Asia’s Growing Offshore Production

June 19, 2012 - PRLog -- A recent report showed the total capital expenditure in the region is expected to exceed $90 billion during 2011-2015, a 55% increase from the previous five-year period.

The Asian offshore oil and gas industry is supported by soaring levels of economic activity and energy consumption growth that the region is demanding.  This growth for oil demand is the main reason for investment in offshore exploration and production.   Although China could experience a few problems which may slow oil demand growth such as rising inflation and over investment, despite the superfast pace the Chinese economy is growing at.

One big reason to continue the growth of production is to avoid the energy producing countries in Asia having to import oil; hence they all have an interest in supplying as much domestic demand in order to boost energy security.  

In China, the Chinese National Offshore Oil Co (CNOOC) leads the domestic exploration and production efforts.   There are currently four new offshore projects planned to go on-stream this year, and16 more are in various stages of construction.

Whilst India currently has to import some crude, the good news is that gas demand for power stations is rising and expected to continue for the next few years.  Taking the long term view the offshore oil and natural gas exploration is heading toward deepwater and ultra deepwater territories within India.  Many companies are therefore converging on these areas and new discoveries are expected and indeed needed to meet India’s production growths targets.

Taiwan and Thailand are expected to boost their crude output also, with Thailand's state controlled PTT Exploration & Production (PTTEP) investing in domestic gas production.  More than 90% of Thailand's gas reserves are offshore, in the Gulf of Thailand with oil companies operating on around 20 fields there also.  New oil frontiers are being opened in the Philippines and Myanmar which had not seen any offshore activity previously.

At the beginning of June, the Offshore Technology Asia (OTA) conference and exhibition took place in Shanghai, China, reflecting the growths in the gas and offshore oil industry (http://www.claxtonengineering.com/Products/A-Z/) in China and the Asia Pacific regions.  

It is the largest and most reputable offshore industry event in Asia Pacific and was held over four days with more than 400 delegates, 60 media and 30 presenters participating in a programme that covers all aspects of the offshore industry.  This ranged from technological advances in upstream exploration and production, to the role of FPSO, Subsea System (http://www.claxtonengineering.com/Products/Bespoke-Engine...), OSV, Seismic and Pipeline Technology (http://www.claxtonengineering.com/Products/Pipeline-Tools...), the management of the offshore industry and its social, economic and environmental impact.