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Results from a study into the renewed role of academic consortia in E&P-related R&D

PGS Geophysical, Walton-on-Thames, England

Corresponding author: Roald.van.Borselen@pgs.com

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

As a result of recent major societal forces, such as globalization and deregulation, and technological advances, the oil and gas industry is facing many new challenges and new customer behaviors. Oil and gas organizations and geophysical service companies are now confronted with increased competition, which has resulted in shrinking profit margins. Mergers and acquisitions have become popular vehicles for companies to expand the size of their operations and to reduce costs. Also, corporate management is under increased pressure to deliver immediate results, and at the same time, internal and external customers increasingly expect higher quality, service, and customization. These developments have had an impact on the way the industry carries out research and development.

Firstly, the continuing emphasis on reduction of corporate expenditures has led to the situation where R&D itself is often regarded as expenditure, rather than as an investment. Multiple rounds of restructuring, streamlining, consolidations, and layoffs have caused many research facilities to close and research support to decline or even vanish.

Secondly, in their efforts to maximize value, companies have shifted their efforts away from basic research toward more short-term, asset-focused projects that are more likely to have an impact on the organization's earnings. Much more attention is being given to applied research and advanced development that is required by the operating divisions of the company.

Finally, instead of conducting R&D in-house, less expensive means for acquiring technological assets are now being pursued. This includes the forming of alliances and joint ventures, the licensing of technology to and from others, and outsourcing of R&D activities. These strategies are used to allow an organization to lower its costs, to make better use of scarce resources, and to respond rapidly to changing market conditions.

The identified changes have caused major shifts in the balance among the parties that carry . . . [Full Text of this Article]