Oil Review Middle East 5 2014

ORME 5 2014 Cover_ORMETHREE05COVER.qxd 8/18/2014 11:57 AM Page 1

www.oilreview.me

VOLUME 17 | ISSUE 5 2014

Covering Oil, Gas and Hydrocarbon Processing UK £10, USA $16.50

 Iraq’s oil ambitions under fire  Protecting IP rights for shale gas technology  Encouraging prospects in the drilling sector  The growing demand for on-site power  Achieving optimal operational safety  Acoustic sensing technology for subsea

The evolution of

reliable offshore communications

Training and certification are often provided on the job, but online or ‘distance’ qualifications play a role too. In this issue we profile some recent initiatives.

See page 60

7

Serving the regional oil & gas sector since 1997

S01 ORME 5 2014 - Start_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:10 PM Page 2

S01 ORME 5 2014 - Start_Layout 1 8/18/2014 5:04 PM Page 3

 Editor’s note I AM DELIGHTED to be taking on the role of editor of the Middle East’s leading magazine for the oil and gas industry. Despite the conflict and upheaval that continues to beset the region, there is much to be positive about in the oil and gas scene. The rig count continues to rise steadily, indicating a healthy level of exploration and development activity, while new frontiers continue to be explored, creating increased supply opportunities and the potential for collaborative partnerships to exploit the latest technologies.

In this issue, as always, we bring you news on oil and gas developents in the region, as well as on the latest technological innovations, along with features and analysis on topical issues. And watch out for an increased focus on HSEQ – we will soon be adding a dedicated area on our website.

Please do get in touch with your news and feedback, and I welcome any thoughts and contributions for future issues.

E-mail: louise.waters@alaincharles.com

Serving the world of business

Editor: Louise Waters Editorial and Design team: Bob Adams, Prashant AP, Hiriyti Bairu, Sindhuja Balaji, Andrew Croft, Ranganath GS, Rhonita Patnaik, Louise Quick, Prasad Shankarappa, Zsa Tebbit, Nicky Valsamakis and Ben Watts Publisher: Nick Fordham Advertising Sales Director: Pallavi Pandey



Magazine Sales Manager: Camilla Capece  +971 4 448 9260  +971 4 448 9261  camilla.capece@alaincharles.com

Contents

International Representatives China

Ying Mathieson  (86) 10 8472 1899  (86) 10 8472 1900  ying.mathieson@alaincharles.com

India

Tanmay Mishra  (91) 80 65684483  (91) 80 40600791  tanmay.mishra@alaincharles.com

Nigeria

Bola Olowo  (234) 8034349299  bola.olowo@alaincharles.com

Exploration & Production

Health & Safety

4

42

Developments A detailed round-up of the latest E&P news from around the region.

Gas 14

44 The latest news including an update on Iran’s South Pars gas field.

Calendar

UK

20

USA

Steve Thomas  (44) 20 7834 7676  (44) 20 79730076  stephen.thomas@alaincharles.com Michael Tomashefsky  (1) 203 226 2882  (1) 203 226 7447  michael.tomashefsky@alaincharles.com

Executives’ Calendar Event listings plus profiles of Manama Energy Forum Debates and ADIPEC’s ‘Women in Industry’ event.

22

Middle East Regional Office: Alain Charles Middle East FZ-LLC Office 215, Loft 2A, P.O. Box 502207, Dubai Media City, UAE  +971 4 448 9260,  +971 4 448 9261

24

Recruitment in the online age

Subscriptions:  circulation@alaincharles.com Chairman: Derek Fordham Printed by: Emirates Printing Press, Dubai. © Oil Review Middle East ISSN: 1464-9314

32

46

48

Enhancing offshore rig communications Nicholas Newman discusses developments and assesses the available options.

Lynda Davies reports on the attempts of Iraq’s oil industry to carry on with business as usual.

50

Encouraging drilling prospects ahead

54

Meeting on-site demand for power The increase in the number of projects in remote locations is creating new challenges.

Acoustic sensing technology OptaSense chief technology officer Dr David Hill discusses the uses of DAS technology.

The Middle East rig count is on the up, and there is a demand for new technology to improve performance and cope with complex drilling challenges.

Training & Development

Investing in far-reaching potential

60

Petrochemicals & Refining 34

Intellectual property: The catalyst for shale Overcoming the challenges to achieve optimal health and safety onsite.

Iraq’s oil ambitions under fire

DHL’s Energy Sector president Steve Harley outlines the rationale behind company’s regional focus.

The chemical industry’s sustainability journey John Pearson, CEO of Chemical Industry Roundtables LLC, discusses the industry’s push for sustainability.

www.oilreview.me email: oil@alaincharles.com

Technology

A look at the best ways to use e-mail in job applications.

28

Risk management in a changing world SSDS Risk Management general manager Carl Moon discusses the importance of an effective risk management strategy.

Analysis

Head Office: Alain Charles Publishing Ltd University House, 11-13 Lower Grosvenor Place, London SW1W 0EX, United Kingdom  +44 (0) 20 7834 7676  +44 (0) 20 7973 0076

Production: Nikitha Jain, Nathanielle Kumar Donatella Moranelli, Nick Salt, Erica Sesay and Sophia White  production@alaincharles.com

Overcoming the challenges to achieve optimal health and safety onsite.

Developments

South Africa Annabel Marx  (27) 218519017  (27) 46 624 5931  annabel.marx@alaincharles.com

Operational safety and overcoming human error

Meeting the region’s training needs The role of online learning.

Innovations 63

Industry developments A round-up of the latest product advancements in oil and gas.

70

Rig count / Project databank

Arabic 4

News

7

Analysis

Issue 5 2014

oilreview.me

3

S02 ORME 5 2014 - E&P 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 2:17 PM Page 4

 E&P

DNO International to drill two onshore wells in Oman in 2015 DNO INTERNATIONAL HAS announced that it plans to drill two oil and gas exploratory wells in onshore Oman’s Block 36 in 2015.

The Norwegian oil and gas company said that the decision would add to its existing programme of appraisal, development and production activities as it seeks to target a sizable portfolio of hydrocarbon assets in the sultanate.

Block 36 is a 18,000 sq km frontier exploration block located in the Rub Al Khali basin. According to DNO An onshore oil well in Oman International, two of the three exploration wells drilled previously on the block have indicated the presence of source rock – commonly found in oil and gas fields around the Arabian Peninsula. All three exploration wells had hydrocarbon shows.

“The company has completed reprocessing of the existing 2D seismic data and continues to identify prospects on the block. Acquisition of new 2D seismic data over prospective areas will commence in Q3 2014, while preparing to drill two exploration wells in 2015,” the Oslobased firm stated.

DNO has a 75 per cent participating interest in the block, which was acquired last year, via a farm-in agreement with Allied Petroleum.

Saudi Arabia recommended to invest in shale gas ANALYSTS ARE SUGGESTING an investment in developing shale gas reserves in Saudi Arabia could boost its economy and serve growing electricity needs in the Kingdom as well.

Shale gas refers to pockets of natural gas trapped in dense, impermeable sedimentary rock. Production of shale involves intense seismological study, complex extraction systems and multifaceted distribution infrastructures.

Development of shale depends on availability of resources and supportive fiscal measures.

Gazprom Neft begins exploration in Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s Shakal Block RUSSIAN COMPANY GAZPROM Neft has started drilling an exploration well at the Shakal Block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The company added that it would also commence drilling on a second exploration well in the block. The project will study two oil reservoirs in the Shakal Block, including flow testing. Gazprom Neft said that both wells will be nearly 3.5 km deep and well testing would be completed by late 2014 or early 2015.

Canada’s Grey Wolf will serve as the contractor of the project. Earlier, 2D seismic surveys were conducted covering an area of more than 1,000 linear kilometres at the Shakal Block, where an exploration well has also been drilled.

The Russian company is also conducting geological surveys of the Halabja Block, where it is planning 2D seismic surveys covering 1,000 linear kilometres in 2014, and will be drilling the block’s first exploration well in 2015-2016. It is also involved in the development of the Garmian Block where the deposit is currently undergoing further exploration and preparation for full scale development.

Dana Gas profits rise 70 per cent in Q2 2014 DANA GAS HAS reported a net profit of 70 per cent in Q2 Dana Gas made US$46mn 2014. The company made US$46mn in the quarter, up from net profit in Q2 2014 US$27mn during same period last year.

Production across the group rose by 17 per cent on a yearon-year (YoY) basis. In addition, higher realised hydrocarbon prices during the period led to a growth in revenue, stated officials from the company. The rise in production in Egypt and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, along with high energy prices and reduction in cost of sales contributed to the growth in revenue and gross profit.

During the first half of 2014, profit from operations increased by 68 per cent to US$91mn, compared to US$54mn in first half of 2013. The gross revenues and profit were US$367mn and US$172mn respectively.

The average overall production volumes increased by 17 per cent in Q2 2014 to 72,200 boepd compared to 61,700 boepd in the same period last year. Dana Gas Egypt experienced a continued upturn in average Q2 production to 42,950 boepd – a 25 per cent increase vis-à-vis the 34,300 boepd achieved in Q2 2013.

Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, said, “Dana Gas has continued to deliver impressive production growth and consistent operational and financial performance despite ongoing challenges in our key markets. This is the result of a business strategy that has focused on operational delivery whilst addressing the issue of unpaid receivables from our government clients and diversifying our business exposure.

“We continue to focus on diversification, and are progressing the development of the Zora field in the UAE and reviewing other new business development opportunities,” Allman-Ward added.

4

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

Saudi Arabia has 600 tcf of identified shale reserves In March 2013, Ali Al-Naimi, the petroleum and mineral resources minister of Saudi Arabia, announced plans to drill seven test wells to extract shale gas as part of a programme to develop the Kingdom’s unconventional oil and gas reserves. He has forecast 600 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of shale reserves in the Kingdom, equivalent to more than 100mn barrels of oil. Saudi Arabia's shale reserves exceed those of Mexico (545 tcf), Australia (437 tcf) and Russia (287 tcf).

Saudi Arabia has identified substantial shale gas formations in the northwest of the country, the South Ghawar (the world’s largest conventional oilfield) and the Rub’al-Khali.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom is simultaneously experiencing a surge in domestic electricity demand. An estimated 27mn people are currently using up to 49GW of electricity, according to Saudi Arabia's Electricity and Co-generation Regulatory Authority.

The demand for power is posing a challenge for the government. In order to provide power, the Kingdom has been burning oil and gas that could be exported, leading to a loss in export revenues.

Developing unconventional resources like shale gas could provide an innovative solution to address increasing domestic electricity demand. It provides resources to produce electricity, while freeing up the existing oil reserves for export.

S02 ORME 5 2014 - E&P 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:12 PM Page 5

S02 ORME 5 2014 - E&P 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 2:17 PM Page 6

 E&P

Serica Energy begins drilling offshore Moroccan licence SERICA ENERGY HAS announced the commencement of drilling operations in the Sidi Moussa Licence offshore Morocco.

The semi-submersible rig Noble Paul Romano had spud the SM-1 well in early August, according to operator Genel Energy. The well, located approximately 60 km off the west coast of Morocco, in water depths of 990m, is expected to take two to three months to complete operations.

Serica Energy holds a five per cent interest in the Sidi Moussa Licence and carries the drilling costs of the well up to a gross cap of US$50mn with an The well is located in water depths of 990m expected limited contribution above this level, the company said.

Tony Craven Walker, CEO of Serica Energy, said, “The SM-1 is well placed to test the carbonate reservoir potential in the Sidi Moussa Licence. Serica Energy is largely carried on this frontier exploration well. Morocco is still underexplored and the potential is there for a material oil find.”

OPEC members can help balance oil market THE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY Agency (IEA) has turned to OPEC to balance the market for the rest of 2014. In its latest monthly report, IEA raised the call on OPEC by a combined 400,000b/d for Q3 and Q4 to 30.8mn b/d. This compares with previous forecasts of 30.7 b/d and 30.5mn b/d, respectively.

For 2015, the call has been raised by 100,000 b/d to 29.9mn b/d, stated the report.

OPEC members have provided a major share of the world’s output growth in July, raising its output by 300,000 b/d to 30.44mn b/d, said IEA. Global supply was up 230,000 b/d in July to 93mn b/d, with higher OPEC output offsetting lower non-OPEC supply.

Lukoil’s crude carrier to receive oil from Iraqi oilfield RUSSIAN OIL MAJOR Lukoil’s international marketing and trading arm Litasco has chartered a crude carrier to receive the first batch of oil extracted from the West Qurna-2 oilfield in Iraq.

The vessel will spend several days at the Basra port to load one million barrels of oil, Lukoil said. This exercise is part of the recovery of Lukoil’s costs from Phase-1 of the West Qurna-2 oilfield, which is currently producing 280,000 bpd.

Andrey Kuzyaev, vice-president of Lukoil, said, “The loading of this crude carrier provides further evidence of the reliable partnership between Lukoil and the Iraqi side in developing the country’s oil industry.”

Lukoil’s crude carrier is the first to transport buy-back oil that belongs to Lukoil, in line with the terms of the West Qurna-2 service contract, company officials said.

Kuwait receives four bids for Al Ratqa project KUWAIT HAS RECEIVED bids from four international consortia for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the Al Ratqa heavy crude project.

The Ratqa project is part of efforts to meet Kuwait’s target of producing four million bpd of crude by 2020. OPEC member Kuwait’s current production stands at around three million bpd, of which around around two-thirds is exported.

Among the four bidders, UK’s Petrofac submitted the lowest offer. The bids were submitted by the Central Tenders Committee to the government-owned Kuwait produces three million bpd Kuwait Oil Company (KOC). Other bidders included Italy’s Saipem and South Korea’s SK Group and the GS Group. Quoting an unnamed KOC official, the newspaper said that Petrofac submitted the lowest bid of US$4.25bn for the contract, while SK Group made the second lowest bid of US$4.64bn. Saipem submitted a bid of US$6.2bn, while SK Group presented the highest bid of US$6.5bn.

All the bids were, however, below US$7.1bn budgeted by KOC for the first phase of the project, which is expected to produce around 60,000 bpd of heavy crude from the Al Ratqa field.

According to the state-owned firm, KOC has formed a team to study the bids and the contract will be signed before the end of 2014. The project is expected to be completed within three-and-a-half years, in addition to a 10-month period for trial operation.

6

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

The IEA has called on OPEC to increase oil production The current insurgency in Iraq hasn’t caused a significant disruption in oil supplies. Despite the loss of the Baiji refinery, operations in the south of Iraq have continued as normal. Aside from a couple of small fields being shut in, oil production in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) had progressed as usual.

In Libya, exports have resumed from the port of Ras Lanuf, which should free up storage and allow fields to ramp up production. Gerhard Roiss, head of Austria's OMV, said that the company had resumed lifting cargo from Libya. ”While the situation across these key producer countries remains more at risk than ever, the market appears confident that OPEC can deliver the production increase needed from it to meet rising demand expected in the second half of the year," stated the report.

In fact, OPEC's crude supply in July hit a five-month high with a boost from Saudi Arabia of 10mn b/d – the highest figures from the Kingdom since September 2013.

Therefore, with the market well supplied – even with an oil glut reported in the Atlantic basin – much attention has been focused on future demand growth.

S03 ORME 5 2014 - E&P 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:15 PM Page 7

S03 ORME 5 2014 - E&P 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:15 PM Page 8

 E&P

ADNOC and KPC to lease India’s oil storage facilities ABU DHABI NATIONAL Oil Corporation (ADNOC) and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) are in talks with India to hire a part of its storage facilities, which are currently under construction.

India, which is 79 per cent dependent on imports to meet its crude oil needs, is building underground storage facilities at Visakhapatnam in the state of Seemandhra and at Mangalore and Padur in the state of Karnataka to store about 5.33mn tonnes of crude oil.

Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s oil minister, said, “The national oil companies of the UAE and Kuwait have expressed their interest to store about two million tons of crude oil in the caverns.”

The storages at Visakhapatnam, Mangalore and Padur are reportedly enough to meet the nation’s oil requirement of about 10 days.

Official sources said that the 1.33mn ton storage in Seemandhra will be ready by September/October this year while the 4mn ton facilities in Karnataka will be completed by mid-2015.

With the commissioning of Visakhapatnam storage, India is likely to join nations like the US, Japan and China that have strategic reserves.

Originally, India Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), the stateowned firm building the strategic stockpile, was to build the Visakhapatnam facility by October 2011 while the Mangalore storages were to be mechanically completed by November 2012. The storage at Padur was scheduled for completion in December 2012. However, construction was delayed.

The facilities in Vishakhapatnam, Mangalore and Padur will cost US$169mn, US$200mn and US$275mn respectively.

8

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

Cosco Corporation wins US$470mn contract to build subsea vessels for Maersk SINGAPORE'S COSCO CORPORATION Limited's subsidiary Cosco Dalian Shipyard Co. Ltd has secured contracts exceeding US$470mn to build four subsea supply vessels for Maersk.

The contract, however, excludes owner-furnished equipment from Maersk Supply Service AS (MSS) – part of the AP Moller-Maersk Group, stated Cosco Corporation officials.

The vessels have been scheduled for delivery in Q4 2016.

In addition, MSS has also secured options from the Singaporean company for two more subsea vessels, whose delivery is scheduled in the first half of 2017.

Cosco will deliver the vessels in Q4 2016

S03 ORME 5 2014 - E&P 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:15 PM Page 9

S03 ORME 5 2014 - E&P 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:15 PM Page 10

 E&P

OFG celebrates 50th oil and gas networking dinner THE OIL FIELD Get Together (OFG) is set to celebrate as it hosts its 50th oil and gas networking event in Dubai on 28 August.

Hosted at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Dubai Marina, the OFG has been running for almost five years since its conception in 2009.

Antonio Lagrutta, general manager of Ruth’s Chris Steak House, said, “We are honoured to host the OFG’s monthly get together. It has been a fantastic event thus far, where we see decision makers and oil field professionals come together month after month.”

A leading monthly event for the UAE’s oil and gas industry, OFG provides attendees with the opportunity to network in an informal

The next event will be held on 28 August 2014, from 12 noon-3pm at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Address Dubai Marina. Places cost AED 250 per registration and AED 300 on the door; for reservations contact the restaurant on +971 4 4549538.

The networking event attracts industry professionals and suppliers

The OFG has been running since 2009

Libyan port exports first shipment of crude for a year AN OIL TANKER carrying 670,000 barrels of crude has departed from Libya's Ras Lanuf terminal, becoming the first shipment since the port was reopened a year after a series of blockades by protestors.

A spokesperson for the state-run National Oil Corporation confirmed that the vessel was carrying Siritica crude. It was chartered by the Austrian firm OMV and was travelling to Malta in Italy.

A second shipment is expected shortly, added the spokesperson.

Ras Lanuf is Libya's third largest port and has a capacity to load 220,000 barrels a day. Libya is a key member of OPEC and used to produce nearly 1.6mn barrels of oil per day prior to the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime, stated Reuters.

Currently, the country produces 450,000 barrels per day.

The shipment has been considered a positive sign for the Libyan economy, which is recovering from a series of political upheavals. A Reuters report added that four out of five eastern oil ports were shut off by federalist rebels, cutting the country’s production by nearly half.

Even though the government negotiated with the rebels to free the ports, technical glitches had delayed their reopening.

Ras Lanuf port has reopened after a year

10

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

environment with other like-minded industry professionals and suppliers.

In a relaxed setting, guests can enjoy a three-course dinner at the Marina’s award-winning restaurant.

Additionally, attendees can benefit from complimentary valet parking, Internet and business centre facility.

Iraq to increase export of Basra Light crude IRAQ IS PLANNING to export 2.4mn bpd of Basra Light crude in September 2014, up from 2.2mn bpd from July 2014.

Despite insurgency in the country, crude exports have increased and this could weigh on global oil prices.

Additional supply of Basra Light crude could also weigh on Middle East grades, which are facing stiff competition from cheaper barrels flowing in from Africa and Latin America, added the report.

The spot market for Basra Light crude has been muted in Asia in the past two months due to a possible disruption in supply owing to political factors. Iraq plans to export 71.895mn barrels of Basra Light crude in September. Buyers from China were due to purchase 21mn barrels. In August 2014, Iraq had scheduled to export 2.225mn bpd, sharply down from the initial July programme of around 2.8mn bpd.

Iraq has hiked its crude exports

S03 ORME 5 2014 - E&P 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:15 PM Page 11

OIL FIELD CHEMICALS CAUSTIC SODA | SODA ASH GILSONITE | SODIUM BICARBONATE XANTHAN GUM | PAC R | PAC LV LIME | STARCH HT | PHPA CORROSION INHIBITORS | LUBRICANTS GLYCOL MC | BIOCIDES | DEFOAMERS BUTYL GLYCOL | XYLENE CALCIUM CHLORIDE | TEG EMULSIFIER | WETTING AGENT POTASSIUM CHLORIDE CAUSTIC SODA SOLUTION INDUSTRIAL SALT SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE SOLUTION | BARITE BENTONITE | LOSS CIRCULATION MATERIAL

Starlink Oilfield Supplies & Services DMCC P .O. BOX: 24167, Office No. 3903 Liwa Heights, Jumairah Lake Towers, Dubai , U.A.E .

T: +971 4 425 3355, F: +971 4 364 9273, E : inquiry@soss.ae, W: www.soss.ae

S03 ORME 5 2014 - E&P 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:15 PM Page 12

 E&P

TAQA reports record production for first half 2014 ABU DHABI NATIONAL Energy Company TAQA has announced record oil and gas production, having achieved a net profit of US$140mn for the first half of 2014, up from a loss of US$18mn in the same period last year.

Averaging at 158,000 boepd, the first six months of 2014 saw a 24 per cent increase in the company’s production on to the first half of 2013.

TAQA chief operating officer, Edward LaFehr, said, “We are starting to see the results of our focused strategy bearing fruit.” TAQA averaged 158,000 boepd in the first half of 2014 The growth in fuel production, along with the increased price of gas in North America, contributed to boosting TAQA’s revenues to US$3.1bn. As a result, the company is boasting its highest ever EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), of US$2.2bn, up 42 per cent on the first half of 2013.

LaFehr stated, “Greater efficiencies and cost control, combined with a conservative view on growth projects and acquisitions, will ensure we can deliver our commitment to reduce debt and improve financial performance.”

Oil Search Limited executes BOP tests at Iraqi well OIL SEARCH LIMITED carried out planned blowout preventer (BOP) tests at the Taza-2 well in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The tests ensured stabilisation of the hole and helped treat mud losses that were encountered last week, the company said.

Once the oil well has been declared stable by relevant authorities, the hole will be enlarged, giving way for a more comprehensive testing programme, officials from Oil Search Limited added. The Papua New Guinea-based oil company has already reached a total depth of 4,200 metres through a 6.12-inch hole.

The Taza-2 well is located 10km northwest of Taza-1 and is designed to appraise hydrocarbon-bearing intervals encountered by Taza-1 like the Jeribe and Euphrates formations. It would also explore deeper tertiary and cretaceous targets including the Shiranish formations.

Total E&P KRI, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Oil Search Limited are operating on the Taza-2 block.

MOL and KRG in FDP agreement MOL KALEGRAN LTD., has announced that it has reached an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources on its field development plan (FDP) in two discovery areas.

The FDP relates to two commercial discovery areas in the Akri-Bijeel block, the Bijell and the Bakrman areas, with the approved two-phase development programme enabling operator MOL Kalegran to determine key factors such as the recovery factor.

MOL Kalegran said an extended well testing facility with 10 mboepd capacity has already been producing without any disruption on the Bijell area. The operator is also set to add further temporary, rented facilities to help ramp up production from both areas to 35 mboepd in 2015, before increasing production from the block to minimum of 50 mboepd by 2017-18.

MOL group executive vice-president for E&P, Alexander Dodds, said the agreement marked “a very important step for the whole group in such an important region, which would not have materialised without the support of the Ministry of Natural Resources”.

HE Dr Ashti Hawrami, minister for natural resources for the KRG, remarked, “This will greatly contribute to the production target set by the ministry of one million barrels of oil per day – this is an excellent contribution to the exchequer.”

Petrofac awarded US$8.5mn maintenance contract for BP’s Shah Deniz 2 OIL AND GAS facilities service provider Petrofac has been awarded a contract worth approximately US$8.5mn to provide maintenance build capabilities to the BP-operated Shah Deniz 2 project in the Caspian Sea. Plant Asset Management, Petrofac’s asset performance management consulting business, will be responsible for delivering the contract, which covers onshore, offshore, and pipeline assets in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian for one of the world's largest gas developments.

Steve Johnson, vice president of Plant Asset Management said, “We are thrilled to be supporting BP with one of its most ambitious projects and for the further opportunity to highlight the skills of our high calibre consultants, engineers, developers, and analysts.”

Due to be completed in 2018, the contract is part of a long-term project to open a new Southern Gas Corridor and see Shah Deniz 2 add a further 16 bcm of gas production per year to the current nine bcm produced by Shah Deniz Stage 1,

12

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

Petrofac will provide maintenance support to Shah Deniz 2 according to Petrofac.

Plant Asset Management’s services on the project will include the development of reliability and maintenance strategies, validation of the

master equipment list, creation of a maintenance assignment, and the development of computerised maintenance management systems (CMMS) data.

S04 ORME 5 2014 - GAS 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 2:23 PM Page 13

S04 ORME 5 2014 - GAS 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 2:23 PM Page 14

 Gas

BP deal to invest US$10bn in exploration of Egyptian gas fields finalised BP HAS SAID it will invest US$10bn into gas exploration in Egyptian fields, which have been estimated to hold 141bn cu/m of gas reserves.

Egypt’s Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab has announced the finalisation of the investment deal that will see work begin in gas fields capable of producing 20 per cent of Egypt’s total daily gas output.

The US$10bn capital will be invested over the next four to five years, according to local news reports.

The fields, which were discovered by BP, have the potential to produce 33,980 cu/m per day – equivalent to 20 per cent of Egypt’s current daily gas production.

BP currently produces close to 15 per cent of Egypt’s oil output and close to 30 per cent of the country’s gas production with its partners. The new gas deal will help Egypt tackle its energy

The new deal could help Egypt tackle its energy difficulties

difficulties with the country requiring natural gas for power generation to cover nationwide power shortages, as well as reverse the deterioration in local gas production.

Mahlab added that BP had also been working to

invest in explorations in the Nile Delta, Suez Canal and the Mediterranean.

Egypt’s consumption of natural gas has been projected to increase by 12.5 per cent to 157.7mn cu/m per day in the 2014-15 fiscal year.

Iran to increase natural gas output OIL MINISTER BIJAN Namdar Zanganeh revealed Iran is set to increase natural gas production by 200mn cu/m by March 2016.

The increase in natural gas output will eradicate Iran’s need to import the product from Turkmenistan.

Iran holds the second biggest natural gas reserves in the world with approximately 33 plus trillion cu/m of extractable deposits.

The country uses the gas it imports from Turkmenistan to its northeastern provinces,

which are far from Iran’s southern gasproducing regions.

Zanganeh said that he will request for measures to be put in place for the export of products and engineering services to Turkmenistan, as Iranian companies have the means to carry out projects worth US$700mn to US$1bn.

Iran is Turkmenistan's second biggest trade partner following Russia.

Zanganeh highlighted his ministry's

Iran has approximately 33 plus trillion cu/m of extractable deposits

14

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

ability to carry on supplying gas to the country's loyal customers.

Furthermore Iran’s deputy oil minister for international affairs and trade, Ali Majedi, announced that the demand for Iranian natural gas in the Gulf is increasing.

He revealed that negotiations regarding Iranian gas exports are currently underway Oman, as well as Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai.

Majedi told Iran Daily, “Kuwait and the UAE need Iran’s gas for desalination and their gas demand is less compared to that of other importers of Iranian gas, such as Iraq and Turkey.”

Iran and Oman signed a US$60bn agreement in August 2013, under which Iran will deliver gas to the sultanate for 25 years.

As part of this agreement and in line with a deal sealed in March this year, Iran will supply 10bn cu/m of natural gas to Oman annually. The project is expected to come on stream within three years.

S04 ORME 5 2014 - GAS 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 2:23 PM Page 15

S04 ORME 5 2014 - GAS 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 2:23 PM Page 16

 Gas

Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz increases gas production AZERBAIJAN’S GIANT NATURAL gas field Shah Deniz, located in the Caspian Sea, boasts a reported average daily gas production of more than 27mn cu/m.

Gas production at the site is carried out across five wells, and in Q1 2014 the average daily volume of gas production at the field was 26mn cu/m and the equivalent of 49,330 bbl of gas condensate.

A representative from the state energy company SOCAR told media, “The volume of gas production in the field is high. It is now at the level of 27.3-27.4mn cu/m per day.”

As a comparison, in 2013 approximately 9.8bn cu/m of gas and 19.6mn bbl of gas condensate were produced at the Shah Deniz field. While in 2012 saw 7.73bn cu/m of gas and 1.8mn mt of gas condensate being produced.

Discovered in 1999, the Shah Deniz gas field is one to the world’s largest gascondensate fields with estimated gas reserves of 1.2 trillion cu/m.

Previously, in 2013 Azerbaijan agreed to sell more than 10bn cu/m of natural gas a year from the second phase of its Shah Deniz development to nine companies in Europe.

Xodus Group wins Qatargas engineering contract XODUS GROUP HAS joined forces with Qatargas to provide vibration engineering services at onshore and offshore facilities.

Qatargas awarded Xodus group the contract in Qatar, which is believed to be worth in the region of US$1mn.

The contract is for a Technical Services Vibration Programme at the Qatargas QG1, QG2 and QG3&4 LNG Facilities, Ras Laffan refinery and associated offshore assets.

Working alongside Chiyoda Almana Engineering, Xodus will seek to setup a long-term piping integrity management programme to evaluate and reduce vibration in all of the Qatargas facilities, both onshore and offshore.

“Our specialist vibration expertise is ideally suited to some of the challenges facing operators in Qatar and across the region,” said Colin Manson, CEO of Xodus Group.

“Eliminating vibration supports integrity management plans and can deliver significant asset cost savings. In partnership with Chiyoda Almana, we look forward to working with Qatargas to address integrity issues to assist production.”

Xodus, which provides integrated oil and gas services covering surface and subsurface, launched its Dubai office in 2012 and has grown to more than 100 people in the Middle East as demand for its integrated services rises with oil and gas operators.

The UK-based company recently launched new offices in Abu Dhabi, UAE and Erbil, Kurdistan, and is working on setting up a Qatar office later this year.

Xodus will work alongside Chiyoda Almana Engineering on the contract

BAM begins construction on Jordanian LNG project BAM HAS DRIVEN the first pile at a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) jetty in Aqaba, Jordan.

BAM International, BAM Contractors from Ireland and Jordanian joint-venture partner MAG Engineering & Contracting won the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the LNG jetty in November 2013.

BAM Infraconsult has been working on the design of the civil works.The work involved for the new LNG jetty includes the building of a 100 metres trestle on steel piles, a concrete off-loading platform of 20 metres by 20 metres, four mooring dolphins and two breasting dolphins. In addition to this a 700 metres long gas pipeline to the shore tie-in point will be constructed, as well as associated control equipment and instrumentation.

The substructure works for the terminal building are nearly finished, while construction on the administration building has begun.

The joint venture completed the New Port in Aqaba for the same client at the start of this year and the extension of the container terminal for APMT and ADC in 2013.

The LNG project will commence as planned and the hand-over to Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) is set to take place in April 2015.

BAM has driven the first pile at a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) jetty in Aqaba, Jordan

16

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

RasGas strengthens ties with civil defence RASGAS COMPANY LIMITED (RasGas) recently set-up a relationship building meeting with five key members from Qatar’s General Directorate of Civil Defence.

“RasGas is always seeking out new ways to enhance our mutual efforts to build a safe and secure community which is essential for business and the nation as a whole,” said Jassim Al Baker, head of logistics, RasGas. The workshop in RasGas’ West Bay headquarters involved presentations which looked at the business flow and the role each party plays in creating a mutuallybeneficial work relationship.

“The workshop provided me and my team with very unique insights into RasGas’ business needs and areas in which we can support one another during our routine inspections, warehouse and store functions as well as safety systems and chemicals permissions.

RasGas revealed that in the future it will host similar workshops with other government ministries and agencies.

S04 ORME 5 2014 - GAS 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 2:23 PM Page 17

S04 ORME 5 2014 - GAS 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 2:23 PM Page 18

 Gas

Pars Oil and Gas Company to start operations of third gas plant PARS OIL AND Gas Company (POGC) has announced that construction on Phase 15 and 16 of its third gas processing plant covering the South Pars gas field is 95 per cent complete, with the plant expected to come online in August.

The first and second plants will handle 25mn cu/m of sour gas a day, while the third plant is currently undergoing precommissioning stages, according to POGC, a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).

The company reported that together the three gas plants will process at least 40mn cu/m a day in winter.

Ultimately, the development of the South Pars gas field under Phase 15 and 16 intends to process 56.6mn cu/m per day, 75,000 bpd of condensate, and 363 mt per day of sulphur.

According to reports, the two phases will also generate more than one million metric tons per day of Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), propane, and

butane as well as one million metric tons of ethane per day, primarily to be used as petrochemical plant feedstock.

Furthermore, offshore and onshore installations of the two phases involve two drilling platforms, each with 11 wells.

Previously, Iran finished installing five offshore platform in several phases in the giant South Pars gas field, located in the waters of the Gulf, in four months. The five platforms involved in Phase 15, 16, 12b, 18A, and 12C of the gas field were installed during between 21 March to 22 July 2014.

The South Pars gas field, split into 28 phases, is situated in the Gulf on the common border between Iran and Qatar, and is estimated to hold 14 trillion cu/m of gas as well as 18bn bbl of condensates.

Measuring a total area of 9,700 sq km, 3,700 sq km of the gas field covers Iran’s territorial waters, while the remaining 6,000 sq km is located in Qatar’s

The plants will process 40mn cu/m of gas a day territory, also known as the North Dome.

The overall gas field is estimated to hold 51 trillion cu/m of natural gas and some 7.9bn cu/m of natural gas condensate, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Additionally, official Iranian Customs reports revealed that Iran’s year-on-year exports from the South Pars natural gas field rose 49 per cent over the last Iranian calendar month.

Good prospects for UK companies in the Middle East oil and gas sector BRITISH COMPANIES STAND to benefit from the expected upturn in contracting activity in the Middle East and North Africa, said Neil Golding, head of oil and gas at the Energy Industries Council (EIC), at a briefing in London hosted by British Expertise and the Middle East Association in July.

Giving an analysis of current and planned developments in the region, Golding commented that contracting activity in the region (EPC and FEED awards) has reduced year on year from 65 awards in 2010 to 40 in 2013, reflecting the impact of the ‘Arab Spring’ as well as the slowdown in new field discoveries.

“Looking at the tendering exercises taking place, the number can be expected to rise again – good news for the UK supply chain,” Golding said.

In the five years from 2010-2014 the UAE recorded the most contract awards (72) followed by Iraq (55), Iran (32), and Saudi Arabia (22), according to the EIC’s tracking database. Iraq tops the list in terms of current capital expenditure, with around US$160bn worth of projects underway, followed by Iran and the UAE. Highlighting some areas of future development, Golding commented that unconventionals are a key growth area, with Saudi Arabia looking to exploit its shale gas reserves, as well as tight sands.

“Between now and 2020 a full value supply chain is expected to be developed involving site development, rig preparation, drilling, fracking, completions, well tie-in, production and maintenance, offering tremendous opportunities,” he commented.

Algeria, with 950 tcf of unconventional reserves, is expected to launch a licensing round soon for shale gas, he said, while Jordan is also looking to exploit its significant shale deposits, with the possibility of production commencing by 2018.

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is another focus of development, notably in Oman, as well as in Saudi Arabia’s and Kuwait’s heavy

18

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

The EIC's tracking database revealed that the UAE was the location in Middle East of the most contracts awarded between 2010-2014

oilfield developments, while huge opportunities will arise from Saudi Arabia’s offshore Red Sea exploration and development programme, where several wells are planned of which four will be in deep water – new territory for the Kingdom.

Iran could potentially offer big opportunities when it opens up, Golding added, in view of its need to acquire western technology to upgrade its aging infrastructure.

The gathering also heard from Robert Rakison, partner at McGuire Woods, who spoke on the opportunities arising from the offshore developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, highlighting the good fit with the North Sea capabilities of UK companies. Recent discoveries have pushed total recoverable natural gas resources to 38 trillion cubic feet, enough to meet demand for the next forty years. The political situation, however, requires a ‘modus vivendi’ to enable extraction and facilitate the development of the necessary cross border energy infrastructures, Rakison commented.

S05 ORME 5 2014 - GAS 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:18 PM Page 19

S05 ORME 5 2014 - GAS 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:19 PM Page 20

 CALENDAR 2014

Executives’ Calendar 2014 SEPTEMBER 2014 2-3

3rd PMI AGC DMS Energy Forum Debates

MANAMA

www.dmsglobal.net

14-16

IDOC

ABU DHABI

www.idoc-uae.com

16-19

Cairo Energy

CAIRO

www.cairoenergy.com

16-18

Plastics & Petrochem Arabia

DAMMAM

plaschem.4p-arabia.com

OCTOBER 2014 15-16

Iraq International Oil & Gas Expo

BAGHDAD

www.ifpiraq.com

19-21

Ethylene Middle East Technology

MANAMA

www.ethylene-me.com

26-28

Negotiation in Oil & Gas

DOHA

www.cwcschool.com

28-29

Offshore Energy

AMSTERDAM

www.offshore-energy.biz

NOVEMBER 2014 3-5

SABIC Technical Meeting

JUBAIL

www.sabic.com

10-13

ADIPEC

ABU DHABI

www.adipec.com

24-26

SAOGE

DAMMAM

www.saoge.org

DECEMBER 2014 2-5

OSEA 2014

SINGAPORE

www.osea-asia.com

4-7

Basra Oil & Gas

BASRA

www.basraoilgas.com

Readers should verify dates and location with sponsoring organisations, as this information is sometimes subject to change.

BAPCO to be Diamond Sponsor of Manama Energy Forum Debates BAPCO HAS BEEN named as the Diamond Sponsor for the 3rd PMI AGC DMS Energy Forum Debates, which will take place at the Gulf Hotel in Manama, Bahrain, from 2–3 September 2014.

Mohammed Loch, President and CEO of event organisers DMS Global, commented, “The Project Management Institute is the leading body for project management standards, which already gave the event

huge technical credibility. BAPCO taking the lead as the Diamond Sponsor now gives the event the industry credibility it deserves and will no doubt inspire the whole project management community to take part in this unique gathering.”

Abdul Majeed Al Gassab, President of the PMI AGC Bahrain Region, remarked that the addition of BAPCO as Diamond Sponsor of the event would encourage

more sponsors to come forward.

Al Gassab said, “The PMI AGC is confident that participating organisations will not only gain important recognition and distinction for their involvement in the conference, but will also enjoy a prime opportunity to interact face-to-face with clients, suppliers, key decisions-makers, influential leaders, industry experts, and potential business partners.”

ADIPEC’s ‘Women in Industry’ series of events to address gender imbalance ADIPEC HAS LAUNCHED a new a series of events dedicated to women working within the oil and gas sector. The ‘Women In Industry’ series will take place ahead of and during ADIPEC 2014, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

The first event in the series, scheduled to take place on 1 September 2014 in Abu Dhabi at Li Beirut, Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, will bring together women working within the oil and gas industry, providing attendees the opportunity of meeting with industry peers in an exclusively female environment. Among the topics up for discussion will be how best to address the gender imbalance

20

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

ADIPEC will return to Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in November 2014

within the sector, as well as how women can actively encourage opportunity and reduce barriers.

The second event in the series will take place at the same venue on 13 October 2014 with a panel set to discuss themes such as ‘Achieving CEO or Member of the Board status’ and the possibilities and opportunities available to women within the oil and gas sector.

Meanwhile, an onsite event will take place during ADIPEC 2014 on 11 November during the second day of the event and will feature an indepth look at the role women have played in the energy industry since 1984.

S05 ORME 5 2014 - GAS 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 1:58 PM Page 21

S05 ORME 5 2014 - GAS 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:19 PM Page 22

 Analysis E-mail is the standard method of personal approach within the energy industries these days. We look at the best ways to use it in the initial candidate-filtering stage.

Recruitment in

the online age I T IS THE nature of the energy businesses that online applications for new positions are now the norm. Technicians and other professionals within the oil and gas industry are usually too busy or too remotely located to use any other means. And skilled personnel within the industry move around the world rapidly, in and out of North Africa and the Gulf, rarely being available for faceto-face interviews except by local agencies/representatives.

Dealing efficiently with the conventional e-mail application is covered here. Some recruiters go further and delve into the world of social networking to corroborate and fill out the details. This is generally not advised.

First, there may be unwanted legal implications. Second, many good applicants for new positions work in countries where social networking is strictly controlled, or even prevented altogether. Not relying on the system at all means that a level playing field is created.

Online agencies tell job applicants repeatedly to ensure their c.v. (curriculum vitae) or resumé is as perfect as possible.

Sometimes the result is that presentation takes precedence over substance. And what they often fail to point out is that most applications are ‘scanned’ quickly on screen (well under half a minute) and moved on from immediately; only a selected few go through to the next stage and are read thoroughly. That’s when the covering letter (always essential) is inspected too.

So, in the absence of a standard application form, the skilled recruiter knows to look out for the following features in an online application: - Conventional presentation as an attached Word document in .doc or .docx format; beware of fancy material within timeconsuming PDF’s which suggests an unprofessional approach. Tidy layout is always good, with bullet points used to separate short sentences containing only relevant information. Photographs are not appropriate unless asked for.

- Just two pages of typescript that present the essential data in a logical sequence, which varies from country of origin to country (usually nationality/contact details/training/work experience with the latest most fully outlined first in the

22

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

Attention to detail and consistency are two of the basic points that applicants for jobs within the oil and gas sector should ensure they address

A well presented online e-mail application is an excellent way of founding a successful employeremployee relationship” sequence/personal background data). There should be no surplus words.

- Keywords such as conventional terms for previously-held standard job positions (and country locations) presented early within each section, as this shows that the applicant knows how rapid filtering works, relying heavily on the use of conventional online search terms.

- A brief personal statement which shows what an ambitious applicant could bring to this individual vacancy, separating them positively from the rest. Many applicants send precisely the same details for all positions tried for, a clear sign of an unprofessional approach. The covering letter should display this informed attention to detail too.

- Pay particular attention to spelling, but make allowances for the fact that many applicants will not be using their first language. Multiple linguistic abilities are always an asset; they display flexibility.

- Consistency matters. Has the applicant explained any (long) employment gaps? Does the document ‘hold up’ (i.e. do different sections complement one another)?

- Some recruiters say that a few relevant numbers always help, e.g. a record of how the applicant performed previously. Obviously for a technical position this is hard to demonstrate, but even a note about size of work team helps. Such data tends to be memorable because it is tangible. If it backs up a claimed achievement, all the better.

- Supply of references is inappropriate at the initial online application stage, but willingness/ability to supply them is vital (often stated in the covering letter, which should always be retained).

- Finally, use your instincts, but back up the rejection of a 7/10 scorer with a second look!

And remember that an applicant who manages to fill the gap between modesty and bragging is usually worth considering seriously.

Very few technical positions in the MENA region do not require fluency in information and communications technologies these days.

A well presented online e-mail application is an excellent way of founding a successful employer-employee relationship that will further the commercial and technical interests of all the parties concerned. ■

S06 ORME 5 2014 - Analysis 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:25 PM Page 23

S06 ORME 5 2014 - Analysis 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:25 PM Page 24

 Analysis As the crisis currently engulfing Iraq threatens the country’s long-term future, its vital oil industry is attempting to carry on with business as usual. Lynda Davies reports.

Iraq’s oil ambitions

under fire D ESPITE THE DEEPENING crisis following the Islamic State (IS) militants-led insurgency, which began in the north of the country in June, Iraq’s southern oil production and exports have so far remained unaffected by the escalating violence and fighting. Oil production in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), has also so far remained unaffected by the advancing IS militants.

Many market participants now appear to believe the insurgents will be contained in northern Iraq, especially in the wake of recent US air strikes. There appears to be more uncertainty over longer term production targets, however.

“While recent events have introduced a high level of uncertainty in the country, it is above all a lack of infrastructure and institutional deficiencies that are putting the brakes on production growth,” said one analyst.

Iraq’s southern oilfields account for more than 70 per cent of the country’s crude oil production and since 2 March 2014 federal Iraq has had to depend on export infrastructure in the south to handle all of its oil exports following damage to its northern pipeline.

Oil exports from the southern ports reached 75.7 million barrels (averaging 2.44 mbd) in July, up from 72.8 million barrels (2.42 mbd) in June, according to State Organisation for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) data on Iraq’s Oil Ministry website. In May, exports reached 80 million barrels (2.58 mbd), the highest since 2003, according to Oil Ministry spokesperson Assem Jihad.

Much of the 70,000 b/d increase in May over April was on account of the commissioning of a third single point mooring (SPM) at Basra. The dip in June, Jihad said, was due to maintenance and expansion work at one of the berths at alBasra Oil Terminal.

The closure on 2 March of the northern pipeline, which runs from Kirkuk to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, caused the country’s exports to dip to an average 2.397 mbd in March from 2.8 mbd (78.4 million barrels in total) in February.

Repeated sabotage attacks and damage by militants finally forced pumping through the

24

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

An increase in Iraqi oil exports in May 2014 has been attributed to the commissioning of a third SPM at al-Basra Oil Terminal pipeline to be halted. Repairs to the pipeline were abandoned amid the latest insurgency

by IS militants.

The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has a nameplate capacity of 1.6 mbd, but even before the 2003 war, operational capacity was limited to 0.9 mbd. Since 2003, capacity has been much lower at around 400-500,000 b/d, with Iraqi exports through the pipeline falling to around 250,000 b/d in 2013, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Since early January, following the launch of its own pipeline the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq has been using the Turkish section of the federal northern pipeline to transport crude produced within its regional borders to Ceyhan.

A lack of infrastructure and institutional deficiencies are putting the brakes on production growth”

Production outlook Iraq’s crude output, including production in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, in July was estimated at around 3.15 mbd. Output in the first half of this year was running at an average 3.3 mbd, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). In 2013, Iraq produced around three million barrels a day on average, a slight increase on 2012’s output of 2.952 mbd. Exports last year averaged 2.979 mbd, according to IEA data.

Iraq’s Oil Ministry in December 2013 was targeting oil production of 4.1 mbd for 2014, with about 3.7 mbd of that to come from southern operations where new fields coming on stream were expected to add 500,000 b/d of output. The Oil Ministry has since conceded, however, that the country is unlikely to reach that figure.

Iraq’s oil production surged to a 35-year high of an average 3.6 mbd in February, but has since fallen back amid some technical problems in the south and a fall in domestic crude use following the closure of the 310,000 b/d Baiji refinery in the second half of June after it was attacked by IS militants.

According to the EIA, the refinery was processing around 200,000 b/d of crude.

S06 ORME 5 2014 - Analysis 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:25 PM Page 25

Analysis 

The current situation in Iraq is threatening to redraw the country's borders On account of the recent insurgency, the EIA in July reduced its forecast production growth in Iraq by about 0.3 mbd for both 2014 and 2015. The US energy department said it did not expect Iraq’s crude production to exceed 3.3 mbd, its average level during the first half of 2014, during the short-term outlook period.

Iraq’s own national longer-term output targets remain unchanged, with the country’s Oil Ministry in early June targeting production of 8.4 mbd “sometime” after 2018, updating a previous production target of nine million barrels a day by the end of the decade. This figure is a scale-down from earlier projections of 12 mbd by 2020.

Even if the southern oil installations remain safe from damage, however, many industry players and analysts believe this latest longer-term target to be overly optimistic.

The IEA in June cut its estimate of Iraq’s oil production capacity growth by 470,000 b/d, and now expects capacity to reach 4.54 mbd by 2019.

“Production of 8.4 mbd is clearly unattainable, but this is mostly due to bureaucratic delays on field development and export projects,” said Robin Mills, head of consulting at Manaar Energy Group.

“I don’t give single-point forecasts from the IEA or anyone else much credence, because six million barrels a day by 2020 is clearly achievable under a government of reasonable competence,” Mills explained. “But the political situation is too unclear for us to know whether this will be achieved.”

Inadequate export infrastructure Continued substantial investment in infrastructure in Iraq’s southern export infrastructure to remove potential bottlenecks is critical if the country is to meet its steep production increase targets. The southern oil fields have often been forced to curtail production as the country has struggled to complete projects to expand storage and export capacity. Problems have been especially acute when tankers have been prevented from loading by bad weather.

But infrastructure constraints are being addressed, with expansion of offshore crude loading capacity having made the most progress. In addition to the existing onshore al-Basra oil terminal and the Khor al-Amaya terminal, crude oil can be handled at the three SPMs, the first two of which were put into operation in early 2012.

Export capability increased this year with the start-up of a new central metering and manifold platform, which facilitates exports through the SPMs. The third SPM (number 4) was opened in June, taking nominal southern export capacity up to nearly 4.3 mbd; however, while each SPM has a design capacity of 850,000 b/d each, they operate at less than half of this capacity due to a lack of pumping capacity, inadequate storage tank capacity, and other issues.

Issue 5 2014

oilreview.me

25

S06 ORME 5 2014 - Analysis 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:25 PM Page 26

 Analysis

According to Mills, the three SPMs cannot load simultaneously due to a lack of pumping capacity so currently serve as a back-up to each other for logistics or maintenance issues.

The new metering and manifold platform will hook up to two more SPMs (numbers 1 and 5) to the pipeline system. These SPMs are in place but are currently dormant, although one of these is due to begin operations by the end of this year.

The Oil Ministry puts the current handling capacity of the southern oil export facilities at three million barrels a day. A number of analysts have, however, said that actual operational capacity is lower.

“Surge export capacity is [currently] some 2.9 mbd, but realistic sustained monthly export capacity seems to be around 2.7 mbd,” said Mills, adding that weather stoppages remained a problem.

The lack of sufficient oil storage at the Fao terminal, as well as the limited pumping capacity, is a particular problem. The Fao terminal is a critical link between the onshore fields and the offshore loading facilities, but delays in constructing additional adequate capacity necessitated the construction of interim pipelines to the SPMs bypassing the terminal. Consequently, oil is pumped into tankers directly more than 100 km offshore and any delays to loading due to bad weather or other problems can force production stoppage at the oilfields.

An additional one million barrels of oil storage capacity was commissioned at the Fao terminal in January 2013, taking total storage capacity at the terminal to 6.5 million barrels, a little more than two days worth of production. A further two million barrels of storage capacity was targeted to be in place at the end of 2013, but it is unclear what progress has been made on this plan.

Ultimately, Iraq is targeting 15 million barrels of storage capacity in the south.

Removal of these bottlenecks and bringing online new capacity from the additional SPMs is critical if Iraq is to meet its goal of ramping up the export capacity of southern terminals to eight million barrels a day later this decade, and is especially critical if federal Iraq has to remain solely dependent upon the southern facilities to get its oil to world markets.

Jordan pipe dreams In an effort to reduce its dependency on the southern oil terminals, Iraq has been looking at building alternative export infrastructure. In April 2013, Baghdad signed an signed an initial framework agreement with Jordan for the Jordanian section of a 1,680 km double pipeline to run from Basra to Jordan’s Red Sea port of Aqaba and in September shortlisted 12 international companies and consortia to submit bids for the Jordanian section.

26

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

Iraq’s federal government and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have been locked in a dispute for years over the autonomous region’s desire to export oil independently Despite the deteriorating situation in northern Iraq, the project appears to be still on the agenda for the two countries, with Iraqi and Jordanian officials on 6 August “officially” announcing the pipeline project during a two-day investment forum in Basra. Iraq plans to build a 680 km pipeline from Basra to Haditha in the northern Anbar province, areas of which are now under the control of IS militants. The Iraqi section of the pipeline would link up with the proposed Jordanian pipeline at Haditha.

Analysts have, however, pointed to the huge issues of security on the planned route for the Iraqi section of the pipeline, with large sections of it needing to pass through western Iraq, which are currently under the control of IS militants. Not only would ensuring the safety of construction personnel in the region be a major challenge, but so too would safeguarding the security of the pipeline once built.

Kurdish oil ambitions The Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which has been in a dispute with the Iraqi central administration for years over its desire to export oil independently, at the beginning of this year began pumping crude though its own recently completely pipeline. The 300,000 b/d capacity pipeline runs from Dohuk to Fishkabour near the Turkish

Surge export capacity is some 2.9 mbd, but realistic sustained monthly export capacity seems to be around 2.7 mbd”

border where it connects with the existing Iraqi federal pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean port Ceyhan. In mid-July, Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control of two oil fields near Kirkuk.

The initial volumes that flowed across Turkey to Ceyhan remained in storage until May when a tanker loaded with more than one million barrels of Kurdish crude set sail from the port on 22 May. Since then, the KRG has shipped four and, according to some reports, five further cargoes of crude from Ceyhan.

The KRG has been selling its oil independently of Iraq’s federal government since 2012, transporting initially small quantities of condensate, and then in 2013, small volumes of crude by truck to the Turkish port of Dörtyol. In mid-July, Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control of two oil fields near Kirkuk.

Since the start of the KRG’s crude exports from Ceyhan, Iraq’s central government has stepped up its efforts to block independent oil sales by the regional authority. At the time of writing, only one of the cargoes ex-Ceyhan was reported to have been fully offloaded so far.

Nevertheless, the KRG’s Ministry of Resources has indicated it aims to increase current oil export volumes to Turkey to 400,000 b/d by the end of this year. Some analysts have, however, questioned the feasibility of the KRG’s export ambitions.

“The 400,000 b/d depends on the status of the Turkish export pipeline and on the link from Kirkuk,” Mills said. “I think the target will prove ambitious. Actual exports will be much lower unless the KRG establishes a reliable tanker export route and gets paid. This also depends on the role the Kurds play in the new Iraqi government, when formed.” ■

S07 ORME 5 2014 - Drilling Sector Survey_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:27 PM Page 27

• •

• •

S07 ORME 5 2014 - Drilling Sector Survey_Layout 1 8/18/2014 2:45 PM Page 28

 Drilling

Encouraging drilling

prospects ahead I F THE RIG count is anything to go by, the Middle East is experiencing something of a drilling bonanza. Figures produced by Baker Hughes show that the Middle East rig count has risen steadily since 2009 to stand at a monthly average of 411 from January to July 2014.

Saudi Arabia tops the list with a rig count of 108, and continues to offer huge drilling potential in view of its large scale expansion in exploration and development of its unconventional resources to boost gas production, as well as its frontier Red Sea exploration and drilling operations.

Boasting a rig count of 94, Iraq, notwithstanding the current unrest in the north of the country, offers enormous potential given that a high proportion of its reserves are yet to be exploited.

Rig counts are rising steadily in Kuwait, Oman and Abu Dhabi, which will require a substantial expansion of its rig fleet to meet its production target of 3.5 mn bpd by 2020, while Qatar is planning massive investment in its Bul Hanine offshore oilfield to counter production decline, with plans to drill around 150 new wells between now and 2028.

Elsewhere, Morocco plans to drill around 30 oil and gas wells this year as part of its frontier exploration programme, while Algeria’s recent announcement that it will invest $100 billion to increase its oil and gas output from 2014-2018 looks certain to boost drilling activity.

Figures from some of the leading oilfield service providers reflect this picture, with Halliburton recording a 24% increase in its Middle East and Africa drilling and evaluation revenue in the second quarter of 2014.

Innovative drilling methods There is an increased emphasis in the region on innovative drilling methods and technology, to meet demands for improved efficiency and performance, as well as to cope with the complex drilling challenges posed by the drive to exploit ‘difficult’ resources such as tight gas, sour gas, shale gas and heavy oil.

“Most of the "easy oil" has already been developed,” says Ibrahim Al-Alawi, deputy CEO of Abu Dhabi based AlMansoori Specialized Engineering. “High H2S, higher temperatures, higher pressures, and tighter

28

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

The Middle East rig count has been on the rise since 2009

Most of the easy oil has already been developed” formations require the use of specialized technology. Horizontal drilling has pretty much become the standard in the GCC. There appears to be growing interest in managed pressure drilling (MPD) and underbalanced drilling (UBD) across the region.” These techniques control pressure gradients to reduce fracturing and other potential challenges to drilling efficiency.

Horizontal drilling has been used extensively in Oman’s Khazzan gas field, one of the largest unconventional tight gas accumulations. Here BP has used hydraulic fracturing and advanced hard rock drilling technologies to unlock tight gas in hot light reservoirs. Drilling and stimulating horizontal wells with the appropriate fracturing techniques results in faster well productivity and a better cost per barrel than would be obtained with vertical wells, according to BP. Ahmet Aki, regional technical sales and marketing manager, Halliburton, comments that extended reach drilling, deep

exploration and unconventional drilling are expected to increase.

“Traditionally, the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, has been the first to deploy drilling technologies pioneered in North America or elsewhere, including trialling technologies that are not yet commercialised,” he says, while Baker Hughes comments in its latest quarterly report, “Products and services we recently introduced to improve the economics of North American shale production are now finding homes in the Middle East, Argentina, North Africa, Russia and China.”

The region is increasingly pioneering its own R&D and producing its own technology.

Saudi Aramco for example is developing lowcost drilling microchip sensor technology, which combines a new mobile, reliable and miniature sensor system for downhole drilling measurements with an application for acquisition of temperature and pressure data along the entire wellbore. There is much scope for cooperation in R&D and technology transfer with the region.

Challenges include higher dog-leg requirements in mature/conventional fields, faster well delivery, and reduced NPT, says Ahmet Aki. Initiatives introduced by

S07 ORME 5 2014 - Drilling Sector Survey_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:27 PM Page 29

S07 ORME 5 2014 - Drilling Sector Survey_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:27 PM Page 30

 Drilling

Personnel competencies for effective use of technologies present primary challenges

As in many other areas throughout the industry, recruitment and retention are an issue” Halliburton to address these challenges include capability/reliability improvements, the introduction of rotary steerable systems (RSS) and motorized RSS, increased focus on service quality, and establishing Halliburton’s Drilling Engineering Solutions for delivering optimised drilling performance.

Baker Hughes reports strong demand for its FASTrack™ logging-while-drilling (LWD) fluid analysis and testing service, the industry’s first commercial service capable of retrieving fluid samples during the drilling process, in the UAE, while its AutoTraK Curve™ rotary steerable system which drills more than one mile on a well in a single day, is being used in Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The company’s SureTrak™ steerable drilling liner service, which makes it possible to drill in trouble zones while reducing the time and risk in drilling and completing a well, has been successfully deployed in Saudi Arabia.

Access to skilled personnel However, as in many other areas throughout the industry, recruitment and retention are an issue. “The biggest challenge for drilling contractors is hiring and retaining staff,” says Ibrahim AlAlawi. “Personnel competencies for successful deployment and effective use of technologies present primary challenges,” says Ahmet Aki. Halliburton’s regional office cooperates closely with its head office in Houston to develop competency programmmes, training and assessments.

Other multinational industry operators are also establishing and expanding training facilities, often in collaboration with local Ministries, NOCs or institutions. Examples include Petrofac’s new Construction & Drilling Training Centre at Saudi Petroleum Services Polytechnic, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, whose wide range of courses includes drilling and workover training, enabling local personnel to be trained to internationally accredited standards. There is clearly potential for increased collaboration in this area. ■

30

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

S08 ORME 5 2014 - Analysis 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:28 PM Page 31

S08 ORME 5 2014 - Analysis 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:28 PM Page 32

 Analysis

DHL boasts 15 dedicated company aircraft supporting its 5,000 employees working in the Middle East (Photo: Russavia)

Investing in

far reaching potential Following a two-year multi-million dollar investment by delivery and logistics solutions provider DHL into the Middle East, the company’s Energy Sector president Steve Harley spoke to Oil Review about the intentions behind the regional focus. Louise Quick reports.

HIS YEAR SEES the completion of DHL’s US$177mn two-year investment which it has channelled into developing business in the Middle East. The main benefactors of this financial push include the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, which have welcomed five new facilities and offices between them.

Saudi Arabia has seen the creation of three new facilities and gateways in Damman, Riyadh, and Jeddah, while in Egypt DHL has opened a new office in Cairo that will serve as its country head office, gateway, and service centre. Furthermore, as a result of a US$27mn investment, DHL launched its largest ground operations facility in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, occupying 17,265 sq m in Meydan, Dubai.

Speaking to Steve Harley, president of DHL’s Energy Sector, it is clear that this heavy investment is not solely an effort to develop business in the fuel-rich Middle East itself, but to benefit from the business opportunities and potential to be found in the emerging markets that surround it.

“The Middle East, and particularly the UAE, is a focus area for logistical support for a much wider region. If you consider what we can do using the UAE as a hub, we can support oil and gas operators in East Africa, even through to West Africa, through to India,” Harley explained.

As the number of air, land, and ocean routes between the Gulf and its distant neighbours in Africa and Asia continues to grow, the Middle East is finding itself everincreasingly an important strategic gateway into these promising markets.

T

32

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

DHL Energy Sector president Steve Harley Harley said, “The communications in terms of air routes and ocean routes into the key oil and gas locations are increasingly strong from here; you’ll see flights going to many more destinations in Africa, [and] you’ll see shipping lines increasing their frequency into East Africa.”

Using the UAE as a hub we can support oil and gas operators in East Africa, even through to West Africa, through to India”

It is worth noting that, in line with the report BP Energy Outlook 2035, global energy consumption will rise by 41 per cent over the next 21 years and 95 per cent of that growth will come from rapidly growing emerging economies.

It is with this prospect of steadily growing oil and gas exploration and production in the emerging economies that DHL could be establishing a means of easily accessing these regions in order to take advantage of future business opportunities.

“The discovery of huge new oil and gas reserves in East Africa has meant there’s more capacity required for air and ocean [routes] into Africa from here [the Gulf],” confirmed Harley.

DHL has 15 dedicated company aircraft flying in and out of the Middle East, supporting the firm’s approximate 260 service centres and 5,000 employees working in the region. Furthermore there are the thousands of commercial flights that DHL can take advantage of.

According to Harley, all-in-all DHL runs 120,000 airfreight shipments through the Middle East, as well as more than 55,000 containers through the UAE every year.

DHL is, ultimately, a customer service company and, as such, it is clear the company is keen to be active across a wide region, ready to take up business in any region, at any time, and under any conditions.

Harley said, “We go where our customers go so we’re very focussed on what our customers are doing, particularly in the upstream oil and gas business. We will follow them where they need our logistics

S08 ORME 5 2014 - Analysis 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:28 PM Page 33

Analysis 

requirements, so if they go to East Africa then we go to East Africa, if they want to go to Yemen, we go to Yemen.”

But with certain Middle East countries struggling with political instability and conflict, this begs the question as to how far DHL’s willingness to follow its customers’ needs actually stretches.

This is a particularly significant question when considering the oil and gas industry, because many of these unstable countries also play an important role in the global energy sector, such as Iraq. This too, however, is where a well-established business presence can help.

When asked about working in conflict and difficult-access regions, Harley explained, “In most of these locations […] we’ve been there for many years, so we already have local knowledge, we’ve got legal entities and local expertise. We’re not necessarily going into those places just because there’s a new project or business with an oil and gas company.”

Looking at business in Egypt and Iraq in recent years, he said, “In the case of Egypt, we’ve been doing business there in oil and gas for a long time, and we continue to do business there pretty much as normal I’d say. The security concerns are probably more around places like Iraq where we, again, follow our customers if our customers are working or operating oil fields there.”

The DHL sector president, however, did add that political considerations are an important factor and ultimately the company will not work in regions where it is not safe or suitable.

“We have to look after our staff and make sure they’re safe and secure. It’s not just about the security of our cargo, it’s about the security of our staff,” he confirmed.

With a determination to maintain consistently high standards of operations throughout the Middle East, surely DHL must channel an equally high level of energy into its health and safety standards?

It’s not just about the security of our cargo, it’s about the security of our staff” Internally, DHL has developed what Harley described as ‘increasingly standardised global health and safety policies’ which are supported by a team of experts sourced from the various relevant industries. In fact DHL is so confident in its health and safety standards that it is also in a position to provide customers with training and monitoring on the subject as a service.

“We are one of the world’s biggest transport companies so drivers’ safety is critical to us and is critical to many of our customers. They look to us to provide support in the health and safety training management of that,” Harley said. “That’s not only about training people to drive safely, it’s also about monitoring how many accidents they have and taking corrective action.”

DHL recently provided health and safety services to an international oil and gas company, (which cannot be named for legal reasons), working on a project in Oman. As well as a number of other services, including managing its supply chain for the oil exploration and drilling programme, the company utilised DHL in order to improve its health and safety standards on the project.

“The result of doing all that was that there were far less road accidents and we were actually commended by the operator for what we did there in terms of reducing loss time injury frequency rate,” stated Harley.

Surprisingly for a international company, working in an increasing number of industries, DHL has proven it not only understands the difficulties and challenges posed by the Middle East’s energy sector, but in fact knows how to use them to its own advantage, whether that is expanding the services it can offer or expanding across more borders. ■

Issue 5 2014

oilreview.me

33

S09 ORME 5 2014 - Petchem 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 2:36 PM Page 34

 Petrochemicals

The chemical industry’s

sustainability journey Is the development of the chemicals industry crucial to the future of global economic sustainability, and what challenges does the industry’s push for sustainability face? John Pearson, CEO of Chemical Industry Roundtables LLC and program developer for the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association’s (GPCA) Sustainability Conference held in Dubai, reports.

N MAY 2014, sustainability writer Alex Steffen stated: “What happens in [the] next 40 years [is] critical for all humanity for centuries to come. What happens in [the] next 10 years sets the range of what's possible.” He could have added that the chemical industry’s sustainability journey is crucial to what happens in the next 10 years, and whether the world can avoid missteps on the road to a sustainable future. For, after decades of progress in improving its own sustainability profile, the chemical industry is positioning itself to be the enabler of a decade of sustainable development for itself and for downstream industries.

But even as it does so, new challenges are emerging – not least challenges to its traditional business model – and the industry, traditionally slow to change, is faced with having to act quickly and concertedly to address them and their implications.

I

The journey so far Throughout its sustainability journey, the chemical industry has brought a unique and scientific perspective to the table. With the launch of the global iniative Responsible Care in 1985, it was one of the first industries to launch a rigorous program aimed at improving health, safety and environmental responsibility. The years since have seen rapid progress, encompassing plant safety, product stewardship, reduction in emissions and water consumption, energy efficiency, and social responsibility to a diverse set of stakeholders.

Each of these areas of improvement, in turn, has led to wave of advancements.

The most recent ‘sustainability wave’ is proving to be more far-reaching than the actions of the past. Whereas sustainability was previously viewed as a series of discrete actions to reduce impacts and improve environmental and social performance, many chemical companies are now making sustainability concerns the core or their strategies and business plans. Perhaps the

34

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

John Pearson, CEO of Chemical Industry Roundtables LLC, speaking at the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association’s (GPCA) Sustainability Conference most forward-thinking are BASF, DSM and Dow. In the GCC region, SABIC from Saudi Arabia and Borouge from UAE are at the forefront by analyzing their businesses in terms of the sustainability footprint of their product line-ups. In companies such as these investment decisions, research and development planning, mergers and acquisitions, and a host of other business

The most recent sustainability wave’ is proving to be more farreaching than the actions of the past”

decisions are all now prioritised according to whether they advance each of the three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental, and social.

Most importantly, the chemical industry has realised that its own performance is only a part of its effect on global sustainability.

The biggest impact that it can have is on the sustainability of other industries that use its products and urgently require new chemicals and materials that make their performance better—this can affect practically every manufacturing industry today. Since analysis has shown that chemical processes themselves generally account for only 20-30 per cent of the footprint of finished products, the job of the chemical industry will be to innovate new chemicals and materials that make the products of downstream brand owners more sustainable.

S09 ORME 5 2014 - Petchem 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:30 PM Page 35

S09 ORME 5 2014 - Petchem 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:30 PM Page 36

 Petrochemicals

There are many examples of what this means in practice, but the automobile industry provides a good example. A more sustainable automobile industry relies on the use of new light-weight plastic and carbonfibre composite materials with properties better than traditional metal components.

This enables manufacturers to reduce overall vehicle weight and improve fossil fuel economy. In the development of electric vehicles, the automobile industry will be reliant on the development of new membrane materials from the chemical industry. Without rapid development of plastics, carbon fibre, and membrane chemistry, the vehicle industry will not be able to achieve all of its sustainability goals.

Can the chemical industry help sectors like automotives get onto the right path in the next 10 years, as Steffen’s statement demands? It will not be an easy path ahead, because: • The mindset of a traditional industry has to change from that of commodity chemical and plastics supplier to specialty materials innovator.

• Chemical industry assets currently in the ground are devoted to the old business model of lowest cost production from fossil feedstock sources. How to reconfigure them to be the flexible instruments of sustainable innovation is not yet obvious. In the future, acceleration of mass consumption may not be the goal.

• While there are signs that investors are becoming more conscious of sustainability concerns, and about 11 per cent of US assets under management are now in funds that stress sustainable growth, many analysts still drive the industry towards better quarterly results rather than towards sustainability. The sharp focus on access to low-cost feedstock in North America, for example, is tending to overshadow longer-term factors in sustainability.

• The chemical industry has limited experience of working hand-in-hand with brand-owning and consumer-facing companies. Aligning the sustainability objectives of brand owners with what is possible in chemical industry development will be a major challenge for both sides, while the chemical industry’s record of communicating its progress to the public is patchy at best.

• Breakthrough scientific research and development takes time. New methods of accelerating research are needed.

IBM’s recent discovery of new recyclable, self-healing plastics was assisted by processing data in a method that the company calls ‘Computational Chemistry’. More innovation of this type, using big data to help speed up research, as well as high-throughput research and

36

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

According to Carbon Tracker, the world can only afford to emit 886bn mt of CO2 in the century's first 50 years if it is to avoid increasing climate change (Photo: Bilfinger)

development (R&D) techniques will be needed. But so will more inter-company cooperation and, perhaps, more trust in open innovation and shared ownership of intellectual property. R&D is expensive and a large number of companies are competing for market shares in the chemical space.

• There is little history of industries that have gone from commodity to specialty producers and few business models to follow.

Challenges to the old order As if these challenges were not enough to contend with, relatively new analyses of sustainability are throwing up new challenges to the traditional chemical industry. A key example is the ‘Carbon Bubble’ report from Carbon Tracker, a group of UK-based economists, who are also speaking at the second GPCA Sustainability Conference this year.

Carbon Tracker looked at a key element of a sustainable future that mitigates the effects of climate change, from the angle of risk assessment and noted among others that the world can only afford to emit 886bn mt of CO2 in the first 50 years of the century if it is to avoid increasing climate change. By the end of 2011, however, one third of those emissions have already occurred with no evidence of slowdown.

Carbon Tracker also noted that companies whose valuations rely on their exploitable

R&D is expensive and a large number of companies are competing for market shares in the chemical space”

fossil reserves may be considerably overvalued since those reserves may never be exploited, because of climate change concerns. Carbon Tracker cautions that a bubble may be forming in the valuations of fossil-based energy companies.

If governments, NGOs, brand owners, and the public were to get behind Carbon Tracker’s concerns the effect on the chemical industry could be devastating. Not only would a radical shift be required in sources of chemical feedstock sourcing towards chemicals made from bio-sources and those that include CO2 itself as a feedstock, but the chemical industry’s chief sustainability argument – that it makes the provision of necessary energy more efficient by using the by-products of the energy industry – would be harder to justify. And chemical companies might see their valuations fall with those of the energy industry.

Towards a circular economy?

The net result of Carbon Tracker’s thinking and that of other sustainability commentators is that the role of enabler to other industries, while essential to global sustainability, may not be sufficient for the long-term sustainability of our planet and its people.

The more effective way forward would be to aim for a circular chemical economy, one in which chemicals and materials are made up of biological ‘nutrients’, components from the biosphere that are processed into products then returned to the biosphere without causing harm, and technical ‘nutrients’, components that are in effect endlessly recyclable at high quality.

It is debatable whether this is a practical way forward for the chemical industry, but we can expect that popular demand in this direction will only grow.

Despite investing heavily in R&D, the chemical industry still has a long and potentially bumpy journey ahead. ■

S10 ORME 5 2014 - Petchem 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:34 PM Page 37

S10 ORME 5 2014 - Petchem 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:34 PM Page 38

S10 ORME 5 2014 - Petchem 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:34 PM Page 39

Petrochemicals 

Egypt proposes petrochemical projects to UAE

Oman’s ORPIC awards technology contract to LyondellBasell

EGYPT HAS PROPOSED the idea of three petrochemical projects worth US$540mn to the UAE, according to the Ministry of Petroleum.

The projects — all in the North African country — include establishing a factory to produce bio-ethanol from molasses, the output of which would reach 100,000 tonnes of molasses The UAE is currently evaluating annually. The project will see an which project to go forward with investment of US$250mn. It is likely in the coming period to be implemented in the next fiscal year (FY), according to a Ministry official.

Another proposal is to build a factory for the production of bioethanol from rice straw, with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes of rice straw produced per year. The investment in this project would be US$$240mn and will be implemented through the FY 2016/17, the official added. The third project will focus on increasing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production, used in making pipes, with the target implantation date as FY 2016/17. Close to 40,000 pipes would be produced annually, with the investment in the project estimated at US$50mn.

OMAN OIL REFINERIES and Petroleum Industries (ORPIC) has selected the LyondellBasell Spheripol polypropylene process technology for the Liwa Plastics Project (LPP) to be built in Sohar.

The project is expected to begin in 2018.

Henk Pauw, general manager at ORPIC LLP, said, “We selected the LyondellBasell Spheripol process for its ability to cost-effectively produce a wide range of highquality products that are demanded by our customers throughout the Middle East and Southeast Asia.”

The Spheripol process will Once complete, the LPP will produce assist in manufacturing enhanced 1.4mn tonnes of polyethylene and homopolymer, random and polypropylene each year heterophasic copolymers, Oman Daily Observer reported.

LyondellBasell said that it is a licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies with more than 250 polyolefin process licenses.

Issue 5 2014

oilreview.me

39

S10 ORME 5 2014 - Petchem 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 2:39 PM Page 40

 Petrochemicals

Saudi Arabia still ‘largest petrochemical producer in GCC’ SAUDI ARABIA CONTINUES to be the GCC’s gas and oil is likely to have an effect on the largest petrochemical producer with an annual Kingdom’s petrochemical sector in its trajectory 244mn cu/m of capacity, a report from National toward remaining upstream or moving downstream.

Commercial Bank reveals.

Ethylene is a key building block in the The expansion in ethylene production capacity petrochemical industry. In recent years, the world has resulted in Saudi Arabia being the third largest has witnessed its largest ethylene capacity producer worldwide, accounting for 11 per cent of expansion, growing at a compound annual growth global ethylene capacity, the bank’s economics rate (CAGR) of four per cent between 2007 and The majority of Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports department research team added.

2012, to reach 55mn cu/m in 2012. But the GCC consists of petrochemicals, which include The Saudi Arabian petrochemicals industry is, capacity addition in the same year trended downstream plastic production and building however, not expected to see a massive rise in downwards by 13 per cent. materials overall petrochemicals capacities until the Sadara The majority of capacity additions within the petrochemicals complex comes onstream in 2016.

GCC between 2007 and 2012 took place in Saudi Arabia, which accounted The researchers stressed that the petrochemical sector in the Kingdom for 64 per cent of the regional capacity additions. remains well-positioned regionally and is driven globally by a positive demand With 49.5mn cu/m per year, Saudi Arabia was the largest ethylene producer in outlook. But they also said that the recent discovery of North American shale the region, accounting for 72 per cent of the regional ethylene capacity in 2012.

Omani refinery floats tender for construction OMAN’S DUQM REFINERY and Petrochemical Industries Company has issued a tender for the construction of a new refinery at the Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (SEZAD).

According to the Omani company, the project is part of a comprehensive development plan in the economic zone, which is a leading strategic

40

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

project with the aim of generating a quantum jump in the national economy.

The laying of the groundwork is expected to start in Q1 2015 and be completed by Q1 2016. The work involves digging over 14 metres and laying the foundation for the construction of the refinery slated to commence in 2016.

The groundwork is the initial step of the project and the construction work will start as soon as this stage is completed, the zone authority said.

Duqm is touted as Oman’s next industrial centre, with investments of up to US$15bn targeting petrochemicals and infrastructure development over the next 10 years.

S11 ORME 5 2014 - HSE Feature_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:37 PM Page 41

RELIABILITY IN OIL WELL CEMENTS Oil Well Cement (OWC) produced by Oman Cement Company (S.A.O.G) under accurate temperatures is an obvious choice for oil well cementing worldwide and now it is ready to face the challenges of highly specialized arctic and horizontal cementing: ● Conforms to the American Petroleum Institute (API) specification – 10A Class-G- (HSR), Class-B- (HSR) and Class-A- (O) grades. ● Tested and used by worldwide cementing companies ● Easy to disperse resulting in considerable cost savings ● First choice of major oilfield companies ● Exported to GC Countries, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkmenistan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, India and Syria.

Oman Cement manufacturing facility operates on world class quality management system ISO 9001 and environmental management system ISO 14001. Quality control is online and laboratory automation systems consist of online x-ray spectrometers and robotic samplers, linked to process controllers and a raw mill proportioning system.

OCC has an enduring commitment to customer satisfaction, continual improvement and a stronger foundation for tomorrow.

Winner of His Majesty’s Cup for the Best Five Factories in the Sultanate of Oman for 10 times.

CERTIFIED CO CERT NO. IND13.3020/U/Q

CERTIFIED CO CERT NO. IND10.7570 API CERTIFIED CO LICENSE NO. 10A-0059

Oman Cement Company (S.A.O.G) Corporate Office: PO Box 560, Ruwi, PC 112, Sultanate of Oman Tel: +968 24437070 Marketing: Ext 145 / 444 Fax: +968 24437799 Email: admin@omancement.com Website: www.omancement.com

S11 ORME 5 2014 - HSE Feature_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:37 PM Page 42

 Health & Safety

Operational safety and overcoming

human error Achieving optimal health and safety onsite is a constant struggle for oil and gas companies operating in the Middle East. What challenges do these businesses face and, ultimately, what is being done to overcome them?

HE DEMAND FOR power is rising, with global energy consumption set to rise by 41 per cent by 2035 according to the BP Energy Outlook. As the energy-producing countries in the Middle East continue to invest in new, unconventional methods of fuel extraction, it becomes increasingly important for companies to have a thorough and effective health and safety policy in place.

A health and safety policy is standard in any industry, but it has particular significance in the oil and gas sector. As both upstream and downstream operations involve such large-scale projects and deal with highly hazardous materials, the slightest incident can have devastating repercussions for the individuals working onsite, as well as the surrounding environment.

An explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 resulted in the death of 11 workers and reportedly saw approximately 780,000 cu/m of oil leak into the sea causing far-reaching damage to surrounding wildlife, in one of the largest oil spills in US history.

Furthermore the Deepwater Horizon spill had a significant financial impact, costing the rig operators BP billions of dollars in cleanup and compensation. Accidents in the oil and gas industry, however minor they initially appear, can have a huge impact on a company’s business.

As well as the price of fixing the incident, a bad reputation for health and safety can result in rising insurance rates and the risk of losing profitable business.

Andy Gibbins, Euro Petroleum Consultant’s (EPC) vice-president for Middle East, told Oil Review, “An insurance company looks at the performance of companies and uses pubic data as a means of assessing how well they’re performing, and that [a bad health and safety record] can result in insurance premiums being increased or in some cases the company has refused to cover an organisation.”

According to the report Process Safety Events – 2011 & 2012 Data by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OPG), the fatal accident rate for its participating companies in 2012 increased by 27 per cent on the previous year. Furthermore, 40 workforce fatalities were identified as being related to process safety events. A process safety event is most commonly understood as an uncontrolled release of material, often toxic or flammable substances, from the operations of a facility. As such, these events so often cause the biggest consequences and greatest destruction, such as the explosion at BP’s rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Ultimately some of the worst accidents of the oil and gas sector were caused by a mistake of one individual working on the project. This is a topic explored in the report Increasing Operational Efficiency and Workforce Productivity without Compromising Safety – an Offshore Nirvana? by Steve Elliott, process safety expert for enterprise software provider Ventyx, an ABB company.

In his report Elliott said, “At the end of the day, it all boils down to human ‘error’. After all, if systems are designed by people and built by people, then a systemic oversight is nothing but a human oversight.”

T

42

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

The BP Deepwater Horizon spill saw approximately 780,000 cu/m of oil leak into the Gulf of Mexico waters (Photo: ideum) Whether the problems lie in negligence during the design stages, insufficient training, or a lack of experience, is it ever possible to achieve a 100 per cent safety record or will human error always be an obstacle?

Elliott underlines the high turnover of employees – a common theme in the Middle East – as a catalyst of human error onsite. He argues that with every member of staff that leaves they take with them the knowledge on running the site, particularly the experience in the less common, less day-to-day tasks that might occur.

“The tacit, expert knowledge required to ensure safe and reliable operations is being lost as an ageing workforce is being replaced by a highly mobile younger generation,” Elliott explained.

Gibbins, on the other hand, highlights the multi-cultural nature of workforces in the Gulf as a key factor to tackle when training staff. In order to ensure optimal safety of operations and the workers themselves, companies must recognise the problems that arise when working with a mixture of nationalities, cultures, and religions.

Gibbins said, “We have a very big focus on the local cultural issues, because these are very important in the Middle East. For example you may have a site with a lot of employees who have an inherent belief in fate so [might think] why should they wear a safety helmet or why should they wear safety shoes when it doesn’t matter?”

Furthermore, he explains that some companies fail at something as simple as language barriers and making sure a multi-national workforce has fully understood the training programmes, which are primarily given in English.

“The good companies will try and recognise it and make sure they bring in some additional support using the local languages of the particular people involved,” Gibbins added.

S11 ORME 5 2014 - HSE Feature_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:37 PM Page 43

Health & Safety 

Companies need to recognise the issues that arise when working with a multi-national workforce (Photo: DHL) Middle Eastern companies are not going to achieve optimal operational safety through just monitoring their own staff. Businesses are increasingly aware of the importance of independently verifying the staff they take on via smaller contractor companies.

“One of the biggest risks that exists, not so much in the big companies but the smaller companies,” explained Gibbins. “You get exaggerated CVs, where people say they have a particular skill or qualification but in some situations that is not the case.”

Without naming the business, Gibbins refers to one operating company that carried out a thorough survey on a service company and found that 50 per cent of the CVs included false information. This poses significant risks to the safety of any upstream or downstream facility and begs the question of how a company may verify the skills and qualifications of these contracted workers.

Looking to the solutions, in his report Elliott highlights the need to bring in more machinery to assist the workforce, specifically data storage machinery or “intelligent, automated systems designed to capture data, learn from events, optimise production and prevent safety-related incidents”.

Although automated machinery of this kind may sound unrealistically futuristic, he claims that next-generation machinery of this kind is in use in some European refineries.

“To combat the loss of knowledge retained by people, intelligent systems are needed that are not just electronic filing cabinets, but capture knowledge in use and deliver the right information, to the right person, at the right time, as part of day-to-day operations,” Elliott explained.

While it could enhance production and tackle problems brought on by a high staff turnover, there is still the issue of reducing the errors made by the workforce. On the other hand, behavioural safety, as explained by EPC, is a specific form of health and safety policy, which aims to change an individual’s attitude while working and trying to create a workforce with a unified approach to safety.

Gibbins explained that it is about changing the antecedent, the reasoning that goes into every person’s action onsite.

“There are many ways that people can take short cuts and take risks and the idea of behavioural safety is to get people to constantly think about the way they work and the way they do things and say to themselves ‘is it safe?’ and also look at the people around them,” Gibbins said.

There are any number of risks threatening the safety of oil and gas facilities and operations, all of which come down to natural human error. Even installing more machinery would include human involvement in the design, installation, and maintenance processes. It is impossible to remove human error, but the key appears to be channelling significant energy into up-to-date health and safety training and striving for complete transparency of the entire workforce. ■ Issue 5 2014

oilreview.me

43

S11 ORME 5 2014 - HSE Feature_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:37 PM Page 44

ďƒ¨ Health & Safety

Risk management in a changing world SSDS Risk Management general manager Carl Moon discusses the importance of an effective risk management strategy when working in conflict areas.

RISK MANAGEMENT IN international companies working in post-conflict countries is essential to the stability and redevelopment of that region. If policy and decision makers, however, are to secure the maximum benefits from private investment they need to understand how different companies view opportunity and risk management in volatile environments, and find ways to assess their requirements in postconflict settings to ensure safety to personnel and assets without endangering life, assets, and company reputation.

Security risks affect different companies in various ways.

Petroleum companies represent expensive fixed assets and the

44

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

protection of these assets is of strategic importance both to the companies themselves and often to the host governments. Hence why risk management in a post-conflict environment, such as Iraq, differs significantly to a stable environment, and will have an emphasis on protection and contingency planning.

Companies with extensive experience in post-conflict environments combine different applications to form a risk management system specific to a project or operation, thus ensuring a cordon of defensive security around the project with security and emergency medical contingency evacuation plans in place.

Unlike a stable environment, risk management in a post-conflict region is implemented in a militaristic manner. Risk management providers are involved from the initial planning stages of any project by completing an in-

depth analysis of the requirements then combining the analysis recommendations with a comprehensive range of solutions.

The last few years have seen new threats from insurgent and criminal groups targeting foreign companies and personnel. The escalation of conflict and post-conflict countries experiencing social unrest has increased the global threat to company assets and individuals

SSDS Risk Management general manager Carl Moon

working in these regions, especially in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

The heightened security threats have prompted international petroleum companies to implement risk and crisis management concepts that are more diverse and specific to post-conflict environments.

As we devise and implement new measures to monitor, suppress, or eradicate potential threats to our facilities and personnel, we must bear in mind that those insurgent groups are mainly headed by educated people with the same passion to find and exploit weaknesses, and ultimately to create as much instability as possible.

Risk management is the backbone of every project operating in a challenging or conflict region. To compromise on risk management could lead to a potential disaster to a project, facilities, or personnel, which in turn could seriously affect a company’s reputation.

S12 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 3:00 PM Page 45

One success leads to another Oil Review Middle East, the region’s leading oil and gas publication, has been putting sellers in touch with buyers for almost two decades.

The magazine makes sure that it strikes a balance between respected editorial and your advertising message, to maximise the return on investment for your business.

Visit us at www.oilreview.me

Circulation claims independently verified by an ABC audit

Serving the world of business

MENA

Tel: +971 4 448 9260

ASIA

Tel: +91 80 6533 3362

USA

Tel: +1 203 226 2882

EUROPE

Tel: +44 20 7834 7676

e-mail: post@alaincharles.com web: www.alaincharles.com www.oilreview.me

S12 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 3:00 PM Page 46

 Technology

Intellectual property:

The catalyst for shale The rapid rise of shale gas as a force to be reckoned with in the global energy sector has led to an increasing number of innovative production technologies and techniques used to extract the resource, leading the firms providing these solutions to find ways to best protect their intellectual property.

YDRAULIC FRACTURING, OR ‘fracking’, has become one of the most valuable sectors of the energy industry and has catalysed a new era of innovation by energy extraction, drilling services and chemical engineering companies. This has necessitated quick and thorough protection of these innovations. The technical nature of the extraction and the chemicals used lend themselves to patent and trade secret protection. As with any industry, there are unique sector-specific issues.

Shale gas is a natural energy source that cannot be extracted by conventional well bores due to the low permeability of the surrounding sedimentary rock. Fractures in this rock allow for gas extraction.

Artificial fractures have been created since the 1940s, but modern technology has contributed to the technique of ‘fracking’. This involves drilling into the shale reserves, often horizontally, and inserting highpressure liquids to create many miniature fractures. These allow shale gas to migrate to the well for extraction.

The USA has been at the forefront of the industry, increasing its shale gas production by almost 1,600 per cent during the period between 2004-2014 to 9.63 trillion cubic feet.1 The Energy Information Administration believes, however, that China holds the largest reserves and that also, outside the USA, continental Europe, South Africa, South America and the United Kingdom also contain economically significant quantities of shale.

The first ‘modern’ fracking patent was applied for in 1948 by Stanolind in the USA. In 2013, 706 patent applications were filed worldwide in respect of fracking technology, up from 236 in 2008.2 This increase is not matched by related technologies such as well completion or horizontal drilling and therefore fracking is fuelling its own innovation rather than following a general trend.3 The established norm for patent protection has become protection of innovations in fracturing fluid composition, pressure and use. The fluid used is primarily water (~90 per cent) and sand (~9 per cent) with the remainder comprising chemicals. A survey in the US in 2010 found that more than 750 different chemicals were used by US fracking companies in their proprietary fluids.4 Patents may also cover the inclusion of proppants (solid materials used to keep fractures open), gelling agents and acids (to help open fractures), surfactants (to reduce surface friction) and biocides (to kill bacteria contained in the water).

Fluids are not the only patentable inventions relating to fracking.

Patents have been filed for methods for estimating the size of fractures, systems to provide power to isolated wells and methods for preparing

More than 700 patent applications relating to fracking technology were filed worldwide in 2013

H

46

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

fracking fluids without electricity. Also, the holders of fracking patents vary from energy supermajors to international service companies to smaller material and proppant suppliers. Therefore, although the technology has matured and innovations are now occurring on an incremental basis, the scope for patent protection is wide.

Trade secrets are also key protections. An effective programme of trade secret protection necessitates comprehensive non-disclosure agreements with employees and third parties as well as careful control of access to physical records and equipment. There is, however, a balancing act if trade secrets rather than patents are to be the core protections for technical developments as there is an increasing clamour for the disclosure of technical details to regulators to combat public health concerns. In particular, this has manifested itself in a desire to see disclosure of chemicals used in fracking fluid. For companies, this presents issues for trade secret protection and also the risk of patent infringement actions from competitors if they disclose their formulations publically. To combat this risk, many try to limit disclosure to the chemicals themselves, but not the actual formulation.

Lastly, the technology has largely developed to date in the manner required by the geology of the USA. As the technology spreads around the world and national regulators and legislators begin to permit fracking, it is likely that there will be a new raft of fracking innovations to deal with specific obstacles such as fault lines, increased depth of reserves, a lack of pipeline infrastructure and differing rock formations.

This makes it imperative for those in the industry to protect and enforce their innovations and we are likely to see a sustained increase in patent applications for incremental improvements to extraction processes, and/or the combination of existing patented technology with trade secrets specific to differing geologies. ■ http://www.statista.com/statistics/183740/shale-gas-production-in-the-united-states-since-1999/ http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Inside_Oil/IO_May_27_2014.pdf page 290 http://repository.law.umich.edu/mwg-internal/2535425/progress?id=bW5cRmq+2W&dl 4 page 291 ibid 1 2 3

S12 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 3:00 PM Page 47

S12 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 3:00 PM Page 48

 Technology

Enhancing offshore rig

communications Nicholas Newman highlights the need for effective offshore rig communications systems and assesses the available options.

PEEDY COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN offshore oil rigs and their land bases are crucial in today’s oil industry with the constant need to monitor and manage an increasing amount and range of information, data and visual material relating to output, crew rostering, equipment and emissions. Rapid and secure communications are critical in the event of an accident, such as an explosion or major leakage, and are essential for the crews’ personal and entertainment needs as well as for their professional development. Current communication technologies in common use are satellites, microwaves, subsea cables and Wi-Fi. All these are proving insufficient by themselves to accommodate the ever increasing upsurge in data traffic from offshore oil rigs to their regional centres and headquarters, leading some companies to upgrade their satellite communications while others are currently taking a look at wireless and carbon fibre cables in order to improve bandwidth capacity. One example of a maritime communications upgrade is 3M Networks’ 2013 deal to improve Saudi Aramco’s communications with its offshore Safaniya oil and gas field in the Gulf. Experts predict that energy companies are willing to spend millions on improved bandwidth capacity and speed of communications.

S

Maritime communications market The global market in oilfield communications is expected to grow from $2.37 bn in 2014 to an estimated $3.18 bn by 2019, according to the Digital Oilfields World Summit 2013. The Middle East is expected to be the fastest growing market with a compound annual growth rate of just under 6 per cent owing to major investment programmes in the region by, for example, Shell with its ‘Smart Fields’, BP with its ‘Fields of the Future’ and Saudi Aramco’s DOF (Digital Oil Fields) initiatives.

According to local media, the oil industry is

48

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

Speedy communications between offshore rigs and their land bases are crucial in today’s oil industry (Photo: Maersk)

If firms do invest, the payback is significant” expected to spend over $1 bn on DOF between 2010 and 2015 not including large sums on hardware, software and affiliated services. Tony Edwards, CEO of StepChangeGlobal, a DOF expert says, “If firms do invest, the payback is significant.”

One of the Middle East’s largest such service providers in the region is Harris CapRock, which meets the needs of nine out of the ten largest offshore drilling contractors.

Range of communications Increasingly, energy companies are having to employ a range of integrated communications solutions in order to meet their communication needs. The adoption of satellite communications, while it brought major improvements in bandwidth and

reliability to isolated locations, where traditional communications systems were unavailable or uneconomic, has proved insufficient for some users, triggering a search for alternatives. One promising option is a subsea fibre optic cabling network which links all rigs in an offshore field together (by a subsea cable) which is then connected to a shore base by either cable or satellite. Global Marine Systems Ltd and Harris Caprock are leading the way in installing secure subsea communication platforms with services able to provide broadband data and video-calling. It is reported that such systems dramatically improve operating efficiencies by allowing a 25 per cent reduction in crews. Cable is superior and more cost effective than satellite for, according to Keith Johnson, CEO of Harris Caprock energy division, “Instead of paying $20,000 per month for five megabytes of capacity you can get 300,000 megabytes.” He expects fibre cable revenues “to grow at 15 per cent a year”, since this technology improves security of data and reduces vulnerability to solar storms and jamming.

S12 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 01_Layout 1 8/18/2014 3:00 PM Page 49

Technology 

Wireless communications In addition to carbon fibre cables, some energy companies are making use of wireless communications for both above and below-the-surface activity and monitoring, to operate equipment at close range. Indeed, offshore wireless rig-to-rig or rig to subsea equipment communications is taking off. As Mike Reyes, of Commercial Wireless Solutions, points out, “Some operators are running fibre to a platform and then they are using wireless connections from a platform to the surrounding rigs. The field’s main platform acts as a communication gateway serving the field. While below the surface, we are also seeing wireless acoustic technology being used to operate various production facilities. However, the bandwidth and distances involved are limited by the optical properties of the seawater in the area.” Intra-oilfield wireless communications can be expected to be adopted in deepwater oilfields as they come on stream in Saudi Aramco’s newly discovered Al-Haryd deep-water oilfield in the Red Sea.

Good communications are vital Today’s energy firms’ communication managers, network engineers and IT teams need to employ fast, secure and reliable communications systems to monitor drilling activity, track production and provide ship-toshore information to decision makers located onshore who, after data analysis can, for example, order preventative Smart maintenance. Moreover oil companies need to be able to more easily identify, classify and mitigate potential risks as well as manage logistics and monitor deliveries and fuel consumption. They need vessel-to-vessel or vessel-to-corporate voice and video circuits links. The need for effective and reliable communications was demonstrated during BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, where communications between decision makers onshore, rescuers in ships and aircraft, and rig crew proved to be inadequate.

Equally important to monitoring and managing a rig’s hardware is a reduction in the crew’s isolation” Equally important to monitoring and managing a rig’s hardware is a reduction in the crew’s isolation. Human Resource departments in major oil companies have realised the importance of communications to crew retention and welfare by providing such services as telephony, IM, e-mail, video-calling, Internet and telemedicine. In addition, quality communications are vital for professional development by remote

Satellite communications have brought major improvements in bandwidth and reliability to isolated locations training and e-learning provided by on-board distance learning services such as the UK’s Open University.

This multiplicity of new requirements by the oil industry is challenging maritime communication providers who are constantly striving to meet the ever growing communication needs of energy companies worldwide.

Vulnerable to hacking There has been a substantial increase in the number and types of new threats for both operators and users of marine communications in recent years. For instance, in October 2012, the New York Times reported that Saudi Aramco’s computer communications network had been attacked by a virus from an Iranian source. More commonly and seriously, hackers have infiltrated computers connected to ports and located specific containers, making off with the cargo and subsequently deleting all records. It has been estimated that cyberattacks against oil and gas infrastructure cost energy companies nearly US$2bn last year.

The British government estimates cyberattacks are already costing the UK some US$700 mn a year.

Security experts have also identified another threat relating to vessel identification and navigation software systems, including Marine Automatic Identification Systems and GPS. For example, Somali pirates’ success in recent times has been attributed to the use of navigational online data tools used to view potential victims. Increasingly, ships’

captains are switching off their Marine Automatic Identification Systems in order to avoid being tracked in waters operated by Somali pirates, suggests Windwood, a marine intelligence company.

In addition, concern is mounting over the potential threat posed by criminal gangs or militant groups of signal jamming of satellite global positioning and navigation devices used by ships and oil rigs. For example, it has been suggested that the crowded shipping lanes of the Straits of Hormuz would make an attractive potential target. Unfortunately for the industry, there is no quick fix. Countering such threats to their vital communications will not only take time but will require a change of attitude by oil companies worldwide. Currently, the number of reported cases of threats to vital communications is low. Many companies fear that reporting such incidents against them would alarm their investors.

However, it is a growing industry-wide problem, which requires both transparency and a concerted joint effort on the part of oil companies and marine communication companies to develop impregnable, fast and reliable communications.

As for the future Whilst the industry requires ever greater bandwidth, marine communications companies are focused on incremental technological developments, which will provide more secure and faster data transmissions from ship and rig to shore.

Time is of the essence. ■

Issue 5 2014

oilreview.me

49

S13 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:39 PM Page 50

 Technology

Meeting on-site

demand for power All companies require optimal and reliable power supply on the ground of oil and gas operations, even more so as those projects in the Middle East move increasingly into more remote locations in the search of fuel.

N THE THREE decades from 2010 to 2040 world energy consumption is set to rise by 56 per cent, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s International Energy Outlook 2013. It goes on to estimate that the Middle East, with its fastexpanding population and ample domestic resources, will see an energy demand increase of 76 per cent over the 30-year time period.

Furthermore, oil and gas companies working in the region are increasingly investing in newer, unconventional forms of extracting fuel, which can see projects and operations venture further a-field into more remote, unstable locations. Combine this with the rising demand for power from regional markets then ensuring access to the most reliable on-site power is of ever-growing importance. Power loss, however temporary, can have significant effects on a project and its output, and it is important to not only keep operations running efficiently, but also for the power supply to be robust enough to withstand various environments.

I

Power loss, however temporary, can have significant effects on a project and its output” Oil and gas companies have no end of power generator providers to choose from, particularly as several businesses continue reestablish their commitment to the region by opening new branches.

General Electric (GE) launched its new Distributed Power business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in March this year in response to the region’s increased demand for onsite power from oil and gas majors.

At the launch in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, GE Distributed Power president and CEO Lorraine Bolsinger said, “In line with the growth in the manufacturing sector and increasing demand for on-site power, delivering new power generation solutions is of critical importance to improve regional energy security.”

Meanwhile, power company Himoinsa recently welcomed Jean Luc Rolland to the position of senior project manager for the Middle East. This move shows, at least in part, that Himoinsa recognises the region’s promising growth potential.

According to Himoinsa’s reports, demand for generator sets with an output of more than 375kVA represented 66 per cent of gensets imported to the Middle East in 2012 – a figure that the company believes will rise given the constant development of special projects in the region.

50

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

GE trailer-mounted TM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbine GE Distributed Power, by announcing its launch in Masdar City, was highlighting the sustainable and energy-efficient nature of its generators. The company plans to invest US$1.4bn over four years globally and boasts three key product lines, Aeroderivative Gas Turbines, Jenbacher Gas Engines, and Waukesha. All three are ‘ecomagination qualified’, meaning they increase customer productivity and push cleaner energy solutions.

At around the same time as the launch, it was revealed that the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) had chosen GE for a fast-track US$135mn project, supplying trailer-mounted, mobile aeroderivative gas turbines. The project details included four of GE’s TM2500+ units, which intend to provide more than 100MW to supplement energy demand in the peak summer months and expand capabilities at power plants in Zawiya and Tripoli.

In August this year, GE Distributed Power announced a number of similar orders in Algeria, which are the latest part in a series of major power generation technology supply agreements made with Algeria’s energy industry. The deals include TM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbine-generators and the first Jenbacher gas engine. GE estimates that Algeria’s energy demand will grow by approximately 14 per cent annually, reaching 24GW by 2017.

Energy efficiency is evidently also a concern for Himoinsa, as reflected in its announcement in February that its hybrid power generation systems can reduce diesel consumption by 30 per cent. It provides the design and start-up of hybrid power generation projects primarily for suppliers requiring a power range from 0.3 to 5MW, which is where hybrid systems are very appealing from a financial standpoint, according to the company.

In this case, hybrid systems means generators that find the happy middle ground between diesel and photovoltaic power generation, creating lower fuel consumption. Himoinsa stated that oil-exporting countries also benefit from being able to export the surplus unconsumed diesel.

Himoinsa’s new business development manager Massimo Brotto commented, “These projects involve the incorporation into diesel

S13 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:39 PM Page 51

Ansell Healthcare – Middle East 1 Lake Plaza 22-02, PO Box 125299, JLT, Dubai. United Arab Emirates.

Tel: +971 4 452 3232 E-mail: info@ansell.eu Web: www.ansell.eu

S13 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 02_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:39 PM Page 52

 Technology

generation plants of photovoltaic equipment capable of providing around 30 per cent of nominal output, which can vary according to the project, geographical location and the cost of fuel.”

Other design priorities for Himoinsa include the durability of its products, as well as soundproofing. In April it released its HHW series; seven soundproofed, open generator models, with power output ranging between 20-100kVA at 50Hz and 30-120kVA at 60Hz. One of the series’ key selling points is its capability of bearing extreme weather conditions, with the generators complying with IP23 protection grade requirements and a special resin coating allowing it withstand any operating conditions.

The company also showcased its Power Cube at this year’s Middle East Electricity exhibition in Dubai. A 500kW generator set in a three-metre container, the Power Cube is acknowledged for its compact design and is equipped with a remote cooling system, designed on top of the engine compartments.

Attention to sound proofing is feature of the recent release by global power provider Doosan. It launches its new G80-IIIA and G100-IIIA generators, (80kVA prime power and 100kVA prime power respectively), in August 2014, and the sound attenuation LwA rating of both reportedly meet or exceed the relevant European regulations.

Advertised as providing robustness, reliability, and high performance,

Its hybrid power generation systems can reduce diesel consumption by 30 per cent”

52

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

Doosan G100-IIIA generator the fuel tank frame system on the new models offers a containment base integrated as standard in the frame to ensure 110 per cent fluid containment capacity. The generators can also provide a minimum of 12 hours of autonomous operation, at 75 per cent of the load.

The specification for choosing on-site power supplies in the oil and gas industry seems to be a growing list and many factors must be weighed up in the selection process, from energy efficiency, durability, or sound proofing. However, as the considerations increase so too do the technological advancements and capabilities of the generators, meaning more machines are available on the market to fit companies’ specific needs. n

S14 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 03_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:46 PM Page 53

S14 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 03_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:46 PM Page 54

 Technology

Subsea - the next step for acoustic

sensing technology?

As the search for oil and gas faces new environments and higher operating costs, OptaSense chief technology officer Dr. David Hill looks at how the need to fully understand the challenges and surroundings of an asset is more crucial than ever.

PTASENSE works on the principle that ‘if you can measure it you can manage it’ and has developed an effective Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) system able to provide realtime data via the conversion of optical fibre into a distributed acoustic (or seismic) sensor.

Acoustic signals striking the fibre cause minute strains, which are measured using laser interrogation, turning the fibre into a distributed acoustic, or seismic, sensor. An Interrogator Unit (IU) fires a laser beam into the fibre, measuring backscatter returns from imperfections inherent in the crystalline structure of the optical fibre. The strains cause subtle modulations of the backscatter that are then measured by the IU thus sensing the seismic signal.

Already a proven technology onshore, OptaSense is currently developing the world’s first fully marinised and qualified DAS system in a joint programme with Shell. Functionable at water depths of approximately 3,050m, the system will allow accurate acoustic data acquisition offshore for the first time and provide data for a range of deepwater applications, including pipeline surveillance, inwell monitoring, and permanent reservoir monitoring. The multi-application device will include functional and technical parameters configurable in software, enabling the system measurement settings to be changed to address different application requirements.

The marinisation process will require the re-engineering of the interrogator unit to reduce its size to fit into a robust pressure canister. The modified opto-electronics will be tested to ensure they meet the stringent temperature, vibration, shock and electrical certifications required of subsea equipment, particularly during transportation and deployment. In the subsea in-well monitoring application, the interrogator unit will be positioned near the wellhead and data will be relayed to shore or appropriate installation via a fibre-optic link in a control line.

Predicted to be demonstration-ready by the end of 2014, the wide-ranging potential of

O

54

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

the DAS technology subsea is being explored.

Applying the system for reservoir monitoring would involve the DAS fibre providing an image of the subsurface at a significantly lower cost compared to current practices. The marinised DAS is also being considered as a monitor of flow lines and pipelines in order to identify leaks and hazardous activity, such as anchor drags, which can lead to catastrophic mechanical failure.

OptaSense chief technology officer David Hill

Successful application onshore OptaSense has already achieved onshore success with its DAS technology, which has been applied to a range of applications, such as seismic monitoring. With services available in hydraulic fracture profiling, production flow monitoring, and vertical seismic profiling, OptaSense is transforming the industry’s ability to understand in real-time what is happening along the well bore and beyond.

Distributed temperature sensing (DTS) using fibre-optic cable has been around for several years, but the development of DAS is a relatively recent phenomenon and has the potential to radically improve understanding of a range of issues including reservoirs, fields, geology and asset integrity. It is five

years since DAS was first used down hole and it has delivered significant benefits in completion, production, and evaluation projects, including hydraulic fracture profiling.

Despite the rapid development of hydraulic fracturing techniques over the past decade, the hostile environment inside the well during injection means that sensors cannot survive. As a result, during this highcost, yield-dependent stimulation process, many wells are not monitored. How can the full production lateral be measured without having sensors inside the well? Via its fibreoptic technology, DAS can provide an effective solution. Clamped to the production casing, a fibre-optic cable can provide realtime DAS and DTS without well intervention from completion to abandonment.

The uses of DTS, however, are limited.

Despite being used for over a decade, borehole temperature is only part of the story when it comes to monitoring a hydraulic fracturing operation. With the DAS system it is possible to listen to the well at each perforation location and hear how the fluid and proppants rush through the orifices and how the rock fractures just outside the well into the formation. By combining DAS data with real-time pump data, it is possible to estimate how much fluid is being pumped into each perforation cluster. The company anticipates that this process will have a significant impact on reservoir modelling, well design, field operations, and ultimately reservoir performance and hydrocarbon recovery in the years ahead.

With the full-well continuous monitoring that DAS enables, all activities during the hydraulic fracturing operation can be monitored for effectiveness, including: 6 Wireline tool tracking 6 Bridge plug setting 6 Perforating 6 Ball drop, ball seating, sleeve sliding and isolation from previous stage Furthermore, DAS can detect casing leaks that can deter operations and report their

S14 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 03_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:46 PM Page 55

Technology 

depth accurately. Recently fluid migration between isolated zones has been measured, providing the operator with data that can be used to halt operations if a previously fractured zone is at risk of being over stimulated.

The system is also used to visualise flow dynamics providing an alternative to conventional production logging tool (PLT) readings. Via an installed fibre, measurements can be taken on a continuous basis without the need for costly well intervention and deferred production.

with existing systems and retrofitting capabilities; coverage over the entire length of a well; and simultaneous data acquisition of multiple contiguous wells.

Conclusion

The development of DAS through the deployment of fibre-optic cable represents the latest technological development in the monitoring arena, enabling operators to ‘turn the light on’ down hole and allow them to see what is happening Time versus depth waterfall showing DAS recording of in-flow at across the wellbore in real-time. the production zone of a horizontal well Producing a marinised version An industry first of the DAS technology will enable Earlier this year OptaSense announced it had linked to a surface data-gathering centre. The OptaSense to extend the use of its proven contracted with Petroleum Development processed data will be integrated into PDO’s onshore technology into the growing subsea Oman (PDO) to provide the industry’s first reservoir models and assist in determining sector, providing operators with decisionmulti-well 4D DAS vertical seismic profiling fluid substitution through production and ready data to optimise well performance from (VSP) system to monitor and map the contribute to the positioning of infill wells. initial well construction and throughout performance of up to 12 steam-injected oil Weighed against the use of geophones in production. wells in a brownfield development at South this type of application, the DAS technology With its multiple uses and producing Oman Salt Basin. provides a number of benefits including lowsignificant through-life value, the long-term Seismic signals have been recorded from cost on-demand acquisition through costs effectiveness of the DAS system will be fibre-optic cables attached to each well’s permanent cable installation; deployment in a game-changer for operators both onshore production tubing, permanently installed and wells inaccessible to geophones; synergies and offshore in the oil and gas industry. ■

Issue 5 2014

oilreview.me

55

S14 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 03_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:46 PM Page 56

S14 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 03_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:46 PM Page 57

S14 ORME 5 2014 - Tech Focus 03_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:46 PM Page 58

 Exhibition

Basra Oil and Gas Date: 4th-7th December 2014 Venue: Basra International Fair Ground

Basra event to highlight

Iraq’s potential Basra International Oil & Gas looks set to highlight Basra’s prominence within Iraq’s oil and gas sector as the southern Iraqi city gears up to host the fifth edition of the annual event.

RGANISED BY EXPOTIM International Fair Organization and Pyramids International Group, Basra International Oil & Gas has now entered its fifth consecutive year.

The show is the largest oil and gas event of its kind in Iraq, having grown to become a staple of the country’s oil and

O

gas calendar, attracting a range of regional and international companies, and providing a platform for local companies to assess the products and technologies available to them.

The fourth edition of Basra Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference took place between 5-8 December 2013 at Basra International Fair Ground and featured more than 270 participants, as well as attracting 10,000 visitors from more than 35 countries, in turn making it the largest oil and gas sector event to take place in Iraq in 2013.

Since the first edition of the show in 2010, both the exhibition and supporting conference have contributed towards Basra’s growing reputation as ‘Iraq’s Oil Capital’.

The largest portion of participants at the 2013 edition of the show came from Iraq, the UAE, Turkey, Germany and Jordan, while a host of participants from the UK and the USA were also in attendance.

The event received the official support of Iraq’s Ministry of Oil and attracted a number of leading companies from across the global oil and gas industry, including Bertling, Cameron, China Petroleum Technology, CNPC, Emerson Process Management, ENI, FMC Technologies, Honeywell, Interpipe, Jotun, Mitsubishi, Petrojet, Rumalia, Sakr Power Generation, Scania, Shell, Siemens, Tenaris and Volvo.

Ministry of Oil companies, including South Oil Company, South Gas Company, Iraq Drilling Company and State Company for Oil Projects, also played a key role at the event by networking with representatives from private company in attendance and discussing the future of the country’s oil and gas sector.

Expotim revealed that more than 90 per cent of last year’s exhibitors were satisfied with the visitor profile of the event, while more than 80 per cent of exhibitors stated that they considered the exhibition to be truly efficient. Meanwhile, an impressive 95 per cent of participants at the fourth version of the event said they would be willing to participate in the fifth edition of the event in December 2014, which will look to provide an interactive business platform for senior-level decision-making buyers to network with more than 270 local and international professionals offering the latest technologies, solutions and products.

Basra International Oil & Gas will take place from 4-7 December 2014 at Basra International Fair Ground. For further information, please contact info@basraoilgas.com 58

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

S15 ORME 5 2014 - Training & Development_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:51 PM Page 59

S15 ORME 5 2014 - Training & Development_Layout 1 8/18/2014 3:06 PM Page 60

Training & Development

Meeting the region’s

training needs Training and certification are often provided on the job, but online or ‘ distance’ qualifications play a role too.

OST ARABIC SPEAKERS find that local training facilities meet their skills and certification needs, whether under the wing of an NOC or through independent institutions such as GTSC (Abu Dhabi and other locations), ADC’s Dhahran Training Center and the Doha Petroleum School. But sometimes it is necessary to seek certification overseas.

The USA is usually the first choice given the international recognition of its qualifications. A key resource is the American Petroleum Institute in Washington, DC (www.api.org). Specifically orientated to US industry needs, the API has a wide involvement in all aspects of training for careers in the energy industries.

In June the API, effectively the USA’s national oil and gas trade association, launched a new recruitment website – www.oilgasworkforce.com. This provides vital information to anyone interested in careers in the oil and gas industry, as well as in certification and training.

A recent report from international business consultants IHS predicts an additional 1.3 mn new career opportunities in the US energy workforce alone by 2030. US personnel are also key members of operations and development teams in virtually all corners of the world.

The Institute’s new online resource builds on its existing recruitment initiatives to develop and source from completely new categories of human resources, including labour unions and general tertiary training colleges, as distinct from the many US campuses offering targeted courses.

Other major training institutions headquartered in the USA include the Petroleum Institute for Continuing Education, the Petroleum Safety & Technology Center, ATEC Training & Certification Services and the Well Control School. Quick links to all these and more can be found on the API’s skills development website.

Across the Atlantic another major

M

60

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

US personnel are key members of operations and development teams throughout the world. (Photo: BP) source of internationally recognised training is Germany’s TÜV SÜD, a leading technical services company located in Munich, which maintains a special regional site for the benefit of residents of the Middle East at www.tuv-sud.ae (tel:+971 4 4473 113).

Iraq is one of the countries where OPITO is currently helping to build a local workforce” A third recent initiative is provided by OPITO (Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation), the UK oil and gas industry’s global training standards body, which in July 2014 agreed to provide nearly US$1.3mn of funding over five years to the international development division of the Open University (OU), an experienced distance learning institution which includes energy in its course programme. This builds on an earlier successful but more

limited funding scheme aimed at meeting the international needs of the energy sector. OU’s Danni Nti commented, “With OPITO’s support we can uncover new solutions, support local partners and deliver effective programmes which really meet local needs.”

Funded by the industry itself, OPITO leads the drive for common global training standards to improve safety in all oil and gas operations. The organisation’s international division works with governments, regulators and the industry in more than 40 individual countries to deliver training standards which help develop necessary skills and competencies.

Iraq is one of the countries where OPITO is currently helping to build a local workforce capable of supporting the development of the oil and gas industries.

It is co-operating with IOCs there to design a framework for delivering qualified local workers, thereby helping to transform the country’s troubled economy.OPITO can be contacted locally in Dubai’s Knowledge Village (tel: +971 4 445 8402, email: mea.enquiries@opito.com). n

S15 ORME 5 2014 - Training & Development_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:51 PM Page 61

S15 ORME 5 2014 - Training & Development_Layout 1 8/18/2014 3:08 PM Page 62

Training & Development

Staying true to your core values - a new approach to developing middle managers “STAY TRUE TO your core” writes Dr Frank R Lloyd, Associate Dean of Executive Education at the USA’s Cox School of Business, which acts as academic partner to a variety of energy companies throughout North America. In the 18 February edition of PennEnergy he cites several successful examples drawn from oil and gas operations, in a review of how to prepare middle managers for leadership in the industry.

Dr Lloyd introduces the concept of an enterprise’s own special market advantage (an ‘economic moat’) that makes it stand out from its competitors and lines up its activities with its essential mission. “All organisations have, in common, one potential strategic advantage that can propel them past the competition: human capital,” he says.

Dr Lloyd maintains that this combination of ‘alignment’ and ‘empowerment’ requires a new set of skills for one of the industry’s key resources - its middle managers, who in the past relied on basic grounding in finance and interpersonal skills to fit the business’s middle management mould. “Now … mid-managers need to know about strategic thinking and decision making so that they can communicate the plan to their employees and help them prioritise their daily activities. They also need to understand basic tools of operational excellence such as work flow, process improvement, problem solving and safety...Abandon the truism that 70 per cent of leadership development takes place through on-the-job experience, 20 per cent in learning from others … and 10 per cent in the classroom,” he says.

Cox clients are exposed to a much wider range of tools including selfassessments, simulations, coaching, and real business projects to ‘leverage’ their learning opportunities. As a result trained middle managers are able to

62

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

Middle managers typically come from a company's pool of petroleum engineers, geologists and other technical specialists (Photo: BP) generate the best outcomes by establishing trust with co-workers and management. Dr Lloyd’s suggested approach is 50 per cent learning from work experience, 30 per cent from the classroom, and the rest from life experience. This ‘new paradigm’ offers opportunities to align and empower employees at all levels to help them achieve their best.

S16 ORME 5 2014 - Innovs_Layout 1 8/18/2014 3:11 PM Page 63

Innovations  TDI, which provides commercial clearance and remote logistics solutions, outlines some recent successes in the region.

Contributing to safety

and security T DI RECENTLY WON a contract working with WesternGeco in Kuwait to provide a UXO (unexploded ordnance) search capacity capable of locating UXO and any other explosive hazardous material which may hinder or compromise the safety of WesternGeco’s seismic survey operations as they traverse the area.

During the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait from August 1990 through until February 1991, Saddam Hussein’s forces laid over two million land mines in staggered minefields along the country’s southern and western borders in an effort to deter any incursion by Coalition forces. These minefields were originally cleared in 1993, however the methodologies used were perhaps not as robust as they are today, and live mines still remain in the ground, although the concentration of these is not known.

Certainly, during TDI’s time working in support of WesternGeco in 2006-2007 a number of mines were located in what were known to be previously cleared areas.

There will be two separate capacities.

One will conduct Battle Area Clearance working ahead of the seismic survey teams, ensuring that all UXO and other explosive hazardous materials are located and clearly marked for subsequent removal or destruction in situ by the Kuwaiti MOD EOD (Explosive Ordnance) Team.The second will involve clearance of the seismic corridor through the mine fields identified by WesternGeco.

TDI will deploy a mine clearance capacity to clear corridors through suspected minefields along predefined seismic lines as well as a robust management, administration and logistics support capacity to ensure a high level of co-ordination with all stakeholders.

TDI works in inaccessible and often hostile locations

TDI will deploy a mine clearance capacity to clear corridors through suspected minefields” involved deploying four manual clearance teams, four explosive ordnance disposal teams and four mine risk education teams.

33,137 people received mine risk education, and 2,553 pieces of ordnance were dealt with

by TDI teams.

Somalia project closes TDI has also recently completed two contracts in Somalia. The first, for stabilising newly recovered areas and consolidating national capacities to manage the explosive threat in south central Somalia, involved the deployment of two explosive ordnance disposal teams and three mine risk education teams in Hiran Province. The second, for emergency mine action and rehabilitation through demining in south central Somalia,

Work in Mali a success TDI are currently engaged on a project with United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) supporting their mine action efforts in Gao and Timbuktu. The TDI Mali Operations Manager along with UNMAS and FAMA conducted an inspection of approximately 100 SA3 missiles, which are are currently being dismantled and destroyed by TDI teams.

All EOD and missile attached staff are

undergoing on-the-job training with the emphasis on demolitions and SA3 missiles dismantlement and destruction.

Continuing work in South Sudan For the 2014-2015 demining period, TDI will deploy four Multi Task Teams to conduct survey and clearance tasks, along with community liaison and risk education as per UNOPS/UNMAS requirements.

South Sudan has been involved in the longest running conflict in Africa, and the remaining mines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) continue to kill, maim, obstruct humanitarian aid and impede development, while recent instability means that many towns and roads previously cleared may now again be contaminated with mines and other ERW. “As a result of the conducting of Multi TaskTeam operations from 2011 through to 2014, as well as several seasons of Multi Task Teams and Mine Action Support Teams during 2010 and 2011, we feel we are well equipped to begin this job with relative ease,” says Ian Anderson, operations manager. n

Issue 5 2014

oilreview.me

63

S16 ORME 5 2014 - Innovs_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:53 PM Page 64

 Innovations

Yokogawa enhances controllers YOKOGAWA ELECTRIC CORPORATION has enhanced its YS1000 series single-loop controllers with a new TFT (thin-film transistor) LCD featuring improved display characteristics and a design that facilitates easy maintenance.

Single-loop controllers are used in a wide variety of industrial facilities such as power plants, oil refineries, petrochemical plants, chemical plants, and iron and steel plants.

These controllers receive temperature, flow rate, pressure, and other types of measurement readings from sensors and send corresponding instructions to control elements such as valves in order to maintain these values within a desired range. Each control loop has its own controller.

Formerly, this product used a super twisted nematic (STN) LCD screen. This has been changed to a TFT LCD screen that has a 1.5 times wider viewing angle.

The display contrast and brightness are also notably The YS1000 single-loop improved, making controllers the screen much easier to read. In addition, the TFT LCD has a longer lifespan and does not need to be replaced as frequently.

With the enhanced YS1000 controllers, the TFT LCD can be replaced while the controller is online, with no need to switch off the controller before replacing the display.

In a separate development, Yokogawa has released the CENTUM® VP R5.04, an enhanced version of the company’s flagship integrated production control system, to offer improved alarm and batch functions.

New dosing performance pumps launched WANNER INTERNATIONAL HAS introduced two new Hydra-Cell® Dosing Performance Pump ranges with mechanical flow rate adjustment.

Because sealless Hydra-Cell pumps are true positive displacement pumps, flow rate is directly proportionate to input shaft speed and virtually independent of system discharge pressures. Very precise, infinite adjustment of shaft speed is achieved through a simple manual adjust hand wheel.

The variable speed gearboxes operate on the elasto-hydrodynamic principle, producing output torque by means of a traction fluid. This removes the possibility of mechanical slippage between input and output, potentially experienced with friction type variators.

The Hydra-Cell G03/G13 dosing range accommodates repeatable, steady flow requirements up to 310 litres per hour at pressures up to 100 bar and flows up to 490 litres per hour at pressures up to 70 bar.

The Hydra-Cell G10 dosing range accommodates repeatable flow requirements up to 732 litres per hour at pressures up to 103 bar

The Hydra-Cell G13 pump

and flows up to 1470 litres per hour at pressures below 50 bar.

These mechanically adjustable dosing pumps are ideal for use in ATEX Zone 1 and 21 when coupled to compatible, explosion proof motors which can also be provided.

Both ranges come with a variety of cam profiles to meet specific flow rate adjustment requirements and a variety of pump head materials is also available.

Emerson expands application scope for switch EMERSON PROCESS MANAGEMENT, a leading supplier of process automation services and technologies, has expanded the application scope for its Rosemount® 2120 range of vibrating fork point liquid level switches. The Rosemount 2120 level switch is now certified for SIL 2 functional safety with SIL 3 capability, enabling the device to meet the most demanding safety application requirements. The 2120 range is now approved for marine applications by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), and Emerson has also added an expanded choice of process connections for greater installation flexibility.

For safety critical applications, SIL 2 certification is now available for the 2120 with NAMUR and 8/16mA electronic outputs. There are five plug-in electronic outputs available providing a choice of switching The Rosemount 2020 switch functions. The SIL 2 certification extends the time between proof tests and allows users to avoid extra shutdowns for safety testing.

The 2120 also offers an expanded choice of process connections. In addition to the new 2" NPT process connection, the switch is now available with Mobrey A and G flanges enabling compatibility with mechanical float switch process connections.

Belzona introduces peelable coating concept BELZONA, A WORLD leader in the design and manufacture of polymer repair composites and industrial protective coatings, has formulated a new peelable coating concept, Belzona 3411 (Encapsulating Membrane), specifically designed for the protection of flanges, fastenings and associated pipework.

Made available in 2014, Belzona’s innovative encapsulating membrane system has been specifically developed to meet the growing demand for new and more

64

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

effective corrosion protective systems, providing excellent corrosion protection, a simple installation, suitability for all flange sizes and shapes, and easy access for inspection purposes.

Belzona’s R&D chemist, Ruckseeta Patel, said, “With the use of clever polymer chemistry, we have created a flange protection system strong and flexible enough to be peeled back without tearing.

This solution features the flexibility of elastomers but is based on a completely

new technology excluding the use of isocyanates and toxic metal catalysts. The system bonds to manually prepared surfaces and does not involve hot work, making it safe and easy to use.”

This encapsulating system can be used not just to provide a complete corrosion protection for flanges, fastenings and associated pipes, but also as a preventive system which helps improving and facilitating further monitoring and inspection of flange faces.

S16 ORME 5 2014 - Innovs_Layout 1 8/18/2014 3:16 PM Page 65

Innovations 

Wood Group Intetech establishes global well performance database WOOD GROUP INTETECH (WG Intetech), a world leader in well integrity management, has developed a new software platform for analysing global well component reliability data. Called iQRA, the tool provides operators with valuable insight to make better, more informed decisions about the selection of well and oilfield components – enhancing asset performance and safety.

Responding to the industry demands to have ready access to a broad set of validated component reliability data, WG Intetech has designed a solution to harness this information in a single, secure location.

Wood Group Intetech's new product enables operators to make more informed decisions about the selection of well and oilfield components

Based on the ISO-14224 standard, iQRA supports critical decisionmaking by giving users the ability to benchmark their reliability figures against a global dataset and extract safety critical element (SCE) failure statistics and mean-time-to failure (MTTF) data. iQRA is a feature-rich platform that comes with quality-assured, trustworthy data. The cloud-based tool allows users to construct their own queries and generate information instantly, from anywhere.

“Wood Group Intetech has been delivering online well integrity data solutions for more than a decade and we have a strong and proven track record in providing top quality information to support strategic decision making. As a trusted partner for the oil & gas industry we were in the perfect situation to develop a solution for benchmarking and analysing global well performance data,” says Dr Liane Smith, managing director and founder of Wood Group Intetech.

British Safety Council partners with OSHAD THE BRITISH SAFETY Council has signed a partnership agreement with Abu Dhabi’s Environment, Health and Safety Center (OSHAD) to share best practice in the management of occupational health and safety and to help the Emirate to raise awareness among employers and workers of the social and business benefits of well-managed health and safety.

OSHAD was established by the government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in February 2010, to implement occupational health and safety (OHS) policies, plans and programmes through the provision of integrated OHS regulatory frameworks to ensure safe and healthy workplaces. OSHAD helps to secure excellent standards of health and safety management by the country’s businesses and government agencies.

The British Safety Council will share its and its members’ knowledge and expertise of the systems and arrangements that lead to excellent health and safety performance. It will also help OSHAD to raise awareness of the benefits of management of health and safety risks among Abu Dhabi’s employers.

Issue 5 2014

oilreview.me

65

S16 ORME 5 2014 - Innovs_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:53 PM Page 66

 Innovations

GE to supply new BOP systems GE OIL & GAS has received an order for the offshore oil and gas industry’s first 20,000-psi (20ksi) rated deepwater blowout preventer (BOP) stack and riser systems from Maersk Drilling. The equipment, due to enter service in the first half of 2018, is being supplied for Maersk and BP as part of their joint Project 20K™ Rigs design programme, which involves developing conceptual engineering designs for a new generation of advanced drilling rigs that will be critical to unlocking the next frontier of deepwater oil and gas resources. The programme will result in deepwater drilling vessels designed to operate efficiently in high-pressure and high-temperature reservoirs up to 20,000 psi and 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

The 20-ksi BOP prototype

Work class ROV training course launched THE WORLD’S FIRST training course in work class ROV operations delivered by an independent training provider has been launched by The Underwater Centre in Fort William to meet the huge demand for ROV operators forecast by the industry.

The new five-week residential course - An Introduction to Work Class ROV - will come under the umbrella of the new ROV Industry Training Academy, which is being established and will be led by a steering group made up of key industry personnel who will ensure the training closely reflects the needs of the industry. This will include basic training introducing technical personnel to the industry and, in due course, more advanced training designed to accelerate ROV personnel through their careers. It will be delivered in a contextual training environment, ensuring it is as realistic as possible to the

conditions that are found offshore.

Significant industry support has been provided and Technip has also led the development of the course syllabus, which was developed in conjunction with the International Marine Contractor’s Association (IMCA) and the ROV industry.

The Underwater Centre is a purpose-built subsea training and trials facility and is based on the shore of a seawater loch, well sheltered by the surrounding mountains. The Centre’s unique location allows it to provide year-round training and testing in an open-water environment. With access to depths of more than 100 metres, it is the ideal location to perform realistic and industry-specific saturation and air diver and ROV pilot technician training, as well as providing a convenient location for subsea equipment trials.

Enware supplies safety showers

GE Oil & Gas will design, test and manufacture the new 20-ksi BOPs and risers at the company’s recently expanded Houston Technology Center in Texas. The system will include a number of new real-time monitoring and condition-based maintenance technologies aimed at improving uptime by reducing unplanned maintenance.

AUSTRALIA’S LEADING SUPPLIER of stainless steel emergency safety showers, Enware Australia, has made its largest export delivery to date, to the $US10.8 billion Ma’aden aluminium complex in Saudi Arabia.

Enware has delivered more than 700 of its Australian designed and manufactured emergency safety showers along with associated safety equipment to Korean based Design, Construct and Engineering company Hyundai for use at diverse locations throughout the project.

The tough, reliable and technically advanced safety shower and eyewash features solar battery charging for use even in the world’s remotest and harshest conditions and features loading/unloading access for forklift tines or cranes. It is already in use by leading resources, engineering and project management companies in Queensland and Western Australia.

The Enware safety shower

AVEVA launches new application for governing asset information AVEVA HAS LAUNCHED the AVEVA Information Standards Manager (AVEVA ISM), a software product that enables both EPC contractors and asset owner operators to achieve greater control over critical engineering information across their projects and enterprises. It does this by rationalising existing class libraries and imposing consistent and compliant standards that improve information quality and reduce both project and operational risk.

AVEVA ISM is fully compatible with software systems from other vendors.

With today’s massively increasing quantities and variety of asset life cycle

66

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

information, this powerful enterprise-level application offers increased value to both project and operations management processes without the need to replace existing authoring products. The quick deployment and open design of AVEVA ISM delivers rapid ROI to EPCs and owner operators.

“AVEVA ISM is able to establish and govern all asset information standards, across any number of projects,” explained Derek Middlemas, COO and head of enterprise solutions, AVEVA. “This launch strengthens AVEVA’s Digital Information Hub capabilities, and has been built around the

principle of creating and maintaining an accurate digital asset.”

Using AVEVA ISM, owner operators are able to communicate their information standards requirements fully and accurately to their contractors, who are thus able to execute projects more quickly and to the necessary contractual standards.

Contractors who work with multiple clients, each with their unique information standards requirements, can more easily manage concurrent projects to different standards. This enables valuable efficiency benefits, saves cost and time, and reduces opportunities for costly errors and rework.

S16 ORME 5 2014 - Innovs_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:53 PM Page 67

S16 ORME 5 2014 - Innovs_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:53 PM Page 68

 Innovations

Sulzer develops new subsea pump SULZER, ALONG WITH FMC Technologies, has fully qualified a 3.2MW, 5,000psi, 6,000rpm pump/motor system for use in subsea applications.

Traditionally, subsea wells would be tied directly back to topside or land based processing facilities, but by placing more processing equipment subsea, closer to the wells, significant cost and production advantages can be made.

If a multiphase well stream is boosted using a multiphase pump, the reservoir back pressure is lowered and the final yield from the field increased. This boosted well stream can be tied into a distant onshore processing facility previously un-reachable without the subsea boosting.

With the use of a subsea separation system, instead of bringing produced water to the surface for treatment, hot produced water can easily be separated from the product and immediately re-injected at source. This significantly reduces the OPEX of running an aging field.

By using subsea water injection pumps, raw seawater injection can be done without the need for long risers and topside water treatment facilities, reducing the CAPEX of any project.

Sulzer’s new pump/motor system has been designed to meet all of these

The Sulzer / FMC Technologies new subsea pump system applications. At the heart of the machine is a high speed permanent magnet synchronous motor, faster than any other currently available. This is coupled with a fast acting mechanical barrier fluid system to reduce system complexity and umbilical size. All pump options have field proven Sulzer hydraulics. The multiphase pump design has pressure balancing

technology to allow pressure rise potential in excess of 100 bar. These all combine to give solutions to the subsea processing market.

The development programme received industry recognition in 2013 by winning the Spotlight on Technology award at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, USA.

Halliburton introduces new service to lower operators’ cost per BOE HALLIBURTON HAS RELEASED its CYPHER 2.0 Seismic-to-Stimulation Service, a proprietary and collaborative workflow that links geoscience and reservoir, drilling, and completion engineering to allow operators to better predict and produce unconventional reserves.

The CYPHER 2.0 service builds on the company’s CYPHER service introduced in September 2013 which has resulted in increased production rates for users, and provides enhanced capabilities through innovative software applications allowing operators to optimise the development of their unconventional reservoirs and reduce their cost per barrels of oil equivalent (BOE).

Powered by Landmark's DecisionSpace® next-generation earth modelling solution, the workflow is capable of updating dynamically and iteratively with the seismic and well data required to model the structure, rock and fluid properties. Halliburton's petroleum systems modelling technology defines the distribution of hydrocarbons in the unconventional reservoir to aid well placement, while the company's integrated formation evaluation module identifies the sweet spots for optimising the spacing of perforation clusters.

Key scientific and technological advances in the CYPHER 2.0 service include modelling the

68

oilreview.me

Issue 5 2014

The CYPHER service is deployed in major shale developments interaction of the reservoir's natural fracture networks with the fractures induced by the hydraulic fracturing process. This results in a more accurate fracture network model with which to simulate the production performance of

the completion design. Critical operational factors can then be adjusted in real time between stages during the fracture treatment to further optimise well performance.

Another feature is the ability to evaluate, predict and alter perforation cluster efficiency.

Leveraging these models to rapidly evaluate the production performance of different well placement and completion design options, Halliburton is able to quickly and iteratively optimise the development plans for operators' shale assets.

The CYPHER service is deployed to all major shale developments in North America and many key international markets through multidisciplined technical teams, with more than 300 technical professionals trained on major elements of the workflow.

“Since we released he CYPHER service in September 2013, we have seen tremendous customer interest and uptake,” said Jim Brown, Halliburton’s President of the Western Hemisphere. “Projects on shale assets in several North American basisn have delivered a 35 per cent production increase on average. The CYPHER 2.0 service is a step-change improvement in our ability to deliver better wells for our customers at a lower cost per BOE.”

S17 ORME 5 2014 - DMS - Rig Count_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:56 PM Page 69

S17 ORME 5 2014 - DMS - Rig Count_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:56 PM Page 70

RIG COUNT ďƒ§

Middle East & North Africa The Baker Hughes Rig Count tracks industry-wide rigs engaged in drilling and related operations, which include drilling, logging, cementing, coring, well testing, waiting on weather, running casing and blowout preventer (BOP) testing.

Country

Land

THIS MONTH OffShore Total

VARIANCE From Last Month

LAST MONTH Land OffShore Total

Land

LAST YEAR OffShore Total

Middle East ABU DHABI DUBAI IRAQ JORDAN KUWAIT OMAN PAKISTAN QATAR SAUDI ARABIA SUDAN SYRIA YEMEN TOTAL

21 0 94 0 34 59 20 2 89 0 0 4 232

9 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 19 0 0 0 35

30 2 94 0 34 59 20 7 108 0 0 4 358

0 1 5 0 0 1 -3 1 10 0 0 0 15

23 0 89 0 34 58 23 2 78 0 0 4 311

7 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 20 0 0 0 32

30 1 89 0 34 58 23 6 98 0 0 4 343

19 0 80 0 30 45 21 2 64 0 0 4 265

8 0 0 0 0 1 0 7 19 0 0 0 35

27 0 80 0 30 46 21 9 83 0 0 4 300

47 45 11 0 103

0 11 1 0 12

47 56 11 0 114

-2 -9 3 0 -8

49 45 8 0 102

0 10 0 0 10

49 65 8 0 122

46 47 15 3 111

0 11 0 1 12

46 58 15 4 123

North Africa ALGERIA EGYPT LIBYA TUNISIA TOTAL

Source: Baker Hughes

S17 ORME 5 2014 - DMS - Rig Count_Layout 1 8/18/2014 3:18 PM Page 71

Project Databank Compiled by Data Media Systems

OIL, GAS AND PETROCHEMICAL PROJECTS Project

Facility

Budget ($ US)

Country

Status

Block D Exploration

Exploration

200000000

Qatar

Engineering & Procurement

Dolphin Energy Limited (DEL) Construction

Export Gas Compression Facilities Upgrade

Gas Production

280000000

Qatar

EPS Qatar - Expandable Polystrene (EPS) Plant

Polystyrene

100000000

Qatar

Feasibility Study

Maersk Oil Qatar - Al Shaheen Offshore Field Development Plan

Oil & Gas Field

500000000

Qatar

FEED

Oryx GTL - Gas To Liquids Plant - Phase 2

Gas to Liquids (GTL)

1500000000

Qatar

Feasibility Study

Gas Processing

50000000

Qatar

Engineering &

Qatar Petroleum (QP) Air Compressor Replacement at Mesaieed Refinery

Procurement Qatar Petroleum (QP) Bi-directional Pipeline Between KM and KS

Gas Pipeline

80000000

Qatar

Engineering &

Qatar Petroleum (QP) - Vapor Recovery System

Gas Processing

50000000

Qatar

FEED

Oil Production

200000000

Qatar

Engineering &

Procurement Qatar Petroleum (QP) - Wellhead Scada & Cathodic Protection (Dukhan Field)

Procurement Qatar Petroleum (QP) / Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) Al Sejeel Petrochemical Complex - Aromatics Plant

Aromatics

1000000000

Qatar

FEED

Petrochemical Plant

6000000000

Qatar

EPC ITB

Petrochemical Plant

3000000000

Qatar

EPC ITB

Qatar Petroleum (QP) / Shell Al Karaana Petrochemical Complex - (Overview) Qatar Petroleum (QP) / Shell Al Karaana Petrochemical Complex - Package 1 Qatar Petroleum (QP) / Shell Al Karaana Petrochemical Complex - Package 2

Petrochemical Plant

3000000000

Qatar

EPC ITB

RasGas - Qatar Barzan Gas Field Development Project (Overview)

Gas Field Development

8600000000

Qatar

Engineering & Procurement

RasGas Qatar Barzan Gas Field Development Project - Offshore - Phase 1

Gas Field Development

800100000

Qatar

Construction

Gas Field Development

700000000

Qatar

Feasibility Study

Gas Field Development

300000000

Qatar

Feasibility Study

Gas Field Development

1700000000

Qatar

Construction

Gas Field Development

2000000000

Qatar

Feasibility Study

RasGas Qatar Barzan Gas Field Development Project - Offshore - Phase 2 RasGas Qatar Barzan Gas Field Development Project - Offshore - Phase 3 RasGas Qatar Barzan Gas Field Development Project - Onshore - Phase 1 RasGas Qatar Barzan Gas Field Development Project - Onshore - Phase 2

S17 ORME 5 2014 - DMS - Rig Count_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:56 PM Page 72

Project Focus Compiled by Data Media Systems

Project Summary Project Name

Dolphin Energy Limited (DEL) - Export Gas Compression Facilities Upgrade

Name of Client

Dolphin Energy Limited

Budget ($ US)

280,000,000

Award Date

Q3-2012

Facility Type

Gas Production

Status

Construction

Start Date

Q2-2012

End Date

Q1-2015

Location

North Field, Qatar

Project Backgrounds Dolphin Energy Limited has started the renovation project to increase the overall reliability and availability of the plant and enhance the transmission capacity of the plant by allowing full utilization of the export pipeline.

Project Status Aug 2014

The construction works is continuing as per schedule with completion expected in the first quarter of 2015.

Apr 2013

The construction works is on track.

Nov 2012

The construction works is likely to commence in the second quarter of 2013.

Sep 2012

Larsen & Toubro was awarded the EPC contract.

Project Scope The scope of the scheme involves: - Gas compression facility - Depressuring & steady state simulation of flare network - Hydraulic and line sizing Upgrade of utility facilities - Associated works The scope of the scheme will also add three new compressors, each rated at 52 megawatts (MW), increasing export gas transmission capacity to 3.2bn scf/d.

Project Finance Dolphin Energy Limited is the client.

Project Schedules 3Q-2012

Engineering & Procurement

2Q-2013

Construction

1Q-2015

Completed

S17 ORME 5 2014 - DMS - Rig Count_Layout 1 8/18/2014 12:56 PM Page 73

S18 ORME 5 2014 - Arabic_Layout 1 8/18/2014 1:33 PM Page 74

S18 ORME 5 2014 - Arabic_Layout 1 8/18/2014 1:33 PM Page 75

S18 ORME 5 2014 - Arabic_Layout 1 8/18/2014 1:33 PM Page 76

S18 ORME 5 2014 - Arabic_Layout 1 8/18/2014 1:33 PM Page 77

S18 ORME 5 2014 - Arabic_Layout 1 8/18/2014 1:33 PM Page 78

ADVERTISERS INDEX ABCO Middle East FZE ......................52 ALAA Industrial Equipment Factory ..55 AlMansoori Specialized ..................79 Engineering Ansell Healthcare-Middle East..........51 Baumer Electric AG ..........................37 BGH Edelstahlwerke GmbH ..............43 Bredero Shaw Middle East Ltd. ........13 Bulk S.r.L. ........................................27 Cansco Well Control ........................61 CGG Services (SA) UAE ....................19 DMG World Media Dubai Ltd............69 (ADIPEC 2014) Emerson Process Management ..........7 Exterran............................................15 Haagen ............................................44 Hi-Force Ltd. ....................................25 HOT Engineering GmbH ....................58

Hydratight Ltd ....................................8 IFP Training Middle East ..................62 International Register of ..................53 Certificated Auditors (IRCA) J. De Jonge Flowsystems B.V. ..........56 JESCO (Jubail Energy Services Co) ....29 Jotun Paints UAE Ltd (LLC) ..................5 Kaeser Kompressoren FZE ................17 Magnatech International BV ..............1 Marelli Motori SPA ..........................59 Metscco Heavy Steel........................31 Industries Co. Ltd. Nexans ............................................21 OKI Europe Ltd ................................38 Oman Cement Company ..................41 R Stahl Middle East FZE....................65 Ruth's Chris Steak House ................67 (Fine Dining Ltd)

Saga PCE Pte Ltd. ............................23 Schlumberger Oilfield ........................2 Mktg Comms Schlumberger Technical ....................9 Services Inc Shree Steel Overseas FZCO ..............14 Society of Petroleum Engineers........40 SSDS ................................................53 Starlink Oilfield Supplies & ..............11 Services DMCC Sulzer Pumps Middle East ................27 Suraj Limited ....................................33 T.D. Williamson, Inc. ........................35 Technogenia ....................................30 The Development Initiative Ltd ........63 Tratos Cavi S.p.A. ............................77 Van Beest B.V...................................11 Westmark BV ..................................39

S18 ORME 5 2014 - Arabic_Layout 1 8/18/2014 1:33 PM Page 79

S18 ORME 5 2014 - Arabic_Layout 1 8/18/2014 1:33 PM Page 80