The Challenge to the Professional in an Expanding Gas Economy
Andrew A. Young
SPE President 2003
Abstract
Throughout the world gas production is growing faster than oil and this is forecast to continue for the foreseeable future.
There is a fundamental difference in the marketing and development of gas compared to oil. Oil transportation is cheap. Oil is a commodity in much the same way as wheat or sugar. The producers produce it, arrange for it to go to a refinery or a ship and that is the end of it. Oil is sold on a world market, essentially at a fixed price. Gas, on the other hand, is a highly competitive, variable priced commodity, where its price is a function of its ultimate use. It is also expensive to transport, especially over long distances, so it is either sold on a local market or uses capital-intensive dedicated infrastructure tied to particular markets. It is this linkage between the producer and the market, the "gas value chain" that sets gas aside from oil. This linkage is most important when considering development of large new gas sources.
It is no longer sufficient for a professional person working in the upstream gas industry to be knowledgeable in exploration, reservoir engineering, drilling, workovers and design of production facilities – the traditional work areas of SPE members. They now need to understand or at least appreciate the commercial aspects of gas transport, be it pipelines or shipping; and conversion to another product, be it LNG, GTL, Ammonia, DME etc., together with the dynamics and characteristics of the market.
Knowledge integration will lead to cheaper, fit for purpose, facilities, good business decisions adding value to stakeholders, and ultimately cheaper energy.
Biography
Andrew Young is a Senior Advisor and Regional Director for Gaffney, Cline & Associates’ (GCA) technical and management team in Sydney, providing advisory services in Australia and Asia and supporting other project teams internationally. Prior to joining GCA in 1999, Young was Managing Director of Century Drilling Ltd., an Australian oil/gas, mineral and geothermal drilling contractor. From 1994 to 1997, he was General Manager, Operations for the New Zealand Natural Gas Corp. responsible for gas processing and high-pressure pipeline operations. Young also spent 11 years at Bridge Oil Ltd, where he was Production Manager, and 8 years with Esso Australia Ltd in various technical and management positions.
Throughout his professional career, Young has been active in SPE, particularly in assisting in its formative development in Australia. He served as Director, SPE Asia Pacific Region from 1993-1996. A recipient of the SPE Young Member Outstanding Service Award in 1987 and the SPE Asia Pacific Regional Service Award in 1998, Young was named as an SPE Distinguished Member in 2000.
Andrew is currently on the Advisory Board of University of New South Wales School for Petroleum Engineering, recently completed a 4-year term as a Director of the National Safety Council of Australia, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Andrew holds a BE degree in Chemical Engineering from Melbourne University and MBA degree (honors) from the University of Rochester, New York.
Picture from SPE Luncheon
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