Small Pools, Big Prize Dinner

Exploring the opportunity to develop ‘small pools’ of hydrocarbons and how new technology can help unlock economic potential in the North Sea.

Les Thomas, CEO, Ithaca Energy

FWB Park Brown together with Apollo Engineering, hosted a dinner for over forty industry leaders, including prominent government representatives, operators and service companies. Our key speakers on the evening were Les Thomas, CEO of Ithaca Energy and Chris Pearson, Small Pools Solution Centre Manager for the Oil and Gas Technology Centre and the aim of the evening was to explore the actual size of the economic prize for operators, the supply chain and the country in developing the remaining reserves in the North Sea.

The presentation from Les Thomas emphasised the need to involve the supply chain in developing the solution. He contended that the industry already has most of the needed technology to develop any field in the North Sea. He also challenged the actual size of the economic prize and explained

how small independent operators, by necessity, take a clear eyed commercial view on the develop / don’t develop decision.

Chris Pearson presented an alternative vision, challenging operators to consider more collaborative ways of working, creating hubs and sharing techniques and technologies. He pushed back against the view that new technology may not have a role to play and emphasised the need to consider new cost effective techniques and technologies that can radically reduce the cost of field development.

Overall an interesting and lively debate, with an overriding sense of the importance of knowledge sharing, collaboration and using the best available technologies to develop the remaining small pools in the North Sea.

Chris Pearson, Small Pools Solution Centre Manager, Oil and Gas Technology Centre