New research by DNV GL has revealed that confidence in growth in the Malaysian oil and gas sector has tumbled since 2014, from 96% to 21%, with tough, short-term, cost-cutting efforts expected to increase in 2017. In order to support the Malaysian oil and gas sector to maintain its position as a regional hub and put it on a sustainable growth path for the long-term, DNV GL and Universiti Kebangssan Malaysia (UKM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to promote collaboration on R&D.
Short-term agility, long-term resilience is DNV GL’s seventh annual benchmark study on the outlook for the oil and gas industry, providing a snapshot of industry confidence, priorities and concerns for the year ahead1. According to senior oil and gas professionals in Malaysia, the highest priority areas for R&D, pilots/trials of emerging oil and gas technologies is Cyber security (49%), closely followed by digitalization (47%) and subsea innovation (47%). The collaboration agreement between DNV GL and UKM anchors the commitment to drive R&D efforts in the region.
The 3-year partnership that will be led by the university’s Faculty of Science and Technology and DNV GL’s Laboratory will cooperate, amongst others, on R&D in special laboratory services including extreme testing of full scale pipe and sour sent testing. This research will help the oil and gas industry in Malaysia to produce from reservoirs with higher CO2 content.
The MOU was signed by Associate Professor Dr Shahrim Hi. Ahmad, Dean for Faculty of Science and Technology at UKM and Hernando Caceres, Country Manager in Malaysia for DNV GL - Oil & Gas. The ceremony was also witnessed by Elisabeth Tørstad, CEO, DNV - Oil & Gas, and Professor Datuk Dr Imran Ho Abdullah, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Industry and Community Partnership), representative of the Vice-Chancellor from UKM.
Professor Dato’ Seri Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali, UKM’s Vice-Chancellor, says: “We are delighted to partner with DNV GL, the technical advisor to the oil and gas industry having worldwide capabilities on laboratory services and R&D. We believe the partnership will allow greater cooperation on our R&D centre and will align UKM closer to the O&G industry enhancing UKM’s capabilities through knowledge transfer and joint participation.”
Elisabeth Tørstad, CEO, DNV GL – Oil & Gas, says: “Innovation and collaboration are even more important than ever. It isn’t just about finding the breakthrough technologies – although that’s important too - it’s also about making things simpler and more efficient and ultimately helping the industry to safely cut costs. Together with an established institution like UKM, we can support the Malaysian oil and gas sector to overcome its challenges through tailor-made R&D programs exploring and developing the solutions needed.”
DNV GL is annually investing 5% of its revenue in R&D to drive sustainable developments and long-term competitiveness in the industries they support, including oil and gas.
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About DNV GL – Oil & Gas
DNV GL is the technical advisor to the oil and gas industry. We bring a broader view to complex business and technology risks in global and local markets. Providing a neutral ground for industry cooperation, we create and share knowledge with our customers, setting standards for technology development and implementation. From project initiation to decommissioning, our independent experts enable companies to make the right choices for a safer, smarter and greener future.
About Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Since its establishment on May 18, 1970, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) has not only fulfilled the vision of its founding fathers to accord bahasa Melayu as the language of learning and scholarship but has also successfully produced intellectuals and scholars who are among the nation’s pride. Starting out with only three faculties, it has since grown into 13 faculties, 13 research institutes of excellence. It has thus grown not just in size, but also stature, becoming a research institute in various fields of study including operating various research centers. Aware of the changes taking place in the academic landscape, UKM is taking steps to address them. One is through e-learning to prepare students through innovative teaching and forward-looking curriculum to meet demands of the new economic needs. It nurtures research to provide solutions to pressing problems while also engaging with the community and industry, to strive for sustainable development both at the national and international levels.
1. The outlook for the oil and gas industry in 2017 is an industry benchmark study from DNV GL, the leading technical advisor to the industry. Now in its seventh year, the programme builds on the findings of six prior annual outlook reports, first launched in early 2011. During October and November 2016, we surveyed 723 senior professionals and executives across the global oil and gas industry, along with 14 in-depth interviews with a range of experts, business leaders and analysts. Two–thirds (66%) are employed by suppliers and service companies across the industry, while 26% of respondents work for oil and gas operators. The remaining respondents come from regulators and trade associations. The companies surveyed vary in size: 41% had annual revenue of USD500m or less, while 18% had annual revenue in excess of USD5bn. Respondents were drawn from right across the oil and gas value chain, including publicly-listed companies and privately-held firms. They also represent a range of functions within the industry, from board-level executives to senior engineers.