Offshore oil and gas: global resource knowledge and technological change

Abstract

It is argued that the contribution of technological change to the offshore oil and gas industry's progress is under-researched. As a prelude this theme, the changing geography of known offshore oil and gas resources is reviewed. Significant, and largely technologically dependent, developments are identified in terms of the industry's global spread, its extension into deep and ultradeep waters and its ability to enhance output from well-established oil and gas provinces. Three sections (on the evolution of exploration and production rigs, drilling techniques and the application of IT to improve resource knowledge and access) then examine the relationships between technological change and the offshore industry's progress. It is concluded that new technologies improve knowledge of, and access to, resources via four distinctive routes, but that the full impact of R & D is frequently related to the inter-dependence of technologies. Opportunities for further research are identified.