officer for the SPE, added: “The conference programme successfully addressed a number of relevant industry priorities, incorporating the theme of inspiring the next generation. Combined with a busy show floor where exhibitors met with existing and potential customers, I believe SPE Offshore Europe 2015 has been a great success.”
With its emphasis on recognising the long-term need for a secure talent pipeline, the event ran ‘Inspire’, its largest ever programme of activities for a younger audience.
More than 400 school pupils from Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Highland and Angus took part in three half-day workshops and site visits, which gave them an insight into the industry and the opportunity to meet young engineering professionals who shared their work experiences. Other Inspire events included a Career Pathways Fair, a Student Development Summit, and Energy4me aimed at school science teachers.
Michael Engell-Jensen, executive director, International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) and Keynote Chairman, said: "This week's keynote speakers, as well as the Inspire Programme, provided the next generation with plenty of inspiring reasons to join this industry. But, as Professor Brian Cox mentioned, we also need to provide students with pathways to a career in oil and gas.
"I would like to see industry develop multi-year programmes to encourage schoolchildren to consider a career in this sector. And, for our newly qualified graduates, who have been caught out by the current economic difficulties, I am supportive of industry exploring ways to allow them to get work experience, something many graduates say would help them get their first job in the industry."
Other new features of the event included an Investment Workshop which gave entrepreneurial delegates the opportunity to meet potential investors.
The next SPE Offshore Europe will be held in Aberdeen from 5-8 September 2017. One of the new features announced for the next event will be the Decommissioning Zone 2017.
