Whether it's installing new infrastructure in the world's deepest oceans or mapping and analysing vast swathes of unexplored seabed, the oil and gas sector frequently operates at the limits of what's possible. For this reason, it's often compared to space exploration in terms of the problems it faces and the environments in which it operates. But as this issue's cover story (p20) explains, while the space industry is a well-known source of technologies that go on to have applications elsewhere (memory foam, satellite television and scratch-resistant lenses, to name just a few), the same can't necessarily be said of oil and gas. In fact, the sector is heavily reliant on technology developed elsewhere to solve some of its most pressing problems.
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