“Very costly mining conditions”

Patrick Jamet manages the Citeph, a programme that provides support to innovation under the helm of the GEP (the French Oil and Gas Suppliers Council) launched on 1 July 2007. This programme aims at accompanying projects at a global annual sum of around 10 million euros for an initial three-year period. It is open to public and/ or private research partners in France or overseas.

Commerce International: Why are deep (from 500 metres to 1,500 metres) and ultra-deep (over 1,500 metres) prospects so coveted by large petrol companies?
Patrick Jamet: “By scouting the seas with the help of designated boats equipped with seismic sensors, sea exploration studies offer productivity gains far superior to those obtained from land. As a result, the chances of finding petrol-producing fields are higher. However, the costs of construction and mining are a hundred times greater. This is why these domains are so sought after by large independent petrol producers.”

What will be the impact of the price of the barrel of petrol on programmed investments?
P. J.: “The drop in the price of the barrel has already been translated by the suspension of certain hydrocarbon field development programmes. For example petrol
in the Arctic zone, heavy oils in Venezuela or oil-bearing petrol in Canada. For example, the economic feasibility for mining oil-producing sand requires the price
to be at least 70 to 80 dollars per barrel (55 to 64 euros).”

What are the major fields currently producing oil and where do large independent companies position themselves?
P. J.: “The big Eldorados of tomorrow are notably located along the coast of Brazil, with sub-salt fields in the Campos Basin and the Santos Basin, in Angola and in the Gulf of Mexico. American firms such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron or Conoco-Phillips are very well placed. Total, on the other hand, benefits from a historically advantageous situation in Angola where it has very strong positions, such as the fields of Girassol, Rosa and Pazflor. Like its European counterparts such as the Dutch Shell, the British BP or the Italian Eni, it also benefits from a rather favourable reception in countries formerly under the influence of the Soviet bloc, such as Kazakhstan.”

What new technological challenges do very deep wells present?
P. J.: “The detection of very deep potential reservoirs is more difficult. In the future, it will be necessary to improve the resolution of seismic echoes and the reliability of images, for example, by working on emission frequencies, their energy and amplitude, and by adding other types of information such as electromagnetic geophysics.”

In this context, how are French oil and gas service companies placed?
P. J.: “As far as engineering and sub-sea construction are concerned, the French are keeping up their end, thanks to leaders such as Acergy, Entrepose, Saipem and Technip. The same goes for CGGVeritas in the field of exploration, which is world leader in the seismic domain. However, in the field of drilling, the French have been absent since the takeover of Forasol by the American Pride. Which just goes to show that French SMEs will need to create industrial partnerships in order to stay competitive in their markets.”