Abstract: "The Transformation of Exploration and Production R&D for a Low-Price World"

Donald L. Paul

Since the mid-1980s the international oil industry has reshaped itself to operate in a commodity-priced world. The structures and organizations developed during the "great boom" have given way to downsized, efficient businesses focussed on lowered cost structures and delivery of adequate returns on investment. These changes have triggered a fundamental reexamination of the role and structure of research and technology for exploration and production. This transformation and its implication are the subject of the presentation.

Repositioned for a low-priced environment, a primary role of research and technology becomes one of providing significant leverage on reducing operating costs and cycle time, improving recovery efficiency and narrowing risks - all of these targeted to increasing the R&D link to the business objectives of improved margins and higher returns on capital invested.

These changes in oil industry R&D are not unique, however, but rather are imbedded in a broader transformation affecting all industrial sectors. The globalization of technology sources, increased cooperation of competitors and the growth of information-based technologies are driving the change. The transformation will also involve both university and government research structures in fundamental ways. We will examine the challenges and opportunities which are being created as the R&D system redefines itself.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90956©1995 AAPG International Convention and Exposition Meeting, Nice, France