BALANCING THE UPSTREAM & DOWNSTREAM FORMULA.
THIS SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT WAS PRODUCED BY FOCUS REPORTS WITH THE SUPPORT AND COLLABORATION OF THE MALAYSIAN GAS ASSOCIATION.
Publisher: Ines Nandin
Project Director: Alina Manac
Editorial Coordinator: Marie Kummerlowe
Project Assistant: Angelo Basurto
For exclusive interviews and more info, plus log onto energyboardroom.com or write to [email protected]
"The downstream part of the oil and gas industry is far more important than the upstream in terms of the future," believes Malaysia's former prime minister Tun Dr. Mahathir. Malaysia's bet on downstream has been bold: major investments are flowing to make Malaysia, especially Johor state, a downstream hub. Another sign of downstream's rising stock in the industry is the appointment of Datuk Wan Zulkiflee as the new CEO of Petronas. Having previously managed the company's downstream portfolio before taking over Petronas's reins this April, he is Petronas's first CEO with a solid downstream pedigree.
In parallel, Malaysia's upstream industry is evolving and reshaping, finding the right balance between the historical focus of the sector and the long-term vision for the development of a sustainable method of exploration and production: a way for Malaysia to remain competitive across the value chain. Today, there is a new focus on enhanced oil recovery (EOR), projects to maximize the potential of existing discoveries, and a vibrant service industry has flourished alongside Petronas, making the upstream business in Malaysia today less about one giant operator and much more about an ecosystem that can work together to exploit the country's oil and gas resources and even export its expertise to other markets around the world.
Oil and gas is the lifeblood of Malaysia's economy, accounting for approximately 30 percent of government revenues. Even with a lower oil price, the Malaysian oil and gas industry remains an effervescent ecosystem open to new horizons across the value chain. Petronas still leads the development of the oil and gas sector: if oil is Malaysia's blood, then the nation's internationalized NOC Petronas acts much as the heart would. It is the start and end point for much industry activity, propelling the Malaysian sector domestically and even internationally. The company has successfully operated internationally since the 1990s, spearheading recent industry megaprojects in such areas as FLNG, and now the ambition is for "Petronas to behave as a full-fledged IOC," explains Arif Mahmood, executive vice-president and CEO of Petronas's downstream business. "The group has thus implemented many initiatives to instill full-fledged IOC discipline. In this sense, we now announce quarterly results, strategy and KPIs, even if these declarations are not required. We have brought in new talents to complement existing talent and welcomed new mindsets and new ways of doing things."
This overarching vision to mold Petronas in the image of an IOC was in large part due to Tan Sri Shamsul Abbas, Petronas' president and CEO from 2010 to March 2015. Tan Sri Shamsul also refocused the company towards local resource development, all the while demanding increased organizational competence and independence through such measures as capping the dividend paid by Petronas to the government at 30 percent and introducing competitive bidding rounds, in the face of pressure from local pressure groups.
Achieving this IOC ambition, however, will be challenging for newly appointed president and CEO Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin. In February, the company announced its first-ever quarterly loss and intends to cut investments by as much as USD 8.3 billion in the next two years. In November 2014, the company slashed capex spending by 15 percent and is considering cutting opex by 30 percent or more.
These challenges, though, have not altered Petronas and the Malaysian government's mission to shape Malaysia into the region's oil and gas hub. Reflecting the country's long-standing objective to reach high-income nation status by 2020, the current Prime Minister Najib Razak's Economic Transformation Program (ETP) includes 13 entry point projects for the energy sector touching upon EOR, marginal fields, building a regional storage and trading hub, taking local oil and gas services and equipment companies to the global stage, and attracting MNCs to set up operations in Malaysia and partner with local firms.
Malaysia's upstream attributes bode well for such an ambitious project. Malaysia is currently the region's only exporter of oil and gas - although net crude exports dropped significantly to a low of 7,360 b/d in 2013, largely as a result of investments in downstream activities, gas exports are steadily rising, standing at 1,072.68 bcf in 2012, according to the US EIA - and has already gained recognition as a local pioneer in EOR, deepwater, and marginal field development. Meanwhile, a plethora of multinational service companies have been moving regional headquarters to Kuala Lumpur thanks to strong government and tax incentives. The new principle hub incentive, for example, offers eligible MNCs a 3-tiered corporate taxation rate, alongside an average corporate tax rate of 25 percent as of 2013. Companies ranging from Technip to Aker Solutions, Baker Hughes, and Schlumberger have all established new regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Concurrently, a serious number of local integrated service providers such as SapuraKencana, UMW, Dialog, Deleum, and Scomi are integrating at home and expanding beyond Malaysia's borders.
DOWNSTREAM'S DAY TO SHINE
Investment in downstream makes a lot of sense for Malaysia right now: in order to stretch the local petrodollar to its maximum level and add value to nation's energy resources, the country is increasingly developing its downstream capacities, particularly in Johor state, the country's southernmost region bordering Singapore. As, Yazid Ja'afar, CEO of the Johor Petroleum Development Corporation describes, "Johor and more specifically Pengerang are hidden treasures for the moment. Situated at the tip of the southeast of Johor, Pengerang is located along major international shipping lanes and is the only location in peninsular Malaysia that can accommodate very large crude carriers (VLCCs)."
However, Pengerang's inherent qualities are not the only reason to focus downstream efforts in Johor. Malaysia aspires to act in concert with Singapore - the downstream giant sleeping next door - to create the region's Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp area. The synergies between the two locations are clear to the Malaysian authorities: "Whereas Singapore is limited in terms of space, Johor is limited in terms of supporting services," explains Ja'afar. "Singapore is the world's largest bunkering fuel destination and boasts a ready ecosystem with mature finance, insurance, and arbitration capacities, whereas the Greater Johor region is starting to build a service industry from scratch with strong government backing. Singapore focuses on the higher end of the petrochemicals value chain, which Johor complements by bringing the middle-end offering."
The Johor development includes two major projects: the Pengerang Vopak-Dialog Independent Terminal and the Petronas Pengerang Integrated Complex (see text box). The Pengerang Independent Terminal was launched in April 2014, with a final completion date projected in 2017. The project will necessitate USD 1.5 billion in investment, and the final facilities will include a five million cubic meter storage capacity and sheltered deepwater harbor of 24m that can receive VLCCs.
"The Pengerang Independent Terminal is the first fully independent oil terminal ever built in Malaysia," highlights Law Say Huat, managing director of Vopak Malaysia. "This is a big difference because Vopak does not own any of the oil; we only store it on behalf of our customers." He continues, "Vopak is extending this unique business model to Malaysia through several phases - phase A and phase B are focused on storage for regular products, and phase C is the first onshore crude storage terminal," a complementarity to the offering in Singapore.
Local service providers are seizing the opportunities presented by these massive downstream undertakings. Innovative Fluid Process, a local Malaysian service provider that covers downstream engineering, has targeted both the Petronas PIC and the Vopak-Dialog Terminal Project. Indeed, IFP has already completed the "process engineering that covers complete spectrum of process engineering design works for the Pengerang Deepwater Terminal," according to CEO Ragunath Bharath.
AHEAD OF THE UPSTREAM GAME
For operators and service providers alike, upstream still looks promising in Malaysia - the focus on downstream has not dampened spirits around the potential for upstream investments in the country. "Malaysia is one of the most dynamic countries in terms of the diversity of production sharing contracts (PSC) signed, with more than 100 PSCs currently in place," says Petronas's Arif Mahmood. "In 2011, we also introduced risk service contracts (RSC) for marginal field developments." These RSCs encourage production on smaller blocks and the entry of new participants to the market, while the variety of PSCs encourage continued operations in Malaysia's mature fields. As a complement to these two contract options, Petronas also created Vestigo, a subsidiary dedicated to marginal fields in July 2013.
Among the most dynamic new entrants to the local E&P sector have been the special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) - Hibiscus, Cliq, Sona, and Reach Energy. Since 2011, when Hibiscus listed on the Bursa Malaysia and became Malaysia's first non-government owned E&P company, investors have taken notice.
Dato' Sri Hadian bin Hashim, CEO of Sona, explains that a SPAC is "essentially a shell company with no operations" and that "Malaysian SPACs are given three years to secure a qualifying acquisition (QA), or 90 percent of the IPO proceeds must be returned to investors." Upon listing in July 2013, SONA raised approximately USD 170 million and is now looking for the ideal field as a QA. The criteria selected to find the ideal this QA are "smaller fields in shallow waters with depths of not more than 120m. These assets are abundant in oil-producing regions such as the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Fields with reserves of between 5 million and 30 million barrels, and production of 2,000-5,000 b/d are also part of the criteria."
Dato' Hadian asserts that companies like Sona hold the key to the region's upstream future. "As oil majors continue to sell their stakes in smaller, less lucrative fields, small and independent E&Ps such as Sona Petroleum will play an increasingly important role," he predicts. To best capitalize on these opportunities, "it is imperative for small and independent E&Ps to work on operational improvements. That's how we bring value - by increasing efficiency, conducting additional studies and driving costs down."
The launching of the country's first fully-fledged EOR project last September stands as another landmark for Malaysia's E&P sector. ExxonMobil and Petronas Carigali launched production at the Tapis field in offshore peninsular Malaysia following a USD 2.5 billion investment. See Kok Yew, Chairman ExxonMobil Malaysia, notes that "the Tapis EOR project is one of the largest offshore EOR projects in Southeast Asia and the first full-field EOR project in Malaysia." Moreover, ExxonMobil sourced the entire project locally with such partners as MHB. MHB started as Malaysia's first shipyard in 1973 and following diversification efforts now qualifies as Malaysia's and Southeast Asia's largest offshore construction, conversion, and marine repair facility. The 18,000 ton Tapis-R deck completed by MHB acts as the central processing facility for the Tapis EOR project.
MHB also boasts many other firsts for the region. MHB constructed the Kikeh floating production, storage, and offloading unit (FPSO) for SBM Offshore in 2007. As Ivan Remplumaz, managing director of SBM Offshore Malaysia, explains, "Kikeh is the first deepwater project in Malaysia, and the associated FPSO Kikeh was Malaysia's largest FPSO, and a major undertaking when completed in 2007."
Furthermore, MHB built the Kikeh Truss spar, the first such platform to be installed outside of the Gulf of Mexico, and the company's 40,000 ton Gumusut-Kakap semi-floating production system stands as one of the largest such facilities in the world to have been fully built and integrated on land.
INNOVATING TOWARDS THE NORTH SEA
In October 2014, Helge Lund stepped down as the CEO of Statoil, and Petronas underwent a change in CEOs in April. The similarities between Norway and Malaysia do not end there - large-scale operations began in the North Sea and the Malaysian continental basins at approximately the same time, while Petronas and Statoil were both founded in 1974. However, North Sea exploration advanced in deeper waters and harsher conditions when shallow water plays were still aplenty in Malaysia. More recently, though, Malaysia has been moving towards the North Sea experience to tackle more technically challenging opportunities. "It is imperative for Malaysia and Petronas to increase production rates and improve recovery factors at mature oil fields. The current recovery rate, between 30 and 35 percent, is rather low," highlights Tuan Hai Ewe, director of Innovation Norway and country manager Instok, the Norwegian oil and gas association. Indeed, Statoil's average recovery rate on its Norwegian fields stood at 50 percent in 2012, with an ambition to increase this to 60 percent. "Imagine if you increase the recovery rate by one percent; that would translate into billions in revenue. And that is what we, as Instok, try to achieve; bringing technology from Norway that would increase recovery in Malaysia," adds Ewe.
One Norwegian technology poised to push the boundaries for E&P in Malaysia is the Seabox AS subsea water intake and injection system (SWIT), marketed locally by Integrated Petroleum Services (IPS), a Malaysian service provider to the upstream industry. As Abang Abdul Aziz Abang Mohammed, CEO of IPS, explains, "there are potential applications of the SWIT system in Malaysia for the marginal oilfields and brown fields where operators hope to increase the recovery factor." This "pioneering new technology involves a subsea water intake and injection system. This skid mounted unit on the seabed treats the water at the seabed, meaning there is no need to build a new topside structure or strengthen existing topsides." Furthermore, "Seabox AS's first pilot test was completed in the North Sea two years ago, with a recorded uptime of 98 percent compared to downtimes of as high as 50-70 percent for certain fields in offshore Sabah and Sarawak for a water injection systems."
In the past, this transfer of technologies constituted a one-way street, with Malaysia always on the receiving end, but the increase in value-added technologies in Malaysia is fast changing this dynamic. Last year, an oil and gas trade mission to Norway secured more than USD 150 million in contracts for Malaysian companies. At the same time, local players are also beginning to acquire North Sea companies and bring synergies between local and international expertise. Serba Dinamik, a Malaysian integrated service provider for engineering solutions is now "acquiring a UK-based company that has the technology to integrate different engineering components, create new designs, and subsequently patent and sell these designs to prospective clients globally," says CEO Abdullah Karim. The acquisition will strengthen the company's local service offering, as "Serba Dinamik plans to utilize the intellectual property of the acquired company in Malaysia. To this extent, we have set up a factory in Klang to complete assembling in Malaysia to reduce costs and create a more attractive offering to our global clients," adds Karim. Serba Dinamik's North Sea play is simply one illustration of how Malaysian companies are building their innovation muscle to better compete on the global stage.
Integrated services provider Deleum provides another example of Malaysian innovation being exported further afield. "As to date, the number of production and specialty chemical solutions developed in-house has amounted close to ten solutions. We are proud to say that all these products are being developed, tested, and proven in Malaysia," asserts Nan Yusri Nan bin Rahimy, managing director of Deleum.
AN INTERNATIONALIZING GAME
Petronas's diverse international operations have given Malaysian service companies international exposure since the 1990s. Today, though, Malaysian service companies are going abroad not simply to support Petronas but rather to build their own international portfolio. As Ramlan Malek, president of the Malaysian Oil & Gas Services Council, explains, "in recent years, many Malaysian service companies have developed themselves into credible and capable players in the market. They can now offer their services in the local market and overseas as well. These companies are competitive; they have the capabilities, the track record, and the capacity to offer their services further afield."
Asian Geos offers a prime example. Since its creation in 2003 as an offshore geotechnical investigation company, it has now expanded its service offering to hydrographic and geophysical survey services, "this has allowed us to establish an excellent track record as a leading provider of offshore geotechnical and geophysical site survey services throughout Southeast Asia over the last decade," according to Dato' Mohd Helmi Zulkawi, CEO of Asian Geos. Building upon on its Southeast Asia expertise, the company "has recently set up Asian Geos Survey Middle East LLC in Abu Dhabi to commence a business venture in the Arab Gulf market, particularly in the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia." The company's international strength is further bolstered by its partnership with the UK's Gardline. "This partnership enables us to realize our long-term plans of further enhancing our service offering around the world," adds Dato' Helmi.
In addition to acquiring companies abroad, Serba Dinamik has also widened its geographic reach following a first successful project in Qatar in the early 2000s. The company is "now active in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, UAE, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, and even Turkmenistan," states CEO Abdullah Karim. "Although our current business split is 40 percent international projects and 60 percent domestic projects, in the next two years the split will become 50/50, and, within five years, the split will likely be 60 percent international work and 40 percent domestic work," claims Karim.
Local subsurface consultant Energy Quest is also spreading its wings beyond Malaysia. As COO Dimyati Mohamed explains, "our current internationalization strategy is to duplicate our current proven business model as an upstream service provider. We are active in Southeast Asia and looking into hot spots such as Myanmar, where there is much excitement both in onshore and offshore, as well as opportunities in Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Overall, we are prepared to follow our clients around the world."
One final example of how Malaysian service providers are making their presence felt beyond Malaysia's borders is through exports of locally produced equipment. As Zamsari Kamid, managing director of Sedia Teguh, a Malaysian instrumentation and automation provider, details, "Our aspiration moving forward is to develop local manufacturing programs for the international market. We are developing integration works locally, though these projects are not only destined for Malaysia; we are looking abroad to countries like Vietnam, Turkmenistan, and Sudan as well."
KEEPING UP WITH LNG
"Malaysia is the second largest exporter of LNG in the world and is well placed in Southeast Asia to service the region," asserts Ir Pramod Kumar Karunakaran, president of the Malaysian Gas Association. In 2014, Malaysia exported 25 mmt of LNG, according to Wood Mackenzie, and the research consultancy claimed last year that Malaysia has the potential to surpass Qatar to lead the world in flexible LNG exports by 2020 with new capacity from Eastern Malaysia, the possible Pacific NorthWest LNG Project in Canada, and Petronas' participation in the Gladstone LNG project in Australia.
Nonetheless, Malaysia's regional positioning in terms of LNG is challenged by Singapore. Since 2013, Singapore hosts the first open-access, multi-user LNG terminal in Asia, and the terminal is expanding its regasification facilities and overall capacity to 9 mmtpa.
Malaysia does host an LNG liquefaction terminal at Bintulu and commissioned its first LNG regasification terminal (RGT) in May 2013. However, "in order for Malaysia to become the number one LNG hub in the world, Malaysia needs to enhance the current infrastructure, implement the required policies, and develop and implement the necessary financial systems and infrastructure to enable flexibility in moving volumes between the nations in the region," adds Karunakaran.
A new LNG regasification terminal is included in the PIC project, and Vopak does "have the vision to build an independent LNG terminal in Malaysia, but, at this stage, we are only in the planning phase," explains Law Say Huat, managing director of Vopak Malaysia.
Once again the Malaysian authorities believe that collaboration with Singapore is the way forward. "The size of LNG parcels can only increase, which will benefit Johor given our lack of size constraints. Singapore, meanwhile, has the advantage of hosting Platts and its indicator of pricing for fuel. In this sense, Singapore and Malaysia would be well poised to host another Henry Hub-type benchmark for LNG. After all, more users would probably prefer to go into such a spot pricing market rather than the current long-term contract system," argues Ja'afar.
THE DOWNSTREAM BEHEMOTH: THE PENGERANG INTEGRATED COMPLEX PROJECT (PIC)
Facts & Figures
What is PIC?: The first refinery and petrochemical integrated development of its kind in the world
Total investment: USD 26 billion
Total landmass involved: 20,000 acres
Project final investment decision: April 2014
Project commissioning target: 2019
Petronas's Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC), commonly referred to as RAPID, is the cornerstone project for the development of Southern Malaysia into the region's premier downstream hub. More than USD 26 billion will be invested in Malaysia's largest-ever downstream development, and, to secure a portion of the necessary funds, Petronas has charted the possibility of raising up to USD 17 billion from both conventional and Islamic bonds this year. With commissioning slated for 2019, all eyes are on Petronas regarding a timely delivery of this megaproject.
PIC is not only a financial but also a technical challenge, as it will be the first refinery and petrochemical integrated development of its kind in the world. "Petronas has decided to take on this challenge of constructing this one-of-a-kind integrated complex," asserts senior vice president corporate strategy and risk Arif Mahmood, as well as the Pengerang co-generation plant (PCP), Pengerang LNG regasification terminal, and various associated facilities.
Following a final investment decision in April 2014, six EPCC contracts for the refinery and stream cracker, as well as the PMC, were awarded in August 2014 to consortia of large multinationals. Indeed, "not many Malaysian companies have the technical ability and experience to comply with the strict requirements set by Petronas, as well as cope with the initial outlay and commercial risks associated with such a large undertaking," notes Rashid Sidek, president of the Malaysian Oil & Gas Engineering Council.
However, local content is strongly encouraged and all contract winners have partnered with at least one local company in their consortium. KK Lim, senior vice president Asia Pacific at Technip believes that his company was tapped for one of the EPCC contracts, as "Technip not only has the proper setup and size to assist Petronas while working on a megaproject such as RAPID, but more importantly a keen understanding of local specificities, being firmly established in Malaysia."
Local players are also positioning themselves to seize opportunities later in the project timetable. Karim Abdullah affirms that Serba Dinamik is "keen to complete procurement, construction and commissioning (PCC) work and have put in offers to all the major EPCCs awarded contracts last August." To support this ambition the company has "established a fabrication facility in Pasir Gudang and is now looking at making further investments in this facility to better support the EPCC contractors working in Johor." PIC also presents prospects for continued local support operations in the future and, upon completion, Serba Dinamik "will target maintenance work for the project," concludes Karim.
Another local approach to benefit from the PIC is that taken by Innovative Fluid Process (IFP). CEO Ragunath Bharath explains that "multinationals that have won contracts for RAPID might not be familiar with Malaysian regulations, and we can assist them here." IFP thus has a twofold strategy to secure future work "through invitation to bid documents and approaching clients through marketing efforts."
PETRONAS' FLOATING FUTURE
Petronas hopes to boast the world's first operational floating liquefied natural gas facility (FLNG) in Q4 2015. "The Petronas Floating Liquefied Natural Gas 1 (PFLNG1) project is an innovative and bold solution to unlock and monetize Malaysia's marginal and stranded gas fields. FLNG is expected to change the landscape of the LNG business where the liquefaction, production and offloading of LNG, previously only possible at onshore plants, will be carried out hundreds of kilometers away from land and closer to offshore gas resources," details Ir Pramod Kumar Karunakaran, president of the Malaysian Gas Association. Furthermore, "as Petronas owns the resources in Malaysia, we know where the stranded gas lies and can employ these facilities to their upmost efficiency to unlock what would have been unfeasible production on a conventional form," explains Petronas's Arif Mahmood of this enterprise that will boost production in Malaysia and ensure energy security for the nation.
The PFLNG1, with an LNG capacity of 1.2 million tons, will serve the Kanowit field in offshore Sarawak and is being constructed by a Technip-Daewoo joint venture. Meanwhile, the 1.5 million-ton PFLNG2 will be the world's third FLNG facility and the first slated for production in deeper waters (over 1,000m) at the Rotan gas field in offshore Sabah. This EPCIC work for this facility is being undertaken by a joint venture between JGC Corporation and Samsung Heavy Industries. Responsible for the engineering and procurement of the LNG facilities, "JGC's work for the FLNG2 is the first lump sum LNG project is the world," says Akio Miyama, general manager of JGC Malaysia. Furthermore, "JGC is proud to complete EPCIC work for the first floating LNG plant to be executed by a Japanese company."
ECHOES ON ENHANCING OIL RECOVERY
In a mature region like the Malaysian continental shelf, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is a promising avenue to increase production rates: investment in extending the producing life of existing discoveries also makes a lot of sense as the oil price drops. Several industry stakeholders offer their perspectives for EOR in Malaysia.
Arif Mahmood, executive vice-president and CEO downstream, Petronas: "EOR is another horizon for Petronas, and thus far our collaboration with ExxonMobil for the Tapis project, brought onstream in March 2013 after a USD 2.5 billion investment, has been very successful. This project represents one of the biggest ever EOR projects and investments in Southeast Asia. In addition, we have worked with Shell to develop six small oilfields in the Baram Delta and three more oilfields in North Sabah for EOR opportunities. As offshore projects, these EOR efforts constitute one of the largest R&D efforts for enhanced recovery yet undertaken, and have given Petronas extensive experience and know-how concerning the technologies needed to boost production in mature fields. Petronas aims to deploy these learnings and technology as growth opportunities."
See Kok Yew, chairman, ExxonMobil Malaysia: "The Tapis EOR project uses the immiscible water-alternating-gas process to recover additional oil reserves from the Tapis field, while our advanced reservoir modeling and simulations helped define the project, and pressure and temperature gauges installed in the wells will provide real-time monitoring of field performance. EOR projects are inherently challenging and each project must be assessed according to its own economic merit based on a range of oil prices. With this in mind, Guntong is our next potential EOR project and we have started the early phase FEED work for a part of the field. Once the first step is complete, we will look at the results and decide whether we want to progress to full field."
Maen Razouqi, vice president and general manager, Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Schlumberger: "Today our complete EOR offering helps clients not only understand the reservoir but also shorten the EOR timeline. For Schlumberger, if there were one place we would like to be bringing our EOR services and learning how to further develop these capacities, it would be Malaysia. Malaysia is undoubtedly an offshore hub for EOR activity and substantial investment, reaching billions of dollars, has already been devoted to EOR in Malaysia. Of course, all the players also need to collaborate and combine expertise to make sure these projects become economical; as with all projects, there will always be a challenge to justify the economics."
BRINGING QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS TO THE WELLSITE
New geological tools are also necessary to move the industry forward. Ana-min, an Australian mineralogical services company, has created Ana-Min as a remedy to the clear market gap in terms of quantitative mineralogical services. GeoMin is their response. "Deployed at the wellsite, GeoMin obtains definitive, quantitative, mineralogical information, and this information is incredibly valuable to an operator," explains CEO Mark Lawrence. Ana-min's savings in terms of both analysis time and laboratory costs mean that it fosters more effective reservoir optimization and stratigraphic interpretation, with such benefits also flowing through to the strategic corporate decision making process. Indeed, "Ana-min's technologies are solving a big issue for the industry, at a time where operational budgets are constrained and increased pressures on decision making are present. Companies recognize our GeoMin technology as a way to save money and operate with more certainty," asserts operations director Scott Wooldridge. Overall, the company's ambitions are global, and "Ana-min has already become established in the Asia Pacific region with representation in Europe, the Americas and Africa. We see ourselves developing an international portfolio within the next 12 months with further plans to enter the Middle East market going forward," details technical director John Woods.
