A strategic approach to downstream megaprojects
With accelerated changes in engine technologies and public carbon policies on the consumer side, paralleled with the shifts in the crude slate on the producer side, the downstream landscape is currently in transition.
Improving the efficiency of existing assets continues to be a major focus area, while downstream players also need to grow new competencies in product and market development to find their new customers and sustain long-term profitability.
At the 23rd World Petroleum Congress, taking place in Houston from 5-9 December 2021, the current and future shape of the downstream industry will be at the heart of both the strategic and technical programs. The strategic program will be driven by government ministers, CEOs and other high-level stakeholders from around the world. Comprised of plenary sessions, panels and roundtables, high level discussions will be organized around five tracks: Industry Excellence in Exploration and Production, Industry Excellence in Downstream, Industry Excellence in Industry Innovations, Energy Realities in a Sustainable Future, and People, Society and Governance.
Downstream mega projects are typically defined as large scale and technologically complex, characterized by very large up-front investment with a long pay-back time. There is often a large number of stakeholders with a direct or indirect interest in the delivery and outcomes of a mega project, and a significant number of interfaces between those stakeholders.
Such projects create and sustain employment, improve productivity and competitiveness and benefit consumers through higher-quality services. However, they are also challenging for all the reasons above.
The opening day of Congress sessions will see a CEO Panel on a Strategic Approach to Downstream Mega Projects, in which Jon Gibbs, SVP, ExxonMobil Global Projects Company and Vartika Shukla, Chairperson and Managing Director of Engineers India will outline a multi-stakeholder strategic approach to the design, planning, and execution of integrated downstream mega projects, with an emphasis on international cooperation and innovation.
The technical program of the Congress will be comprised of five different blocks including Innovation in Upstream, Innovation in Downstream, Innovation in Natural Gas, Future Energy Landscape, and Managing Energy Solutions. Block 2, focusing on Innovation in Downstream, will address innovative technologies, improved resilience and the growing role of mid-stream in today’s refining envelope, as well as opportunities in shifting molecules to explore emerging operational and business models down the chemicals value chain.
Hydrocarbon processing and petrochemical production are capital intensive industries, where sustained success is driven by mega projects. Project executives, often in different geographies, need to cooperate to deliver results in a world of rapidly evolving manufacturing technologies and a changing contractor market.
In the technical Round Table on delivering large scale downstream projects, panelists Juan Carlos Gay, Partner, Global Oil and Gas & Mining Practice at Bain & Company and Toby Hunt, Partner and Head of Europe, HKA International, will focus on how innovative project formats, risk management tools, and emerging management and leadership practices will shape timely, in-scope, on-budget project completions.
Beyond plenary sessions, CEO panels, strategic sessions, roundtables and technical forums, delegates will have the opportunity to attend Industry Insight luncheons and numerous networking events that build new professional relationships and strengthen existing ones. Additionally, delegates can explore the Congress exhibition where companies will showcase their organizations and solutions, while special features such as the Innovation Zone by ConocoPhillips, will give innovators the opportunity to present their latest solutions.
To find out more, and to register, please visit: https://www.23wpchouston.com/
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