Oil & Gas UK and Decom North Sea, co-organisers of the Offshore Decommissioning Conference, have confirmed that this year’s keynote speaker will be Gerry Borghesi, UK/Netherlands Production Manager for ExxonMobil International. Only a few places now remain for the two-day event ,sponsored by Ernst & Young LLP, based at the Fairmont Hotel, St Andrews from 9-11 October.
Gerry Borghesi said: “While the UK has sufficient resources to keep producing for at least another 40 years and developments in technology and the new brown-field allowance will help to extend the lives of some ageing oil and gas fields, decommissioning represents a growing business alongside ongoing developments. Decommissioning expenditure is anticipated to exceed £3.3 billion over the next four years and it is important to develop a responsive and competitive market capability to address this. Taking the theme of the conference, ‘Reflecting on the past and preparing for the future’, I shall be outlining the key issues around timing, scope and execution that the industry operators and contractors, and the government, need to consider to be ready to meet the decommissioning challenge.”
As joint chairman of the event alongside Brian Nixon, Decom North Sea ’s chief executive, Oil & Gas UK’s operations director, Paul Dymond , said: “I am delighted that Gerry will provide his valuable insight into the task the industry faces in addressing the opportunities and challenges of increasing decommissioning activity. His participation will provide delegates with a thought-provoking introduction to the relevant issues and stimulate constructive discussion throughout the programme of interactive workshops and presentations.”
Brian Nixon said: “We are delighted that Gerry has agreed to open the conference which, with its high calibre speakers over the two days and the topical line-up of issues, has already attracted strong interest.”
Last year’s Offshore Decommissioning Conference was a sell-out, resulting in the event being re-located to a larger venue in St Andrews for 2012.
[mappress] Press Release, September 13, 2012