As demand for oil and gas rises, largely driven by economic growth in the developed world and the rapid maturing of emerging markets, so the challenges facing the upstream industry become more complex.
Right time, right place
Geographical proximity means that the FSU states are increasingly meeting the rising demands of European consumers. Today, the FSU region holds 40% of the world’s proven reserves of crude oil outside of OPEC.
In our other major focus area, Africa, where almost 12% of the world’s oil is produced, vast tracts of acreage remain under or unexplored – both onshore and offshore. Oil and gas activity is accelerating across the region.
The International Energy Agency estimates that global primary energy demand will rise by 40% between 2007 and 2030, with fossil fuels accounting for some 77% of this increase.
The upstream businesses that succeed in this new era will be those with the flexibility, scope and expertise to think out-of-the-box, identify opportunities and apply the most innovative development and marketing solutions with the greatest commercial efficiency and focus.
Vitol – through Arawak Energy and Vitol E&P – has the right people on the ground, in the right place, at the right time. We are ideally positioned and resourced to make the most of these new opportunities with original thinking and decisive action.
Please see our case study ‘Innovative Thinking, Decisive Action’, which illustrates how the team worked to achieve swift success in the Philippines.
Right people
Our upstream teams succeed because we employ dynamic people with the ability to spot opportunities and bring innovation to bear in solving tough problems.
Arawak Energy’s policy is to employ expatriate staff in key positions in the start-up phase. This facilitates technology transfer and promotes a deeper understanding of our management techniques, including meritocratic structuring, direct reward for achievement, openness and discipline. Our medium to long-term strategy is to promote high-calibre local staff to management and senior positions. This strategy can be seen to good effect in Russia, where Arawak Energy’s Russian subsidiary is today managed and operated by a 100% national workforce.
Our people are committed to thorough research and preparation. We invest in technical groundwork, applying proven methodologies where appropriate and sophisticated, cutting-edge technologies as circumstances demand. Clearly the acquisition of seismic data is the starting point and we have designed and executed numerous 2D and 3D surveys both on and offshore. Other methods of analysis include multi-azimuth surveying techniques, four-component ocean-bottom cable technology, magnetic and gravity surveys and geochemical analysis.
These tools enable our teams to map subsurface formations and mitigate as much as possible the risk associated with high-cost drilling operations. This commitment to groundwork, rigorous planning and precise execution is reflected in a healthy drilling record. From 2005 to the end of 2011, the Vitol Group drilled 242 exploration, appraisal and development wells with an 84% success rate. For exploration and appraisal alone, we have achieved success at 69 out of 106 wells, or a rate of 65%.
The careful and diligent application of know-how and experience by our technical teams gives us the ability and confidence to fast track projects that might otherwise take many years to come to fruition. When the preparation has been done and a decision reached, our engineering and operations teams apply their knowledge with utmost accuracy.
Please see our case study, which illustrates how the team worked to achieve swift success in the Philippines.
Our approach to development is inherently flexible, enabling us where and when applicable to adopt a phased strategy, allocating resources for early production in order to minimise risk and generate cash flow for the next phase.
Health, Safety & Environment
Our motivation to always look for better, more efficient ways of doing things extends to our commitment to Health, Safety and the Environment (HSE).
Vitol believes that health, safety and the protection of the environment are integral to the Group’s performance and the responsibility of management at all levels. All employees are expected to operate with due regard to issues of health and safety and the impact of our activities on the environment. We are committed to comply fully with the relevant and applicable legislation and regulations in the areas in which we pursue our business, and we constantly review our activities to ensure that any risks pertaining to HSE have been mitigated.
7 producing blocks
65% success for exploration and appraisal drilling