PSTI Starts Work on European RTD Strategy Studies

Members of the European Network for Research in Geo-Energy (ENeRG), founded by PSTI, IFP and TNO in 1993, promote the case for European Commission support for upstream oil and gas research, technology development and demonstration (RTD&D) within the forthcoming Fifth Framework Programme. In this context, a consortium of ENeRG members including PSTI (through its Petroleum Technology Strategy Unit) have been successful in winning support for two integrated projects within the THERMIE Programme to contribute to the development of European energy RTD strategy. The projects are:

• Oil and Gas Production Outlook, North-West Europe, co-ordinated by the Institut Français du Pétrole;
• Cost Efficiency in a New Era through the use of New Technology (CENET), co-ordinated by Rogaland Research, Norway.

The ìOutlookî study will focus on production forecasts for the North West European Continental Shelf and on how the application of innovative technology might impact future production from both existing fields and still to be developed reserves. A key underlying issue is the relationship between future RTD&D investment decisions and the optimisation of Europeís indigenous oil and gas resources.

Other contributors to the ìOutlookî study include Rogaland Research (Norway), the Danish Energy Agency, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), and Eniricerche s.p.a. (Italy).

CENET will target those areas of science and technology which have greatest potential to impact exploration and production efficiency, with a particular emphasis on the development of economically marginal fields. In the context of the business drive to increase the value of reserves and to improve finding and recovery efficiencies, the study will also seek to identify areas in which innovation in technology is most likely to bring competitive advantage to European ìtechnology deliveryî companies in international markets.

Other contributors to the CENET study include the Institut Français du Pétrole, TNO (The Netherlands), Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Osservatorio Geofisico Sperimentale (Italy), Forbairt (Ireland) and the Institute of Drilling and Production (Austria).

The results of both studies will aid the prioritisation and focusing of RTD&D investments.

Further information on these studies can be obtained from:

• Marc Beller (Project co-ordinator, IFP. Tel: +33 (1) 47 52 69 19) for the ìOutlookî study;
• Gunnar Sunde (Project co-ordinator, Rogaland Research. Tel. +47 51 87 52 74) for the CENET study.

Alternatively, contact Stewart Brown at PSTI, e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0)131 451 5231 Fax: +44 (0)131 451 5232.