Mr Teo Ser Luck at the Opening Ceremony of Det Norske Veritas’ Deepwater Technology Centre, 9 Jan 2012

SPEECH BY MR TEO SER LUCK, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF DET NORSKE VERITAS’ DEEPWATER TECHNOLOGY CENTRE ON MONDAY, 9 JANUARY 2011, 6.00PM AT THE ST REGIS SINGAPORE, JOHN JACOB BALLROOM

Mr Remi Eriksen, Executive Vice-President & COO of DNV

Mr Alexandre Imperial, Managing Director, DNV Deepwater Technology Centre

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

Good evening. I am pleased to be here at the opening of DNV’s new Deepwater Technology Centre (DTC). DNV and Singapore have enjoyed a strong partnership over the years – in fact, DNV was our first tenant in the Singapore Science Park in 1982. This partnership has grown from strength to strength, with DNV establishing its Asia-Pacific regional headquarters here in 2010. With DTC, I understand that Singapore would become DNV’s only deepwater hub in the Asia-Pacific.This will take our partnership to a higher level. Thank you for this strong vote of confidence in Singapore.

Growing deepwater opportunities in the Asia-Pacific

Despite the global economic uncertainties, the demand for oil continues to rise. The International Energy Agency forecast that global demand for oil will increase to 99 million barrels per day by 2035. However, crude oil production at existing oil fields are declining, resulting in the need to find new oil, which are increasingly available only in harsher environments like the Arctic and deeper waters in locations such as Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and Asia Pacific. The complexity of fields in the Asia-Pacific and the increasingly stricter operating requirements in the industry present a challenging but exciting market. Singapore is well poised to ride on this wave of opportunities.

Singapore’s vibrant marine & offshore industry

Over the years, Singapore has built up a vibrant marine & offshore industry that continues to see strong growth prospects. Our shipyards such as Keppel Offshore & Marine and SembCorp Marine have a clear leadership position with 70% global market share in the construction of offshore drilling rigs and Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) conversions. This is mainly due to the shipyards’ ability to offer complex engineering solutions, and their strong reputation for quality and timeliness. In addition, we are also a major hub for the manufacture of oil & gas equipment.

Talent development for the industry

We recognise that talent is a key ingredient for companies’ continued growth and development. In fact, the availability of skilled talent is one of the key reasons why Singapore is a compelling choice to global marine and offshore companies for their R&D and engineering operations. The Singapore Government is committed to continue investing to build the necessary capabilities for this sector.

Over the past few years, our Institutes of Higher Learning and Institute of Technical Education have launched certification, diploma and degree programmes. For example, the National University of Singapore offers undergraduate specialisations in offshore engineering and oil & gas technology, as well as an integrated Masters in offshore technology. Our students have worked on research projects with the industry, including the DNV-led FPSO fatigue capacity project. The students have been well-received by companies and many of our graduates are now actively contributing to the industry as R&D engineers in these companies.

To further enhance this close collaboration between our Institutes of Higher Learning and companies, to strengthen research capabilities in Singapore, the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Ministry of Education recently introduced a S$70-million Industrial Postgraduate Programme to encourage more fresh graduates and working adults to pursue their PhDs. Key to this programme is the industry experience component, where the PhD students will receive training and work on projects in the companies’ R&D operations. I am glad to hear that DNV is already participating in this programme as part of its plan to build up its pipeline of research talent for the DTC, which will employ 55 researchers at steady state.

Strengthening our oil & gas R&D capabilities

Besides talent, Singapore has invested significantly to build public sector research and development capabilities to support the industry. Launched in 2004, the Centre for Offshore Research & Engineering at the National University of Singapore, also known as CORE, works on research programmes that result in knowledge and intellectual property creation for the offshore sector. Today, CORE has more than 20 faculty members and 30 research scientists and engineers working with over 20 PhD students and 70 graduates on research projects.

To further build on the success of CORE, we are enhancing our public R&D capabilities to support this sector. The EDB, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (or A*STAR) and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore have jointly set up the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) to drive research areas such as offshore & subsea systems, and oilfield & downhole systems. The SMI will support new research programmes including high temperature and high pressure ruggedized electronics, and multiphase flow and reservoir modelling.

The strong ecosystem of marine and offshore companies, universities and public R&D institutes in Singapore will be further enhanced with the presence of the DTC, which I understand will harness the synergies of this ecosystem in multi-party joint industry projects to push the boundaries of deepwater technologies in the region. This multi-party industry collaborative model, unique to Singapore, will ensure that we continue to maintain our competitive edge in this sector.

Conclusion

In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the management and employees of DNV on the opening of the DTC. I am confident that this will pave the way for many new opportunities, and set the stage for the continued growth of DNV in Singapore. I look forward to an enduring partnership and wish you every success. Thank you.