BP 2010 Annual Report Download - page 79

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Businessreview
Exploration and Production
InourExplorationandProductionsegment,technologyinvestmentis
focusedonensuringsafe,reliableoperations,strengtheningourportfolio,
gettingmorefromourresourcebaseandwinningnewaccess.
• T heGulfofMexicooilspillrequiredrapidinnovationofnew
technologiestocapthewellandcontainthespill.Innovationwill
continueaspartofGulfrestorationefforts.BPworkedwithindustry
partners,multiplegovernmentagencies,andacademiatodevelop
solutionsand,asaresult,nowhasasetofadditionalassetscovering:
 – A ninventoryofimmediatelydeployableopenandclosed
containmentsystemsprovenatdepthwithassociated
operatingprocedures.
 – Provensystemsforprocessingandtransportingcontainedoil.
 – D iagnosticandsurveillancetechniquesfordispersedoilanalysis
andmonitoring.
 – Plansandorganizationalmodelsfortheimmediatedeploymentof
dedicatedsourcecontainment.
 – Enhancedtechnologiesandprocedurestodrillreliefwellsin
deepwater.
 – E xperienceinusingalloftheabovecapabilities.
• B Pcontinuestodevelopandapplyinnovativeexplorationtechnologies.
FollowingthesuccessfuluseoftheISSTMseismicacquisitiontechnique
inLibyain2009,wehaveconductedeldtrials,combinedwith
cablelessnodereceiverstofurtherincreaseseismicacquisition
efciency.Positivetestresultsledtoadecisiontoacquire3,000square
kilometresofthe2010/11Libyaonshoreacquisitionprogrammeusing
thismethod.
• Throughtheinherentlyreliablefacilities(IRF)agshiptechnology
programme,BPisdevelopingafundamentalunderstandingofcorrosion
anderosionrisksandcorrespondingmitigationbarriersandtechniques.
TheIRFprogrammehasdevelopedbreopticpipelinemonitoring
technologiestoreducetheriskofthird-partyinterferenceandmonitor
forleaks.TheseweredeployedontheBaku-Tbilisi-Ceyhanpipelinein
2010,andfurtherapplicationsareplanned.
• Enhancedoilrecovery(EOR)technologiescontinuetopushrecovery
factorstonewlimits.Webelievethatbyincreasingtheoverallrecovery
factorfromoureldsby1%,wecanadd2billionboetoourreserves.
Asattheendof2010,BPhastreated56wellswithBrightWater™
technologyinAlaska,Argentina,AzerbaijanandPakistan,whichhas
deliveredincreasedreservesatadevelopmentcostoflessthan$6per
barrel,andwithan80%successrate.FollowingeldtrialsinAlaska,
LoSalTMEORintheClaireld(UKNorthSea)isnowinfrontend
engineeringdesignstage.TheClairRidgeLoSalEORprojectwillbethe
world’srstoffshoreLoSaltechnologywaterood.Followingextensive
EORstudiesfortheSchiehallioneldintheWestofShetland,BPand
co-ownershaveapprovedthedesignofthenewQuad204Schiehallion
FPSO(theoatingproduction,storageandofoadingunit,whichis
expectedtobesanctionedinthesecondquarterof2011)tobefully
polymerEORready.
Rening and Marketing
InourReningandMarketingsegment,technologyisdelivering
performanceimprovementsacrossallbusinesses.Forexample:
• T echnologyadvancesinourreningandlogisticsbusinessesgiveus
betterunderstandingandprocessingofdifferentfeedstocks,
optimizationofourassets,enhancedexibilityandreliabilityofour
reneries,andstrongermargins.In2010,followingextensive
developmentworkwithBPandImperialCollegeLondon,Permasense
launchedanewintegrity-monitoringsystemthatenablesfrequent,
repeatablewall-thicknessmonitoring.Thisprovidespreviously
unavailableinsightsintotheconditionandcapabilityofoilandgas
assets.ThePermasensesystemhasbeenproveninoperationatBP
reneriesinGermanyandtheUS,andisnowbeingdeployedatour
reneriesworldwide.
ISS,LoSal,InvigorateandInnerCoolaretrademarksofBPp.l.c.
Bright WaterisatrademarkofNalcoEnergyServicesLP.
• Infuelsandlubricants,ourtechnologyfocusisonsupplyingproducts
withgreaterfuelefciencyandreducedCO2emissions.Inpartnership
withoriginalequipmentmanufacturers,BPhasdevelopedanew
passengercarengineoiloffering2.4%fuelsaving;atransmissionoilfor
militaryvehicleswitha1.5%fuelsaving;andtheturbineoilforthenew
Boeing787Dreamliner.Weareworkingonprototypefuelstooptimize
theperformanceandefciencyofnext-generationenginesandto
enableincreasedbiofuelcontenttomeetnationalmandates.IntheUS,
BP’sInvigorateTMgasolinehasbeenendorsedbyBMWforitssuperior
performanceincleaningenginefuelinjectionsystems.
• In2010,weopenedanewlubricantstechnologycentreinShanghai,
China,andanewfuelstechnologycentreinJohannesburg,South
Africa.Bothrepresenttherstinvestmentsoftheirtypeinthose
countriesforaninternationaloilcompanyandunderpinBP’s
commitmenttotheseimportantmarkets.
• O urproprietaryprocessingtechnologiesandoperationalexperience
continuetoreducethemanufacturingcostsandenvironmentalimpact
ofourpetrochemicalsplants,helpingtomaintaincompetitiveadvantage
inpuriedterephthalicacid(PTA),paraxylene,andaceticacid.Learning
fromsuccessfulprojectimplementationsinAsia,continuous
Business r
improvementofourCATIVA®technologyformanufactureofaceticacid
maintainsBP’sworld-classcapitalandoperatingcostposition.
eview
• Intheeldofconversiontechnology,wecontinuetoworkwith
potentialthird-partylicenseestocommercializeBP’sxed-bed
Fischer-Tropschtechnology.Thistechnologycanbeappliedtothe
conversionofunconventionalfeedstocks,includingbiomass,to
high-qualitydieselandotherliquidhydrocarbons.Inaddition,BPand
KBRagreeda25-yearcollaborationtopromote,market,andexecute
licensingandengineeringservicesfortheslurry-bedresidueand
coal-upgradingVebaCombiCracker(VCC)Technology.VCCTechnology
isahydrogen-additiontechnologysuitableforprocessingcrudeoil
residuumintohigh-qualitydistillatesorsyntheticcrudeoilinthe
rening,upstream-eldupgradingandcoal-to-liquidssectors.
Alternative Energy
BP’sAlternativeEnergyportfoliocoversawiderangeofrenewableand
low-carbonenergytechnologies.
• In2010,ourbiofuelsbusinessacquiredVerenium’slignocellulosic
biofuelsbusiness,whichwillacceleratethedevelopmentof
lignocellulosicethanoltechnologytocommercialization.BPhas
acquired:R&DfacilitiesinSanDiego,California;intellectualproperty
relatedtoproprietarylignocellulosicbiofuelsR&Dandconversion
technology;apilotplantanddemonstrationfacilityinJennings,
Louisiana;andBPisnowthesoleownerofVercipiaBiofuels,whichis
commercializingproductionoflignocellulosicethanol.
• Inthewindbusiness,thequestformoreenergy-efcientwindturbine
generatorscontinues.IntheUS,BPWindEnergyistestingstate-of-
the-artlaserwindsensorunitstodeliverimprovedwindturbine
performanceandincreaseenergyoutput.
• Inoursolarbusiness,anewtechnologydesignedtomakesolarcells
moreefcientinextremelyhightemperatures,InnerCoolTMsolar
technology,isbeingpilotedatauniversityinSaudiArabia,wherewe
havedemonstratedincreasesinenergygenerationofapproximately
3%.Wehavealsodevelopedandintroducedanewanti-reectiveglass
coatingforsolarmodules,reducingtheamountofenergylostthrough
reectionandallowingmorelighttoreachthecells,thusincreasing
energygenerationbyupto4%comparedtoplainglassmodules.
• In2010,therstphaseofBP’sjointindustryprojectwithSonatrachand
StatoilatInSalah,Algeria–todemonstratenewtechnologiesfor
monitoringstoredCO2–drewtoaclose.Theprojectishelpingtoset
operationalparametersforthesecuregeologicalstorageofCO2,with
particularhighlightsincludingtheQuantitativeRiskAssessment
developed,testedandbenchmarkedatInSalah,aswellasthe
integrationoftechnologies,suchassatelliteimagingand3Dand
4Dseismic,tobetterunderstandthebehaviourofCO2plumesin
thesubsurface.
BPAnnualReportandForm20-F2010 77