Speech by Second Minister S Iswaran at the Opening Ceremony of the 20th International Oil and Gas Industry Conference and Exhibition (OSEA 2014) at Marina Bay Sands

Mr. Stephen Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Exhibition Services,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning.

Introduction

It gives me great pleasure to join you today at the 20th International Oil and Gas Industry Conference and Exhibition, also known as OSEA 2014.  With more than 1,500 exhibitors, this year’s edition of the exhibition and conference is the largest one to date.  OSEA 2014 also marks the launch of the International Exhibition on Manufacturing Technology for Oil and Gas (OGmTech), a concurrent exhibition focusing on new manufacturing technologies and capabilities for the oil & gas industry. 

Singapore is an ideal location to serve the growing exploration and production (E&P) activities in Asia-Pacific

Despite concerns over the impact on the oil and gas industry of short term global uncertainties and volatile oil prices, the long term outlook for the industry remains positive.  Strong economic fundamentals in

Asia-Pacific, together with its rapid population growth and economic development, will continue to drive energy demand and thus expenditure on exploration and production activities, or E&P activities in short.  This region alone accounts for nearly a quarter of global E&P expenditure, which is expected to hit a record US$723 billion in 2014

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Located in the heart of the Asia-Pacific and possessing a well-established marine and offshore ecosystem, Singapore offers an attractive value-proposition to companies seeking to serve the growing offshore E&P activities in the region.  More than 3,000 marine and offshore players, including oil majors, drilling operators, specialised equipment manufacturers, service providers and shipyards, have chosen to establish a presence in Singapore, achieving a total output of S$21billion and value-added of S$5.9billion for the Marine & Offshore Industry last year.

Specifically in the oil and gas equipment and services sector, which is critical to supporting E&P activities, leading companies such as Schlumberger, Halliburton, FMC Technologies and Cameron, have established strong presence in Singapore to serve global markets.  These companies undertake a wide range of activities from Singapore such as research and development, front-end engineering, manufacturing and repair.  Notable examples include Halliburton’s Global Headquarters for Completion Tools and Cameron’s hub in Asia for Drilling Systems Aftermarket Services.

Singapore will continue to invest in research and development (R&D) and talent to support the strong growth of the Marine & Offshore sector

Singapore has continually invested in developing new capabilities to support the growth of the Marine & Offshore industry.  For example, the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) has worked with Marine & Offshore companies and our institutes of higher learning to identify key research areas for Singapore.  This has led to greater R&D collaboration between public and private sector researchers to tackle practical industry problems, such as exploration and production in harsher environments as well as asset integrity and risk management.  An example of such collaboration is the corporate lab jointly established by NUS and Keppel last November, which allows Keppel to better access upstream research capabilities at NUS, and commercialise technologies into products and solutions.

Another more recent example is the Multiphase Flowloop facility at NUS which was launched this October.  This facility provides a platform where industry can work with our public research institutes and institutes of higher learning to model and simulate multiphase flow analysis, coupled with experimentation and validation.

Besides investing in R&D capabilities, we have also invested in nurturing a pool of industry-ready talent for the sector.  In 2012, NUS launched the Subsea Professorships Programme

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to develop capabilities in subsea technologies for deeper waters and harsher environments E&P.  NUS has followed up to launch the Petroleum Engineering Professorships Programme this October as part of Singapore’s efforts to continue to build up R&D capabilities and talent for the industry.  Under this Programme, NUS will introduce new course modules in Petroleum Engineering for their Masters in Offshore Technology, and partner companies for R&D projects in this area.

The growth of the industry translates to rewarding career opportunities

The continued growth in E&P activities in the region is expected to support the continued growth of our Marine & Offshore industry, in turn creating more opportunities for Singaporeans to engage in high-value research and engineering activities.  Today, more than 20,000 Singaporeans are already employed in this industry, largely in skilled jobs such as design and systems engineering, product engineering and project management.  Besides offering attractive remuneration packages, the industry also caters to a wide range of career aspirations.  The many leading Marine & Offshore companies in Singapore have a significant presence, and offer good progression opportunities in a wide variety of areas, such as R&D, engineering and manufacturing.  These companies also offer their employees opportunities for overseas exposure, due to the worldwide reach of their operations.  This can also be seen in the wide diversity of nationalities represented amongst us today.

Conclusion

The OSEA programme promises to be full and rich, with the OSEA international conference covering topics such as the impact of shale gas on the LNG market, leveraging on new technologies to enhance oil field recovery factor and the future of subsea and deep-water developments.  In closing, let me once again congratulate Singapore Exhibition Services on another successful OSEA.  I wish all of you a fruitful time at OSEA 2014.

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Barclays Global 2014 E&P Spending Outlook

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Since 2012, the Programme has trained 25 students at the undergraduate level and 41 students at the postgraduate level.