Signing Ceremony for 3rd Phase of the International Cooperation Program for Offshore Energy (Petroleum, Natural Gas) and The Nippon Foundation’s International Seminar on Offshore DevelopmentBriefings on progress to date and introduction to next phase
Since 2018, The Nippon Foundation has been engaged in joint technological development with DeepStar,1 of the United States, a consortium of major petroleum companies from around the world2 that is promoting decarbonization in offshore development and new offshore technological development toward the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
During two phases over the eight years since its launch, the project has supported a variety of activities ranging from safety enhancement to the development of decarbonization technologies with financial assistance totaling roughly 2 billion yen. The project is pursuing technological themes including breakdown prediction models using artificial intelligence, autonomous submergible robots, and drone inspection systems. This technological development is beginning to yield results that will lead to commercialization.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony for a joint technological development program to build on these efforts for further advances in decarbonization and safety enhancement in the field of offshore petroleum and natural gas, and an international seminar on resource development and the promotion of decarbonization, were held at The Nippon Foundation’s headquarters in Tokyo on September 25.
Signing ceremony
Following welcoming remarks by The Nippon Foundation Chairman Takeju Ogata and DeepStar board member and Oxy’s Director for Gulf of America Operations Clay Thompson, the MoU was signed by The Nippon Foundation Executive Director Mitsuyuki Unno and DeepStar Director and Board Chairman Shakir Shamshy.
International seminar
The international seminar on offshore development opened with remarks by The Nippon Foundation Executive Director Mitsuyuki Unno.
Hiroyuki Mori, Executive Vice President of the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), then gave the keynote address on the subject of “Unlocking the Energy Industry’s Potential for a Sustainable Future.”
This was followed by a “DeepStar Briefing and Expectations for Japanese Partners” by DeepStar’s Shakir Shamshy.
Next, representatives of four participating companies gave presentations on the status of ongoing projects under the NF-DeepStar joint Ocean Innovation Project
- Hakusan Corporation: Development of Seabed Permanent CCS Reservoir Monitoring System with Optical Hybrid Ocean Bottom Cable
- Omega Simulation Co., Ltd.: Optimization of Compression Performance of CCUS Using Process Model-Based Control Technology
- Terra Drone Corporation: Mini Drone for Offshore Inspection
- HiBot Corporation: Robotic Intervention During Outages NUF
The seminar concluded with a briefing by Tetsuya Kikyo, Director, The Nippon Foundation, on the third phase of the NF–DeepStar joint R&D program, with a call for the proactive submission of suggestions.
- Note 1: DeepStar is an international offshore technology development consortium comprising “upstream” companies that are engaged in the exploration, development, and production of offshore oil and natural gas around the world, and companies, universities, research institutes, and other organizations that provide products and services to these upstream companies.
- Note 2: DeepStar core member companies: bp (UK), Chevron (USA), Equinor (Norway), ExxonMobil (USA), Hess (USA), INPEX (Japan), Oxy (USA), Petrobras (Brazil), Shell (UK), TotalEnergies (France) and Woodside Energy (Australia)
Contact
Ocean Affairs Team
The Nippon Foundation
- Email: ocean_innovator@ps.nippon-foundation.or.jp
