London, 22 February 2011

James Smith FEI, President, Energy Institute, and Chairman, Shell UK, welcomed over 200 energy professionals at this year’s International Petroleum (IP) Week held in London today.

This 3-day event, organised by the Energy Institute (EI) and supported by Ernst and Young, opened with a keynote conference themed around ‘A changing industry’, which included senior representatives from the International Energy Agency, Rosneft, BP and the BG Group. With the oil and gas sector constantly evolving, this annual event provides energy professionals across the entire international arena with the opportunity to share the latest thinking on the future of the oil and gas sector.

A key topic in this year’s discussions was how the nature of business relationships is changing, and there was an emphasis on increased collaboration in the industry. With oil prices continuing to shift upwards since September 2010, and taking into account geopolitical and financial considerations, working in alliance is proving a valuable opportunity.

The challenge of these partnerships is the management of risk, and the complexity and breadth of the partnership required to deliver the projects. But the mutual benefits can far outweigh these issues with the resulting shared knowledge and access to resources.

Safety issues remain high on the agenda at IP Week as deepwater development looks set to continue. A key challenge for the next decade is for working offshore in emerging markets.

Louise Kingham FEI FRSA, Chief Executive, Energy Institute, says, ‘Cooperation is becoming increasingly important. The energy landscape is more varied than ever. At this year’s IP Week, we’ve seen delegates still cautious about demand outstripping supply. The requirement for improved efficiency and continued investment remains. The challenges are not new, the complexity is ever increasing and more wide ranging, but industry is focused on a renewed realism.’

Partnerships are based on an alignment of objectives, communications based on trust, and mutual benefit. And this does not apply exclusively to industry alliances. It is just as important to be working alongside universities and institutes, such as the Energy Institute, to build the capacity and people skills to respond to these energy challenges.

Ends --