SNS '09 - Southern North Sea Conference

Thursday 5th February 2009
Holiday Inn Norwich (North), Norwich International Airport, NR6 6JA

Subsea, Surface and Skyline
The most important conference for the offshore energy industry in the East of England.

This event was a great success with 200 delegates attending - Thank you to all our sponsors' and speakers'.

Please see below to download speakers' presentations.

Pre-conference Press Release:

Whichever way you look at it, the Southern North Sea (SNS) will remain a key focus for the UK's energy needs in the coming decades.

So Subsea, Surface and Skyline is the theme for the SNS09 conference staged by EEEGR (East of England Energy Group) in Norwich in February.

"We have another excellent line-up of topical and high quality speakers on developments and opportunities in the Southern North Sea and to build on the success of last year which attracted over 200 delegates," said EEEGR chief executive John Best.

"This year particular attention has been paid to activity happening through the platforms and pipelines at subsea level, on the surface, and on the changing skyline as offshore wind comes of age off our coast.

"The programme also reflects opportunities through future investments, present operations and past experience.

Keynote speakers will be drawn from Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind, now based at OrbisEnergy in Lowestoft, one of the important industry sponsors. They will detail the steps being taken to build one of the world's largest offshore wind farms.

Mark McAllister, CEO of Fairield Energy, will talk about operations at Clipper South, and new activity in the gas industry. Alistair Birnie, the new CEO of Subsea UK, will share information about plans to seek out every last recoverable asset in the SNS.

Our other main sponsors are Seajacks, who are making major investment into the SNS with new self-propelled jack-up vessels designed specifically for the basin, and international engineering contractor ODE.

Andrew Gilmore, sales manager for ODE, said: "There is no doubting the significance of the SNS to the energy industry and in particular in securing the UK's energy demands over the decades ahead.

"ODE recently won a three-year extension to our contract to support the SNS operations of E.ON Ruhrgas UK in the Babbage, Johnston and Rita fields, in addition to our ongoing operation support for the Cavendish platform on behalf of RWE DEA. We also have a long-standing involvement in the renewables sector from the pioneering days of the Scroby Sands offshore wind farm.

"EEEGR's conference is of paramount importance because it addresses a diverse range of key energy development issues.

"We are particularly keen to stress the need to maximise the available assets of the SNS, to explore and develop the synergies between oil and gas and renewable energy developments and whilst maintaining the integrity of existing highest quality infrastructure and drawing on the skills and experience of our local, highly experienced supply chain to support the offshore industry."

International co-operation will be a high priority for the conference with delegates from Norway, Sweden, Germany, Holland and Denmark joining the conference from the POWER Cluster (Pushing Offshore Wind Energy Regions) to share knowledge and best practice between the oil and gas industry and offshore wind.

Chancellor Alistair Darling gave the conference a boost when his Pre-Budget Report outlined Government plans for a £50bn economic boost for the low carbon economy.

He said they would also extend to 2037 the renewables obligation which requires suppliers to create a percentage of their electricity from green sources.

At the same time, he said oil and gas from the North Sea would continue to pay a vital part in the energy mix and promised incentives to increase production in marginal fields.

SNS09 is at the Holiday Inn, Norwich International Airport, on February 5th, 2009 and follows the Energy Innovation Awards and Dinner at the same venue on February 4th, a sequence designed to maximize the value of great energy industry events and networking opportunities.

Source: TMS Media - Roy Strowger

CLICK HERE to download the Event Feedback Report

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD THE CONFERENCE PROGRAMME AND THE SPEAKERS PRESENTATIONS.

- please note that we are awaiting permission from some of the speakers to upload their presentations so please keep checking this page for updates.