Shell upstream international director Andy Brown speaking at the opening ceremony of IPTC. PICTURE: Nasar TK

By Peter Alagos
Business Reporter

Booths and pavilions participating in the 9th International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) have showcased technologies that revolve around sustainable development and innovation.
At the opening ceremony, Shell upstream international director Andy Brown, who is also the IPTC’s Executive Committee co-chairman, emphasised that stakeholders and major players in the energy industry have the capability to address issues on climate change and environmental protection.
“We have the capability to innovate and deliver…let’s use our challenges as a catalyst to develop sustainable solutions to be cost-competitive and to reduce our environmental impact,” Brown said.
Shell’s booth at the IPTC provided visitors a sample of the company’s high-tech facilities such as the use of robots for complex operations; ‘WellVantage,’ which pushes the boundaries of drilling technologies; and the 1 gigawatt solar thermal project to generate steam for oil production, among others.
“But these are extraordinary times requiring extraordinary challenges… low oil prices have required us to reinvent how we conduct our industry in order to stay competitive. Therefore, ‘Technology and Partnership for Sustainable Energy Future’ is an apt theme for this conference,” Brown explained.
He said: “Concurrent with this conference is COP21. It is hard not to reflect the challenges our industry and the world faces… demand will double and yet CO2 emissions need to half.”
“We must embrace innovation not only to drive down costs but to yield sustainable CO2 solutions,” Brown added.
HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada said the ninth IPTC’s theme conforms to the Qatar National Vision 2030, which clearly advocates the protection of the environment through sustainable development of its natural resources.
“The role of technology and its stakeholders for the sustainable energy future is a very important issue that the world is facing amid new energy market dynamics,” the minister said.
He added: “The global energy market is changing with potentially far-reaching consequences. It has led to an upsurge in interests to explore non-conventional and renewable sources of energy.”