Newfoundland and Labrador making an impact at Offshore Europe

Offshore Europe is proving to be a productive venue for promoting Newfoundland and Labrador�s offshore petroleum industry, as well as the provinces�s industrial and business expertise that supports the industry.

George Sweeney, parliamentary secretary to the minister of Industry, Trade and Rural Development, says he is impressed by the strong interest being shown in the province�s petroleum industry.

"We are receiving enquiries from companies and organizations from all over the world. They want to know everything from the status of oil development projects, to opportunities for partnerships, and the capabilities of our local companies. Many are impressed with the ice and wave engineering capabilities at our world class research facilities at the Institute for Marine Dynamics and Memorial University. And on the natural gas development front, we�ve had serious expressions of interest in discussing with us alternatives for transporting gas to market," he said.

Mr. Sweeney said that equally important is the opportunity Offshore Europe provides Newfoundland and Labrador delegates to keep abreast of new developments in the oil and gas industry, particularly in technological advances being made worldwide.

Rob Strong, president of ConPro Services, agreed. "I�ve been coming to these shows for 18 years and the innovative changes in technology never cease to amaze me. New technology used in the North Sea has resulted in phenomenal enhancement of oil recovery. Recovery is now 80 per cent. A few years ago it was only 50 per cent. We look forward to adopting this technology off Newfoundland," he said.

Lee Shinkle, executive vice-president of AMI Offshore, said Offshore Europe is not only a great event and networking venue, but "an opportunity to strengthen existing partnering relationships as well as review first hand changes occurring in the marketplace."

Also a veteran attendee, he said the market here has changed considerably over the years as the North Sea moves to the middle of its commercial life cycle. "There are 43 companies in this region in the process of decommissioning various oil and gas fields." He thinks this bodes well for the Newfoundland and Labrador industry, which is at the beginning of its life cycle.

For Tony Goobie, sales manager of EMCO Offshore, this exhibition represents an opportunity to see how business is done in the North Sea and learn about new opportunities for technology transfer. "This also helps give Newfoundland and Labrador a higher profile in the global marketplace."

Representatives of the City of St. John�s and the Town of Paradise agree. With their booth strategically located at the Newfoundland and Labrador pavilion, Elizabeth Lawrence and Gail Tucker of the City of St. John�s have been bombarded by requests for information.

"There�s a lot of interest in the White Rose project. Some companies are interested in partnerships with Newfoundland companies. And some who are interested in doing business in St. John�s are thinking about relocating to Newfoundland. They want to know about such things as schools and other types of community facilities, " said Ms. Lawrence.

Councillor Fred Thornhill and Paul Martin, chief administrative officer, with the Town of Paradise have been in ceaseless pursuit of opportunities for their community since the exhibition opened on Monday. In the first two days alone, they made direct contact with more than 50 companies to sell them on the merits of setting up business in Paradise.

"We�ve met with companies big and small. There are smaller companies interested in having a presence in Newfoundland. The more companies we meet, the more we can make them aware of how our industry is growing. Many are surprised to learn that our province may be producing about one-third of Canada�s light crude oil within the next five years," Mr. Martin said.

Mr. Thornhill said that because smaller companies are generally not as knowledgeable about our industry as the big companies, the information they provide about the industry "helps promote not only what Paradise has to offer, but it promotes the province as a whole."

"Where making excellent contacts. What�s really important to us is following up on those contacts when we go home," said Mr. Martin.

As Mr. Strong of ConPro Services put it, "The efforts we�re putting into this and the contacts we�re making could result in substantial deals for us down the road."

Offshore Europe is held every two years and alternates with Offshore Northern Seas in Norway. This year the event runs from September 4 to 7 under the theme "Sharp Shooting the Remaining Potential." Offshore Europe is considered one of the world's leading conferences for the global oil and gas industry. Topics during this year's event include: sustainability, technology, e-business and vision for 2020, to name a few.

2001 09 06                                         12:00 p.m.