Houston Offshore: Offshore Oil Experts Address Challenges, Opportunities Facing Industry

HOUSTON-Offshore is making a comeback as companies step up investments after years of cost-cutting. More private equity-back companies are joining the majors in regions such as the Gulf of Mexico and activity levels offshore are picking up globally, according to analysts. This comes as companies continue to cut costs, making offshore developments competitive with unconventional ones onshore in some cases. But there are still plenty of challenges ahead for the offshore sector. Safety, flow assurance issues and taking advantage of data were some of the obstacles mentioned by panelists speaking on offshore challenges and opportunities during a recent event at Rice University. Digitalization was a recurring topic.