With the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico showing what can happen in a worst-case scenario of equipment failure in deep water, the Subsea Australasia Conference is preparing to examine the growing need to ensure integrity is maintained in new subsea production to prevent environmental damage.
Organisers have announced that subsea integrity and environmental management will be the focus of one of seven topical sessions at the conference, which is taking place at Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre from 23-25 February 2011.
Subsea UK Chairman, Bill Edgar said the subsea industry was seeing immense changes in new production with increasingly sophisticated and complex installations being deployed. “Without these advances, subsea production would in many cases simply not be viable. But as subsea systems have become increasingly complex, the need for absolute design and manufacturing integrity has become all important,” said Edgar, who will chair the conference session.
The session will examine vital subsea integrity issues including design, lifecycle management strategies and monitoring technologies, with presentations from such industry expects as Dr Jerry Baker, Head of Discipline, Pipeline and Subsea Integrity, Atkins Oil & Gas; Angus Allsop, VP Integrity Management, Wellstream International; Jon Edwards, Business Development Manager, Well Ops SEA; and Melvin Leong, Senior Engineer, Prospect Asia.
It will also explore innovative contingency planning, mitigation and repair methodologies that could have a significant impact in terms of cost and elimination of risk of emissions. Edgar said recent high-profile oil spills such as the Gulf of Mexico spill in 2010 had further increased industry awareness of subsea integrity and environmental management issues and “particularly the need for a rapid response and a pan industry approach to pollution management”.
A joint initiative between Subsea Energy Australia, Subsea UK, the Society for Underwater Technology and the Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition (AOG), the Subsea Australasia Conference is expected to attract more than 500 delegates.
With a diverse mix of local and overseas speakers, the conference will delve into other commercial and technical developments impacting the subsea industry, with sessions focusing on global subsea markets, Australasian subsea markets, floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG), pipeline buckling, riser technology, and geophysics and geohazards.