Page 10: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Aug/Sep 2013)

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Opinion

ThoughtStream

Marvin Odum

Mexico’s moment exico is among the ten largest terms of expansion of the supply base, ideas across boundaries–intellectual oil producers in the world. This labor development, and supporting and political–as well as geographic

M country has made important structural services. For onshore investments – boundaries. changes to improve economic perfor- including unconventional, complex, I can see a Mexico that attracts inter- mance and strengthen its resilience to capital intensive basins – the factor is national investment with a sophisti- external shocks. It is a strong partner to around 1.4. cated domestic industry, a network of the United States and to Canada. Analysis we’ve commissioned sug- international partnerships, a talented,

Three key ingredients for any coun- gests attracting more capital into the skilled and highly-developed work- try’s success are: investment, innova- energy sector could increase Mexico’s force, and a commitment to a sustain- tion and imagination. economic growth rate by as much as 5 able and effcient energy system.

Investment is the obvious one. or 6 percentage points. It’s not hard, with a little imagina-

Shell invests more than $30 billion And beyond economic growth, tion, to see a few broad actions, that all every year to meet the growing demand we have seen–in countries ranging of us can take, to get us frmly on the for energy. from Norway to Malaysia–what else road toward a more sustainable energy

The energy industry globally will happens when countries earn invest- system. For example, we could take spend untold trillions over the next ment in the energy sector: technology advantage of the world’s 250-year sup- four decades to fnd, develop and booms, an increase in specialized, ply of natural gas resources to reduce produce ever more challenging sources high-paying jobs, transfer of knowl- coal consumption. of energy – from traditional oil and gas, edge into and across the economy, Natural gas should play a major to shale gas, to liquids from shales, to higher industrial safety standards, new role in fostering a cleaner and more advanced biofuels, hydrogen, wind levels of transparency, and trust in sustainable energy system. It’s clean, and solar. government. it’s abundant, and it can be deployed

Mexico is jostling with countries The potential benefts for Mexico for everything from electrical power around the world for a share of that could extend even further, fueling to home use to transport. There is so capital. In this hemisphere, it faces Mexico’s continuing progress in the much of it now available in North ferce competition for capital with fght against poverty and inequality, its America that this continent could

Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, French desire to protect its environment, its become a net exporter of energy in just

Guiana, Argentina and others. potential to become a regional manu- a few decades.

Of course, Mexico already has some facturing powerhouse. competitive advantages through free- But return on investment will go Marvin Odum trade agreements, strategic location, only so far without innovation. became competitive exchange rate, labor costs, The race is on to create new tech- Director of the and quality manufacturing. niques to fnd, produce and com- Upstream Americas

But its advantage will only increase mercialize more–and more diffcult– business for Royal as it attracts more investment with sources of energy: energy locked in Dutch Shell plc in stable and attractive fscal and regula- shale, in sand, under ice, in ultra-deep 2009 and continues as President of tory frameworks. waters. Shell Oil Co. He earned a BS in

A recent World Bank study suggests But it’s just as important to look at mechanical engineering from the

Mexico needs the equivalent of fve or innovation in how companies, govern- University of Texas at Austin and an six additional Pemexes over the next ments and societies work together. MBA from the University of Houston.

10 to 15 years to leverage its potential As a global company, with partner- deepwater resources. ships in almost every corner of the [excerpted from Odum’s address to

The study says investment in deep- world, Shell has the ability – I’d even Mexican Petroleum Congress, 7 June water delivers 1.6 times its value in say the obligation – to link imaginative 2013, Cancun]

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