UK Shale Gas – The Engineers’ Summit

Attend the Institution’s one-day seminar on shale gas exploration and production to understand engineering processes, technical issues and practical challenges.

Featuring internationally experienced industry representatives participating in a range of presentations and roundtable sessions, this engineering summit is ideal for engineers, technicians, operators and suppliers involved in the emerging UK shale gas sector.

Drawing on a number of US-based experiences of exploration and production, as well as UK research, the seminar is an innovative measure in an area often mired in controversy, as Dr Tim Fox, Head of Energy and Environment for the Institution, explained: “This conference will, for the first time, facilitate the transfer and sharing of best practice knowledge among the engineering community, to allow those working in the industry to form an engineering view of the challenges and processes of exploring and extracting shale gas resources.”

“The Institution is right to hold a forum to bring clarity into the engineering conversation, and delegates will really benefit from this timely opportunity to interact with a great number of the industry's leading players who represent the fields of science, geology, well production and energy provision.”

As well as a number of presentations, there will be discussions and networking opportunities at which delegates can delve deep into the engineering issues and technical processes ahead, pose their own questions, and learn from fellow industry engineers.

Speakers offering international insight into UK shale gas exploration and production represent companies including IGas Energy plc, E.ON, Weir Group plc, Cuadrilla Resources Ltd and Schlumberger.

Mike Stephenson of the British Geological Survey (BGS) will be discussing the BGS’s report for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). He will explain how, based on the limited UK exploration to date, the expectations of what level of shale gas is available, and what can really be commercially extracted and used, are quite different things.

There is an opportunity to learn from the experience of US-based engineering activities, focusing on the need to move forward in the UK with an understanding of technical best practice and the appropriate regulatory requirements for exploration and production, to avoid the mistakes that can be made in a dash for shale gas. Chris Poole of Weir Group plc will discuss his experiences of US shale gas production. Delegates will have the opportunity both in the morning and afternoon sessions to draw on his experience of lessons learned and the process and technologies required.

Dr Fox is jointly chairing the seminar with James Bridge, Chairman of the Committee for Offshore and Upstream Engineering for the Institution. Tim commented on the great value of this chance to learn, at first hand, from US experiences, and to understand the potential scope of the industry in the UK where exploration is still in the very early stages: “As well as UK operators learning best practice from US experiences, the conference gives significant weight to managing our expectations of this industry in the UK, and the appropriate steps to take to develop it.”

“Contributors such as John Blaymires and Graham Dean, who are both from operating companies, will help focus people’s understanding about the scale of opportunity and what the exploration timetable might look like, as well as the latest engineering developments and associated issues, such as minimising environmental risks and health and safety risks.”

Tim concluded: “The seminar is distinct, different and timely. It will focus on knowledge sharing of the engineering processes and technical challenges associated with shale gas exploration and production, to work towards best practice in the UK, which includes a well-resourced regulatory framework.”  

UK Shale Gas – The Engineers’ Summit