Thierry pilenko

Thierry Pilenko is Chairman and CEO of Technip, a world leader in engineering, technologies and projects in the oil, natural gas and petrochemicals fields. Technip designs and manufactures flexible flowlines and platforms, and has a dedicated fleet of specialized vessels for subsea construction and pipeline installation.

Alternatives: What are the main technical limitations to exploiting unconventional deposits?

Thierry Pilenko:
We have to find solutions for the extreme conditions present in ultra-deep waters, such as temperature and pressure. But the magnitude of the projects on an economic, environmental and human scale also raises crucial concerns. How does one mine the oil sands of Canada while limiting CO2 emissions? How does one sustain local economic development in producer countries? How does one adapt solutions proven in the Gulf of Mexico to environments as demanding as those of the Arctic Circle? During the design phase, how does one factor in pressures on the equipment market, or the availability of qualified personnel for onshore facility construction in some regions of the world?

On the technical level, is there anything we don’t know how to do yet?

T. Pilenko: We know how to drill 3,000 meters below sea level, but we still don’t know how to pump the oil. Another example: we’re well versed in synfuel production processes – GTL (gas to liquid), CTL (coal to liquid), etc. – but we have yet to achieve fully satisfactory energy yields. I am convinced that research and development will take us beyond our present limitations. For example, we’ve developed solutions that will make it possible to liquefy natural gas at sea, turning resources that weren’t exploitable before to good use.

How many more years will technical advances continue to push back Peak Oil?

T. Pilenko: Innovation has enabled us to push back the decline in the North Sea by ten years or so. And we shouldn’t forget that only 30 to 40% of all oil deposits are actually exploited. Exploitable reserves would practically double at a recovery rate of 60%. Upstream, the advances in seismic research are helping us to discover deposits that weren’t visible before, as happened in Brazil recently. The issues are inescapable over the relatively long term for all non-renew able natural resources, which by definition are finite. And in them converge scientific, technical, societal, economic and geopolitical considerations.