Energy industry gathered in Malaysia for the Offshore Technology Conference Asia

The regional oil and natural gas, power and energy sectors met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 31-April 2 for the sixth running of the Offshore Technology Conference Asia (OTC Asia). This regional OTC started in 2014 with modest origins, drawing about 10,000 attendees that first year. The event has grown considerably. For people who do not work in the offshore oil and gas industry, OTC is the premier gathering of experts and companies that are focused on offshore energy exploration and production. SME is one of the 12 scientific societies that sponsored the original OTC in 1969, which is held in Houston, TX every year. Recognizing the growth of the oil and gas energy sector in a few fast-growing regions, OTC also holds regional conferences in Brazil (focused on South America) and Malaysia (focused on Southeast Asia) every other year. The timing for OTC Asia 2026 was rather inauspicious as hostilities in the Middle East and Iran were at a fever pitch and the war between Ukraine and Russia continued to grind on without an end in sight. Hence, there were concerns that travel restrictions and logistical issues would dissuade exhibitors, delegates, students and speakers from attending this year’s event. Despite geopolitical headwinds, this year’s conference had very respectable outcomes. OTC Asia 2026 drew 25,833 attendees from 82 countries, including 1,670 students. There were 50 technical programs — each with up to five sessions — and 11 country highlight presentations in the “Around the World” series. The trade fair was expansive, with 205 exhibition booths, taking two large halls on the main floor of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (KLCC) and two additional conference halls on the upper levels of KLCC. With geopolitics casting a shadow over this year’s event, rather than a tone of gloom, there was a spirit of determination as many speakers reminded attendees that “energy diversity is energy security.” Given that 80 percent of the world’s energy is consumed in Asia, there seemed to be a renewed drive to improve the region’s electricity generation and transmission capabilities and an opportunity to make progress on a regional electricity network that could link Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The ASEAN Power Grid (APG) project has been on drawing boards for decades but always gets tabled when looked at strictly for its economic benefits. Concerns about regional energy security, given current circumstances, have the potential to change that conversation. Opening ceremony The opening ceremony was kicked off by OTC board chair and long-time SME member Dan McConnell. McConnell opened his remarks by thanking Petronas, the conference host, “for its continued partnership and support since 2014, in making OTC Asia a leading platform for Asia and the global energy community.” McConnell also acknowledged principal sponsors AIQ, CNOOC, ConocoPhillips, PTTEP, Shell and TotalEnergies “whose leadership and commitment to technical excellence and responsible energy development help shape the quality of ambition of this conference. Their support reflects the collaborative spirit that defines OTC Asia.” Following McConnell in the opening ceremony was Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik, president and group chief executive officer of Petronas, Malaysia’s national integrated oil and gas company. Petronas has been the host and principal sponsor of OTC Asia since the inaugural event in 2014. Muhammad Taufik talked about the vulnerabilities of the regional energy system in Asia that have been exemplified by hostilities in Iran and the Middle East. Given that a majority of the oil, natural gas and fertilizer that transits the Strait of Hormuz is bound for Asia, Muhammad Taufik urged attendees to work toward accelerating the regional supply of energy, diversify regional sources of energy and work across the region to integrate systems that have common purposes. Conference theme and topics The key themes for this year’s gathering were geopolitics, energy security, artificial intelligence (AI) and electrification. Conversations about the differences between “petrostates” (countries that are blessed with significant oil and gas reserves and highly dependent on their use and export at the underpinning of their economies) versus “electrostates” (countries that have shifted to an electricity-based power infrastructure for industry and transportation) wound their way into many country presentations, technical talks and keynote addresses. Curiously, this is no longer a “haves” and “have nots” conversation, but more a change in views on the opportunities to create energy price and supply stability. Hence, multiple sources of energy are considered key to creating energy systems that are reliable, affordable and sustainable. Exclusive dependence on one source of energy, such as carbon-intensive deposits (coal, oil and gas) or baseload nuclear power generation, while reliable, can also be fraught with real and theoretical risks. A presentation by Mahesh Swaminathan of McDermott reminded attendees that three of the largest economies in Asia (China, India and Indonesia) have significant reserves of coal and thus they can quickly convert from imported oil and natural gas to domestic production of coal to supply their power plants. While their economies may be able to shake off the supply disruptions from the Middle East, the use of coal is counter to the carbon dioxide reduction goals announced by those countries. The impact from energy supply interruptions could have long-term implications for greenhouse-gas reduction commitments from some of the largest generators of greenhouse gases. What is also not appreciated, Swaminathan explained, is that “while some countries can revert to coal-fired power generation, there are hundreds of millions of households in the region that still burn wood for heat and cooking.” The energy transition that people mostly see involves switching from wood to coal and oil, then on to natural gas. Over time and as technology and engineering advance, we move to baseload nuclear, and a range of alternative technologies like solar, wind and wave. In a talk by Siti Sulaiman, Malaysia country chair of Shell, she contended that “natural gas will be the structural backbone of the energy mix for the long term.” This realization is driving Shell’s exploration and reserve replacement investments. In the same session, Swaminathan added that the current spike in oil and gas prices has regional energy companies looking at projects that have been shelved due to marginal returns. He explained that he was aware of a project in Vietnam that had decent economics, but the operator could not get a final go-ahead due to long-term financial risks. According to Swaminathan, because of concerns about future energy disruptions, the government stepped in and made pricing assurances. This extra push helped the project get final approval. So not only are companies concerned about economics, but governments are concerned about supplies and are willing to provide assurances that may help get projects across the finish line. Those of us in the mining industry are seeing this same “boost” on some strategic mineral projects that are now receiving U.S. government support, either through price guarantees or share purchases. Renewed interest in nuclear power generation The region’s reliance on oil and gas, and the risks of supply interruptions, were discussed in several technical sessions.Like what we are hearing in the United States, there is keen interest in reviving baseload nuclear power, but the cost of constructing large, baseload nuclear plants in Southeast Asia is prohibitively expensive. Hence, the emergence of small modular reactors (SMRs) was discussed in technical tracks that focused on next-generation energy technologies. Like the domestic mining industry in the United States, prospective projects throughout Asia are looked at with new eyes, new technologies, new economic frameworks, and most importantly, with an eye toward logistics and risks. Design for closure Like the mining industry, some energy production assets in the region have reached the end of their productive lives. Pannawat Nilkitsaranont of Chevron Thailand discussed how the company recently spent $1 billion on decommissioning several offshore production platforms in the Gulf of Thailand. Sue McCarrey, chief executive officer of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority in Australia, reported that Esso is decommissioning 16 production platforms in the Bass Straits between Victoria and Tasmania. Mohd Abshar Mohd Nor of Petronas Carigali reported that they have a large decommissioning program coming up as well. Trade fair highlights Attendees at mining and energy conferences are used to seeing big iron being featured in exhibition halls. Past OTC events were dominated by large displays of pipe, valves, drill bits, and models of ships, subsea gathering systems and floating production platforms. While you still see some of these large and very impressive displays, there is a shift to vendors who are creating technological advancements using AI and big data. In a presentation by Dimitrious Oikonomou, co-founder and chief technology officer of Earth Science Analytics, trade fair visitors were shown how they use AI, cloud computing and vast amounts of data to help their clients quickly create 3D subsurface models and drilling programs that are more accurate and at far lower costs than using conventional exploration and logging techniques.Several speakers during their presentations, and exhibitors in the trade fair, talked about the growing need for highly trained engineers and technologists who can help the industry innovate and evolve through the use of AI and cloud computing and how some of their limitations are a shortage of data centers and uncertainty about the ability of governments and the energy industry to provide electricity in a way that is reliable, affordable and sustainable. With the abundance of vendors offering the newest and best-available technologies, you might think that you are at a consumer electronics show, not at an energy industry event that is focused on the hard work of providing essential energy to a fast-growing part of the world.

Energy industry gathered in Malaysia for the Offshore Technology Conference Asia

Authored by: Gregory A. Beckstrom

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