PGK Christmas Lecture

Bert Manders (OnOffDataNL) will talk about:

“The Rise and Fall of Dutch Offshore Gas”

Abstract
This title may be a bit too pessimistic, but reality is that this year’s offshore output was only 8 bcm, compared to a peak of 28 bcm around 2000. Despite this year’s extremely high gas prices and record revenues, few E&P companies embarked on new gas development projects.
How did we get here after the booming of rig-activities, new pipelines, and platforms in the 80s and the 90s? Did the geologists find the fields too easily and did the engineers bring these assets on stream too fast? Was it a poor gas price or the declining reserves that pushed the output downhill in the last 20 years?
In addition to these questions, the changing relation between the industry and the government and EBN will be reviewed. In the last fifty years, about 250 operators and non-operators from all over the world held permits. Many were successful, others tried their luck in vain and left eventually.
While gas output continues declining, three giant projects lay ahead: storing CO2, plugging 600 old wells, and removing 170 facilities.
Compressing 50 years history in 50 minutes is a challenge, but we should continue the discussion when walking from KIVI to Millers. The rest will be digested during our traditional Xmas dinner.

About the presenter
Bert Manders graduated in geochemistry and sedimentology at Utrecht University in 1976. He worked as a mineralogist and open pit geologist in the Zambian copper mines and in reservoir geology in Calgary, Canada. In 1990 Bert returned to the Netherlands, where he carried out some oil & gas projects, but mainly News & Data Services. Through several take-overs this continued under Geo-Logic, Fugro, CGG and Oasis. For about 30 years, Manders provided the Dutch E&P community with monthly newsletters, GIS data and gas & oil permit histories. After retiring in March 2022, Oasis kindly allowed him setting up his own company (OnOffDataNL) to resume GIS Services to former clients.

Venue:
KIVI, Prinsessegracht 23, Den Haag