Schlumberger has estimated at least 200 new deepwater fields will come on line in the next four years. But, even more production will be needed. So, how will companies deliver strong results from deep and ultradeep water on time and on budget, with safety, lower costs and fewer employees?

They will require strong international partnerships built on trust-- and some pretty far-out new technologies, speakers said at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston recently, on a panel titled “Year 2030—Visions of Worldwide Oil and Gas.”

The industry could be asked ...