Energy transition topics will take centre-stage at the SPE Offshore Europe 2021 virtual conference taking place from September 7 to 10.
Conference chairman Neil Saunders – executive vice-president, oilfield equipment, Baker Hughes – and incoming SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) president Kamel Ben-Naceur will welcome delegates to the four-day event.
The conference programme also features an opening plenary, with 10 keynote, and 14 technical sessions incorporating more than 50 technical papers.
The industry’s path to decarbonisation and role in supporting net-zero is top of the agenda this year and with COP26 just seven weeks later, the programme promises to be a real curtain-opener.”
Neil Saunders, SPE chairman
Seven keynote sessions and 50% of the technical programme will be related to energy transition subjects.
Keynote sessions with a net-zero focus include: Delivering carbon capture, utilisation and storage; carbon capture, utilisation and storage/hydrogen at scale; energy islands; roadmaps to net-zero; scaling up digital to enable a low-carbon industry; facilities of the future; and “breaking the silo paralysis”.
During the opening plenary, Chris Stark, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change will join Al Cook, executive vice-president, development and production international at Equinor, and Harbour Energy chief executive Phil Kirk for a panel session on the event theme “Oil & Gas: Working Together for a Net Zero Future”.
For the first time in the history of the biennial event, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the conference and exhibition have been split.
The virtual conference will be followed by an “in-person” exhibition at P&J Live, Aberdeen, from February 1 to 4 2022.
It will include new content that will be developed after the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place in Glasgow from November 1 to 12.
Mr Saunders said: “The conference programme at SPE Offshore Europe has always been a ‘must-attend’ event for those wanting to keep in touch with industry-leading thinking strategically and at a technical level.
“The industry’s path to decarbonisation and role in supporting net-zero is top of the agenda this year and with COP26 just seven weeks later, the programme promises to be a real curtain-opener.
“The future of oil and gas in the energy mix is in our hands and SPE Offshore Europe gives us the chance to work together, before and after COP26, to secure our place in a net-zero future.”
SPE Offshore Europe 2021 technical committee chairman Kevin Gallagher, digital transformation lead at CNOOC International, said: “The offshore industry has an important role to play in the transition to the low carbon economy.
“The timing of the conference, prior to COP26, and content of the technical programme are both opportune and highly relevant as we experience an acceleration of the energy transition and the industry response.
‘Informative and inspiring’
“Audience members will have the opportunity to join high-quality sessions ranging from decarbonisation, floating wind and hydrogen, to drilling and decommissioning.
“We look forward to informative and inspiring technical sessions which prompt numerous important discussions at this pivotal time for our industry.”
The virtual conference will start at noon each day to accommodate international participants. Full programme details and registration can be found here.
