Technology Focus The 2008 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) was a record-breaking event: Attendance (75,000+, the highest in 26 years), participating companies, and, as a friend noticed, iron on the ground (I do not believe there are statistics on this issue, but…). Technical-session attendees were treated with projects and technologies for regions that ranged from the Arctic offshore to the deep water of east Asia—a rather broad array of applications. The StatoilHydro subsea-to-shore gas development, Ormen Lange, received an OTC award for overcoming significant technical challenges to become Norway's deepest offshore development (800–1100 m). Although a subsea-compression system is yet to be developed to solve the challenges completely, Ormen Lange offers pioneering innovative solutions that will enlarge the industry's knowledge and improve confidence to face demanding tasks ahead that will test our ability to implement technological advances. As of the first week of June, we reached record oil prices and an overall cost escalation in the oil industry. The implications are diverse. However, I believe it underscores how the ever-growing costs of drilling/completion/intervention rigs will put a very high burden on the development of any field, mainly subsea, that is heavily dependent on mobile offshore drilling units. Overcoming such cost escalation is a major challenge. At the same time, it is also a major opportunity for improvement. To contemplate this quest for innovate solutions and the state-of-the-art technology in exploration and production, the highlighted papers vary from classical developments by Petrobras in its Roncador field offshore Brazil to Murphy Sabah's Kikeh field in Malaysia. In the case of Roncador, you will get to know an innovative pendulum method for installing manifolds in ultradeep water; in Kikeh, you will get an idea of the innovations necessary that were implemented to overcome the challenges of Malaysia's first deepwater development. In addition, a paper from BP outlines its successful track record of subsea developments, challenges facing the next generation, and the company's approach to technology to ensure success. It is definitely an impressive collection of papers for their scope, content, and effect on the industry. I feel especially pleased to invite you to read them. Subsea Technology additional reading available at the SPE eLibrary: www.spe.org SPE 108970 • "Ormen Lange Subsea-Condition and Leakage Monitoring" by Jens Abrahamsen, Bjørge A/S, et al. SPE 112723 • "Requirements for a Full-Drill-Through Subsea Wellhead and Tree System" by Sterling Lewis, SPE, ExxonMobil, et al. Additional reading available at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org OTC 19139 • "Managing Flow Assurance and Operation Risks in Subsea-Tieback System" by Shanhong Song, Chevron