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INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS' NEWS | |
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The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) is seeking a reprieve for drilling operations in the shallow-water Gulf of Mexico. Currently, all new drilling in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is under an interdiction scheduled to last at least three weeks. IADC believes that prohibiting new drilling in water depths less than 1,000 feet that use blowout preventers located above the sea surface will unnecessarily cause the loss of thousands of jobs and could spur business insolvencies. IADC is seeking an exemption from the drilling ban for this type of operation, as well as a clarification of the rule. “The current spill in the Gulf of Mexico was caused by an operation in 5,000 feet of water using blowout preventers on the seabed,” remarked Dr. Lee Hunt, president of IADC. “In contrast, drilling in less than 1,000 feet of water using blowout preventers above the sea surface is very different. To ban this type of drilling is unnecessary, either to protect human safety or the environment and will put thousands of hard-working people out of work and the economies of coastal Louisiana parishes. Dr. Hunt noted numerous differences between shallow-water and deepwater operations. First, while deepwater primarily explores and develops oil resources, in shallow water the resource is primarily natural gas. Second, oil remaining in shallow-water reservoirs has largely been produced and is underpressured, limiting its ability to spew out of control. In addition, in shallow water, the sea bed can be much more easily accessed for intervention by remote craft and even divers. Further, temperatures in shallow water are much warmer than in deep water, forestalling the formation of crystallized gas hydrates. Typically, wells drilled by jackup rigs in shallow water take 15-40 days. Should the current ban continue through 1 July, IADC estimates that some 60% of Gulf of Mexico rigs could be idled. “Not only will this present problems for sustained energy supply, it could economically devastate hard-working offshore employees and the economies of coastal Louisiana parishes,” Dr. Hunt warned. “It is important not to overreact.” IADC’s contract-drilling members own most of the world’s land and offshore drilling units and drill the vast majority of the wells that produce the planet’s oil and gas. IADC’s membership also includes oil-and-gas producers, and manufacturers and suppliers of oilfield equipment and services. Founded in 1940, IADC’s mission is to improve industry health, safety and environmental practices; advance drilling and completion technology; and champion responsible standards, practices, legislation and regulations that provide for safe, efficient and environmentally sound drilling operations worldwide. IADC holds Accredited Observer status at the International Maritime Organization and the International Seabed Federation, branches of the United Nations. The Association is a leader in developing standards for industry training, notably its Well Control Accreditation Program (WellCAP)â and rig-floor orientation program, RIG PASSâ. IADC is headquartered in Houston and has offices in Washington D.C., the Netherlands, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as chapters in the UK, Venezuela, Brazil, Australasia, South Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and across the United States. For more information, visit the IADC website at www.iadc.org. Date: 13th May 2010 < Back to News Index > 
Mr Peter Cox has been elected President of Australia’s peak pipeline industry and gas transmission body, The Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA).Mr Cox, who is National Pipelines Manager (ANZ Region) for WorleyParsons, was previously APIA’s Vice-President. APIA’s new Vice-President is Mr Kevin Lester, Divisional Manager Infrastructure & Pipelines with the A J Lucas Group. Mr Richard Robinson - General Manager Operations for Oil Search Limited - is the new APIA Treasurer. New APIA Board members elected at the association’s AGM are Mr Mark Cooper (DBP), Mr Geoff Feurtado (Onesteel Piping Systems) and Mr Mark Dayman (Fyfe Pty Ltd). They join the following other members on the APIA Board:- Mr Ashley Kellett (Immediate Past President), Mr Mick McCormack (APA Group), Mr Mark Twycross (McConnell Dowell) and Mr Murray Durham (Apache Energy). Ms Cheryl Cartwright is APIA’s Chief Executive and Mr Steve Dobbie is Business Manager. Date: 4th November 2009 < Back to News Index >
On June 11, Mr. Norio Ichino, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., was appointed Chairman of the Japan Gas Association as the successor to Mr. Akio Nomura. Accompanying him, the following officers were also newly appointed to the Board: On July 15, the Urban Heat Energy Committee of the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy, an advisory body to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, came up with a draft policy recommendation entitled "The Goals of the Gas Industry in a Low Carbon Society." To identify problems facing the gas industry and look into specific policy options to achieve a low carbon society by 2050, The Study Group for the Direction of the Japanese Gas Utility Business in a Low Carbon Society was set up within the Electricity and Gas Industry Department of the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy in April this year. Based on an interim report compiled by this study group on June 30, this policy recommendation was prepared by the Urban Heat Energy Committee and represents its views. The policy recommendation emphasizes the necessity of using natural gas as the primary energy carrier in a smooth transition to a low carbon society by the year 2050 and, in order to make a low carbon society a reality, urges gas utilities to carry out the following medium- and long-term measures by 2050 through the more efficient use of natural gas: To achieve these medium- and long-term measures, the policy recommendation suggests that gas utilities carry out a series of tasks in the next ten years, which include: encouraging the development and utilization of cogeneration technologies, including fuel cells as the core of distributed energy resources; carrying out demonstrations of available technologies to create a smart energy network; developing technologies related to the manufacture, transportation and storage of hydrogen; developing technologies for using gas more efficiently in industrial sector; and accelerating the use of biogas, solar heat, and industrial waste heat. To implement these tasks, the policy recommendation proposes the following actions as basic taskes: developing pipelines and other infrastructure, securing a steady supply of LNG, and transferring energy-saving technologies to foreign countries. Date: 22nd October 2009 < Back to News Index > |
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