EAGE Newsletter Middle East 2016, Issue 1 by EAGE

EAGE NEWSLETTER

MIDDLE EAST

Issue 1 2016

Staying the course in difficult times EAGE intends to continue to bring best possible value to its members in these tough economic times. Mohammed Alfaraj EAGE president 2015-2016

espite these difficult economic times, I can report that EAGE continues to make strides to reach out and provide services to its members worldwide. The past half-year has shown that it is also still possible

to continue with established events such as the Second EAGE Workshop on High Performance Computing for Upstream in Dubai, which was a great success this past September. Even chances to explore new opportunities

EAGE Middle East Office: Our 10 Year Journey

Conference Dinner Shiraz 2009.

Field trip during the Subsalt Imaging Workshop 2009.

In 2012 Ex-SAC Member Ibrahim Mohammed and the Forum Co-chairs Boudour, Wafa and Sameera present the Keynote Speaker Ahmed Al Suwaidi with an EAGE plaque of thanks.

Field trip to the Dead Sea during the Dead Seas Sinkholes Workshop 2012.

Trivia Question A - What does ‘Abu Naft’ mean? B - To which early Middle East geologist does it sometimes refer? C - What was his nationality? Answers on p. 6

Exploration Workshop 2009.

What's inside Countdown to Vienna

Back for more geomechanics

Prof talks Boot Camp

And more …

EAGE UPDATE

Former EAGE President Gladys Gonzalez was presented with an award from Dhahran Geoscience Society in 2013.

Instructor Behzad Alaei at the Education Days Abu Dhabi 2013.

HWUDC student members, winners of the 2013 Field Challenge at the 75th EAGE Conference & Exhibition in London.

First Geomechanics Workshop in 2014.

Executive Director Marcel Van Loon (ml@eage.org)

Michael Poppelreiter SLT 2015 on Digital Geology.

Regional Manager Middle East Raymond Cahill (rcl@eage.org)

still present themselves. The First EAGE Eastern Africa Petroleum Geoscience Forum in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania held in November was a prime example. As a result of this ini-

The Near Surface Geoscience Conference and Exhibition in Turin in September was a good example of a successful, long running event. It hosted the 21st European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics. Furthermore, the First European Airborne Electromagnetics Conference and the First Conference on Proximal Sensing Supporting Precision Agriculture proved valuable additions to this show fostering cross-disciplinary interaction among all participants. We already look forward to the next round in Barcelona, September 2016, and hope to see a noticeable representation from the Middle East.

tiative, EAGE’s first Student Chapter in Eastern Africa was formed. Various staff members have also attended events in cooperation with sister societies. I was personally very excited to visit Doha for the IPTC conference and associated exhibition. Reviewing the past year, I am pleased to say that EAGE’s Annual Meeting in Madrid was a fantastic event hosting over 5500 delegates. There was a positive energy amongst companies and delegates, all determined to meet the industry’s current challenges. We heard encouraging feedback from the exhibitors; they had good traffic and leads. And despite some cost savings, we did not receive any major complaints about the quality of the event. Now on to Vienna for 2016 where we hope to see as many of you as possible!

This year promises more fruitful initiatives in new and familiar territories including the EAGE/SPE Subsalt Imaging Workshop, 2-4 May in Dubai and the EAGE Workshop on Petroleum Geochemistry in Operations & Production, 2-5 October in Doha. 2016 does not only promise exciting initiatives, it will also be a year of celebration. EAGE is very proud to be able to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Middle East office in Dubai! Of course we cannot let such a feat pass unnoticed. This newsletter contains a short visual overview of the past decade. Meanwhile a special reception will be held on 9 March during GEO 2016, and we will continue to mark the anniversary in Vienna at the Annual Meeting and elsewhere during the year. Be sure to keep your eye out for other special occasions during the year.

Bjorn Wygrala SLT 2014 on Basin Modelling.

EAGE Newsletter Middle East

Account Manager Corporate Relations Daan van Ommen (don@eage.org) EAGE Middle East Office EAGE Middle East FZ-LLC Dubai Knowledge Village Block 13 Office F-25 PO Box 501711 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel.: +971 4 369 3897 Fax: +971 4 360 4702 E-mail: middle_east@eage.org Website: www.eage.org Submission of articles communications@eage.org Newsletter on the Web (www.eage.org)

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2016

EAGE UPDATE

Countdown to the event of the year in Vienna!

ow do we face the most challenging

The meeting on 30 May to 2 June 2016 at the city’s Reed Messe Wien centre has as its theme ‘Efficient Use of Technology – Unlocking Potential’. It is an invitation to the world’s geoscience and engineering community to consider the impact of the low oil price environment and what can be done to be more efficient and cost effective. The main conference covers a wide variety of technical topics in parallel sessions, along with poster sessions including student contributions. There are also numerous workshops to choose from as well as short courses and field trips. Supporting the event is the major exhibition

Key business and technology issues will be given particular attention at the now well established EAGE Forum on the opening day and at the several executive sessions planned. Two popular special interest sessions for Young Professionals and Women in Geoscience and Engineering will be on the agenda again. Geoscience students with a career in the industry in mind will once more be well catered in Vienna with a programme themed ‘Perform & Peak’. It includes dedicated technical presentations, workshops, an exhibition tour, trial interviews and contests such as the legendary GeoQuiz.

period in the history of the oil and gas industry? Looking for answers will be the top priority at this year’s 78th EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition 2016 including SPE EUROPEC, the world’s largest multi-disciplinary geoscience event, being held in Vienna.

where around 350 companies and organizations are expected to showcase the latest in technology and services. International and national oil companies, service companies, equipment suppliers, research institutes, and many governmental agencies are among those represented.

To learn more about everything going on at Vienna 2016 and why you should attend, visit www.eage.org/event/vienna-2016. Don’t forget that registration is open now, and if you want to save some money, book before the early bird deadline of 15 March!

Carbonates to take centre stage at Muscat workshop

Time to meet a borehole geology abstract deadline

Skyline of Vienna.

favourite regional topic - Evaluation and Drilling of Carbonate Reservoirs – will be the focus of an EAGE workshop in Muscat on 27-29 November 2016. The theme of this new event is ‘Challenges, Uncertainties and Solutions’. The Technical Committee, led by Anne Bartetzko (Baker Hughes) and Maria Mutti (University of Potsdam) are calling for two page abstracts from geoscientists and engineers who work on different aspects of carbonate reservoirs. Abstracts are invited on topics such as Carbonate Stratigraphic Architecture and Reservoirs Through Time, Drilling Problems in Carbonates and their Mitigation and Fluid Flow and Modelling, amongst others. Full information on the workshop can be found on the event website www.eage.org/event/ carbonate-reservoirs-2016. Contributions are welcome from young academics and professionals and abstracts are to be submitted by the deadline of 30 April 2016.

eap Day, that’s 29 February, when submissions have to be in to meet the Call for Abstracts deadline for the upcoming Second EAGE Borehole Geology Workshop being held in St Julians, Malta on 9-12 October 2016. This second workshop has the theme ‘Bringing Value to the Field Development Lifecycle’ with abstract requested on: The Role of Borehole Images in the Development of Static Models, Novel Acquisition, Processing and Interpretation Techniques, Integrated Workflows for Multi-Disciplinary Results and Application of Image Logs in Well Placement.

Malta, with its historical architecture, beautiful weather and most aptly, its geological make up, will provide a perfect setting for the workshop. An amazing field trip is currently being finalized – check the Borehole Geology website to stay updated: www.eage.org/event/borehole-geology-2016.

Delegates at the Malta workshop.

Dubai subsalt imaging workshop is special!

ake a look at the EAGE website to see the Final Announcement and Technical Programme for the EAGE/SPE Subsalt Imaging Workshop in Dubai, 2-4 May 2016. It’s fantastic! Presentations will cover recent progress in seismic acquisition in subsalt environments; the geology of subsalt basins; subsalt seismic imaging challenges in the Red Sea, the Levantine basin, plus

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2016

other basins in North Africa and the Middle East; and migration advance and velocity models, illumination, and resolution. It promises to be a very interesting two days! The registration rate of €850 (Members) and €950 (Non-members) is available now! For more information please visit the event page: www.eage.org/event/subsalt-imaging-2016.

EAGE UPDATE

Popular Arabian Plate Geology Workshop back for a sixth time

he long running Arabian Plate Geology Workshop, now in its sixth edition, will be held from 5-7 December 2016 in Abu Dhabi. The three-day event dedicated to the geology of the Arabian Plate consists of oral and poster presentations, including a number of invited keynote speakers, a core workshop and an optional geological field trip to Jebel Hafeet, UAE. The fifth edition of the workshop welcomed 71 delegates from over 16 countries and 40 companies. The goal of the workshop series is to align the regional geological understanding and applied nomenclature of the Key Hydrocarbon-Bearing Stratigraphic Intervals of the Arabian Plate. Both local and regional contributions from oil compa-

Poster session in progress.

Core display is always popular.

produce updated regional palaeogeographical maps, and identify common stratigraphic markers. It will flag tools and methods that are

The Technical Programme features oral and posters sessions and discussion sessions to cover key facets of the process – from finding, to ap-

nies, research institutes and universities are solicited to build consistent, time-based stratigraphic models. This time the workshop will focus on the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary (Arabian Plate Sequences 9 & 10) interval that is characterized by under-explored siliciclastic, carbonate and evaporate sequences with proven source rocks, reservoirs and seals. The workshop will propose a time-based sequence stratigraphic framework,

particularly efficient in studying complex, mixed sedimentary systems, and will enhance our ability to predict the presence and effectiveness (e.g. distribution and quality) of reservoirs, seals, and source rocks. The core workshop is one of the highlights of the event with the display of core material from a number of producing fields spanning the entire North Arabian Plate region, and the possibility of virtual reality outcrop presentations.

praisal, to pilot, through development and to production. The workshop of two and a half days offers the opportunity to discuss and address issues faced by operators, service companies, academia and other G&G professionals. The workshop co-chairs are Volker Vahrenkamp and Ibrahim Al-Ghamdi, Saudi Aramco. To register for the workshop and the field trip, please visit www.eage.org/event/arabianplate-2016.

Tar mats workshop heading for Oman

PE and EAGE are delighted to an-

oil recovery by reducing porosity, creat-

nounce plans to hold the SPE/EAGE Workshop on Tar Mats and Heavy Oil in Muscat from 9-12 October 2016. We welcome our co-chairs Stig Lyngra, Saudi Aramco; Wael Abdullah, Schlumberger Dhahran Carbonate Research Center and Naim Al-Jabari, Xross Technology, to lead the technical committee and look forward to planning an interesting, informative and interactive workshop with them. Oil companies in the Middle East are being confronted with major challenges in developing and managing reservoirs with heavy oil and/or tar mats. Tar mats represent the lowest API scale, where fluid is very hard to move, has a very low gas content and high oil viscosity. Tar affects

ing permeability barriers and modifying rock wettability. Reliable characterization and mapping of tar mats within the reservoir will lead to robust well placement, satisfactory fluid advancement monitoring and prudent implementation of injection and production strategies. Moreover, the development of heavy oil reservoirs often requires novel technology solutions, including real-time tar identification during well placement and special fit-for-purpose production facilities. The workshop will cover: fundamentals, practical aspects and lessons learned from heavy oil and tar mat case studies If you wish to be involved in this workshop please email: middle_east@eage.org.

Meet the knowledge management challenge in Dubai

he four societies - AAPG, EAGE, SEG and SPE - are collaborating on an annual professional development workshop, with

support promised from the industry. The event led by AAPG is themed ‘The Knowledge Management Challenge’ and is scheduled for 2324 March 2016 at the Meydan Hotel, Dubai. The workshop is intended to target professionals from all areas of upstream oil and gas who deal with knowledge management initiatives including geoscientists and engineers, HR professionals, young professionals and academics. Among the many topics, ‘Upstream Knowledge Challenge - “Knowledge at risk to lose and its business impact” Qualitative vs. Quantitative’ will be a session intended to highlight appropriate approaches for identifying and quantifying at risk knowledge sharing and transfer and demonstrate its impact on the business. To join this innovative workshop you can register on the AAPG website.

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2016

EAGE UPDATE

Dates announced for Middle East Boot Camp 2016!

AGE’s second Middle East Boot Camp on land seismic acquisition has been confirmed and will take place over two separate weeks. One session will be from 30 October - 2 November, the other on 3–6 November. Registration will open on 31 March. The format will be similar to last year’s inaugural Middle East Boot Camp which was hailed as a success with a total of 39 students and two young professionals, comprising many nationalities. The event was organized by the Petroleum Institute, ADNOC and Schlumberger with strong corporate support from our platinum sponsor, Al Hosn Gas; Gold sponsors, OMV, ADMA-OPCO, and ADCO; plus our silver sponsor Mubadala Pe-

We did it! Students show off their certificates.

troleum. The Petroleum Institute selected the geological target together with ADNOC and provided the Field Instructors and equipment together with Schlumberger. Some of the numerous comments we received from students included the fact that they enjoyed the opportunity to be actively involved in the field. It gave them a clearer idea what the factors in acquisition are and how we solve problems in order to get good quality of data. Mr Ahmad Saqer Al Suwaidi, chair of EAGE Regional Council Middle East, a staunch supporter of the initiative, said the Boot Camp left an excellent impression that will last for a long time. He anticipates that the latest Boot Camp will be well sup-

ported by relevant companies, academic institutes and government bodies, and will become an integral part of the Middle East oil and gas industry. For 2016, participants will once again conduct field operations in Al Ain, UAE, which is home to one of the largest outcrops of ophiolites in the world. The target of the survey is the contact of the Semail Ophiolite and the Foreland Basin, with its complex structure. A geological field trip will complete the programme giving participants a great opportunity to familiarize themselves with the complex geology of the Oman-UAE mountain and foreland basin. Through generous support from sponsors, those selected to participate will not only see but

Students out in the field.

also operate the Vibroseis technology, which is one of the methods of seismic acquisition. Field activities will be followed by afternoon briefings that focuses on the quality check of the daily gathered data. The Boot Camp is again hosted by the Petroleum Institute, ADNOC and Schlumberger. For more information on how to register and how to support this event, please contact the EAGE Middle East office: middle_east@eage.org.

Fairhead

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2016

J. Derek

structural depth maps. Prof. Fairhead describes how advanced processing and interpretation have evolved significantly over the last two decades. The traditional amplitude derivative methods are now augmented by powerful local phase and local wavenumber derivative methods, all of which are used to identify and map structural lineaments as well as providing accurate depth estimations using infinite and finite depth models. In what one can call the post-Euler era, interpretation methods have evolved from generating clouds of Euler depth solutions to estimating depths of individual magnetic anomalies. Where sedimentary basins are at their deepest, there is often a sparsity of depth solutions but not magnetic data. Transforming the magnetic

rek Fair he

retation

vances in Gravity and Magnetic Processing and Interpretation by Prof. Derek Fairhead is for you. It is a must buy for Master’s students studying exploration geophysics as well as oil industry professionals. As well as exploration, it focuses on recent developments of how local phase derivatives are being used in both processing and interpretation gravity and magnetic data. The book is the result of over 40 years teaching by Prof. Fairhead, emeritus professor of applied geophysics at the University of Leeds and founder of Getech, a gravity and magnetics company. The work does not go into any detailed mathematical treatment of potential field theory, which is more than adequately covered by other recently published textbooks.

Advance s Magnetiin Gravity and c and InteProcessing rpretati on J. De

and Interp

Instead it adopts a more practical approach on how to process and interpret gravity and magnetic profile and grid data to generate 3D

and Ma gnetic Pro cessing

f you want a book covering everything you need to know about gravity and magnetic methods, then the new EAGE e-book Ad-

Advanc es in Gra vity

Ultimate read on gravity and magnetics in the bookshop now

data into pseudogravity now provides a means of mapping the whole basement surface. The book draws extensively on collaborative works with Dr Ahmed Salem, other colleagues and research students via publications which are referenced both within the text and at the end of each section. Advances in Gravity and Magnetic Processing and Interpretation is available as Ebook as well as print copy at the EAGE Bookshop, www.eage.org/bookshop. (Ebook: member €128, list €161; Print: member €154, list €193).

EAGE UPDATE

Petroleum geochemistry in carbonate reservoirs makes an ideal workshop for Middle East

workshop focused on operational petroleum geochemistry in carbonate reservoirs is heading to Doha. The goal is to provide a perspective on how established and emerging geochemical tools can help to have a comprehensive understanding of the life of these hydrocarbon fields. The discussion should be particularly relevant in the Gulf countries, and is reflected in various scales, from well to reservoir and running through the different stages from drilling, production monitoring, EOR and even abandonment or geological storage.

If this is your specialty then make a note of the dates, 2-5 October, 2016 when EAGE will be presenting the First EAGE Workshop on Petroleum Geochemistry in Operations & Production in Doha. In addition to the workshop we are organizing a short course led by Alain Prinzhofer, scientific director, GEO4U on 2 October 2016. The course will cover the following: chemical composition and isotopes: the two dimensions of gas geochemistry; isotopology: stable isotopes, radiogenic isotopes, noble gas isotopes,

the main laws which provide quantification of processes through isotope data; non-hydrocarbon risks in production: N2, CO2, H2S their origins; helium: an important byproduct of some gas fields; gas alteration in the reservoir: BSR, TSR, biodegradation, tertiary cracking and reservoir continuity and permeability barriers: how gas may help. Registration for the workshop and short course opens on 1 April 2016. For more information, please visit www.eage.org/event/ petroleum-geochemistry-2016.

Geomechanics workshop aims for a repeat success

AGE is joining with SPE to organize a workshop on Integrated Geomechanics in E&P. The workshop is set to take place from 23-26 October 2016 in Abu Dhabi and is the follow-up to the successful First Geomechanics Workshop in 2014, also in collaboration with SPE. Recent focus on the unconventional business has highlighted the value geomechanics can bring to the day to day running of an oil and gas asset team as they play a significant role in decisions regarding all phases of E&P in the life cycle of an asset. Specifically, geomechanics can have an influence on project appraisal, field development, as well as primary, secondary and tertiary production activities. Workshop sessions will focus specifically on the application of Geomechanics Reservoir

Delegates at 2014 workshop.

Characterization, Asset Management, EOR, Drilling and Completion, Tight Reservoirs and Unconventionals as well as Knowledge Retention and Transfer. The Call for Abstracts is open until 30 April

2016. We invite you to submit an abstract on one of the following topics; Application of Geomechanics in Reservoir Characterization; Use of Geomechanics in Asset Management; Enhanced Oil Recovery using Geomechanics; Geomechanics for Drilling and Completion; Role of Geomechanics in Tight Reservoirs and Unconventionals and Knowledge Transfer and Retention.

Trivia answers A - ‘Father of oil’. B - Frank Holmes (1874-1947). C - New Zealand. Panel answers the questions.

Delegates at 2014 workshop.

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2016

EAGE UPDATE

Professor looks forward to land seismic Boot Camp Aldo Vesnaver, recently appointed KADOC chaired professor at the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, will be one of the student trainers at the forthcoming EAGE Middle East Boot Camp on Land Seismic. His involvement with the Middle East has included a period (2001-2006) working for Saudi Aramco as a geophysicist and between 2010 and 2013 serving as Saudi Aramco chair professor of seismic exploration at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran. He also continues to collaborate with OGS (Italian National Institute for Oceanography and Applied Geophysics) Trieste, Italy where he began

there. For five years I enjoyed working with distinguished colleagues including two EAGE presidents, an SEG president, SEG distinguished lecturers and many others. Saudi Aramco in Dhahran is a major international hub for technology, which bloomed at the beginning of the new millennium. My hope is to contribute to a similar bloom in the United Arab Emirates.

his career as a research scientist. Here he tells us about his hopes for the Boot Camp and his experience in the geoscience community.

lems I studied as a student. Although contractors and (even more) academics claim that they have been solved, this is not true at all. We made improvements over the years, but today’s students will face these challenges again and again.

What do you hope students will get out of the Boot Camp on land seismic? The opportunity to work with the real tools that the industry is adopting today at a real scale, instead of a campus yard with minor, cheap instruments, is just unique. They will use the identical technology after their graduation. Similarly, working in an international team is today the normal practice in the industry. So they will get a precise image of the professional world that they are about to enter. What feedback will students get from their participation in the Boot Camp? Acquiring seismic data includes very practical aspects, as digging deep for planting geophones, bringing around cables, passing natural obstacles, understanding possible noise in the field and

Are there particular issues that need to be resolved to improve industry cost, efficiency and technology in the Middle East? Near-surface complexities, intra-bed multiples and shallow-water reverberations are classic prob-

Are you still involved in research work in Italy? I collaborate with my former colleagues at OGS (Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics), in particular with José Carcione, an expert in seismic modelling, and Gualtiero Boehm, 3D tomography specialist. However, the most intriguing project is research into a new generation of contact-less geophones, able to measure displacement (instead of velocity), with a frequency band extendable in principle to 0 Hz. How easy is it to combine teaching, research and professional work?

reducing it before recording. When processing the data we acquire ourselves, we cannot blame other colleagues or ‘Nature’ if something goes wrong. Our intention is to do (and ask others to do) the work at the highest professional level.

It is a kind of Mission Impossible …Teaching and tutoring students requires plenty of time, and during the academic year only the time left over or the weekends can be devoted to research. During the summer, it’s possible to get some things done.

How did you get practical experience when you were a student? As many other students, even today, I saw the calibration of geophones in the lab, and looked at a small-scale survey done by others. Nothing comparable to the Middle East Boot Camp!

What do you regard as the most exciting advance in geophysical applications for the E&P oil and gas industry? Full-waveform inversion is still moving from the labs to a standard large-scale application, in a similar way as the evolution from 2D to 3D in the past millennium. It required more than a decade to be fully extended and matured in the industry, but this is happening now for the inversion. Another major advance, still in its infancy, is seismic interferometry. The potential for this method is enormous, especially when using am-

You were a professor in Saudi Arabia and are now at the Petroleum Institute, what is it that you like about the Middle East? My first love was Saudi Aramco, and the worldclass research and development (R&D) carried out

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2016

Prof Aldo Vesnaver at the Middle East Boot Camp 2015.

bient noise for recovering ultra-low frequencies. However, we are still far from having solid standards for its acquisition and processing, and even the theoretical bases needs improvements. Would you recommend a geoscience career in the oil industry today? Even if the oil industry was cancelled overnight, geoscience would provide good jobs in other fields such as groundwater, geothermal, mineral resources, seismic hazards, and civil and environmental engineering. The related salaries could be a bit lower than in the oil industry, but the job market for these expertise areas may be better than human sciences or basic research. You have been extremely active in both EAGE and SEG. What do you see as the value of the professional societies? I like Science with a capital S. EAGE and SEG have the mission to promote science and technology at the highest level. Contributing to these societies I learned so much, and I had the opportunity to meet and become familiar with world-class scientists. This is a great joy and I feel very lucky. Does a busy man like you ever get any time off? Rarely, unfortunately … and this is not good. However, speaking about science with colleagues (philosophy, algorithms, computers, brand-new ideas, and so on) has the same effect on me as a good concert of classical music, an art movie or a poem. Art and science are so deeply connected.

INDUSTRY NEWS / CALENDAR

Iraq seeks an oil investment slowdown

raq wants foreign oil companies to cut spending as the nation seeks to narrow a budget gap caused by lower crude prices, Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said in a statement in January. He told a meeting of the oil fields’ joint management committees in Baghdad that the ministry was discussing reducing financial spending by foreign companies. Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, has service agreements with companies including BP, Shell, Eni, Exxon Mobil and Lukoil to boost output at its ageing fields.

Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.

Egypt tenders blocks to bring back foreign investment

gypt is to hold an international tender for 11 oil and natural gas exploration blocks in the Mediterranean sea and Nile Delta during the second half of fiscal year 2015-2016, according to a Reuters report. Khaled Abdel Badie, head of state-owned EGAS, also stated Egypt would sign three new contracts for Mediterranean Sea development worth a total of $500 million. Egypt, which used to be a net energy exporter, has turned into a net importer over the past few years due to increased consumption and falling pro-

currently owes about $3 billion to international oil companies. Gulf states have helped Egypt through its energy shortage. In December, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman ordered the kingdom to help meet Egypt’s petroleum needs for the next five years. BP has recently indicated that it intends to double natural gas production in Egypt in the next four years despite weak oil prices. Through joint ventures with Eni and the Egyptian government, BP currently produces 10% of Egypt’s oil production and 30% of its gas. The company says it will not backtrack on

duction. A total of roughly 760 million cubic feet per day of new gas production will come online in 2015-2016 due to new projects and development wells. The country has been on a drive to lure foreign investors back to its energy sector, some of whom left due to growing arrears. Egypt

its pledge to speed up production at recent discoveries. BP North Africa regional President Hesham Mekawi told Reuters: ‘BP’s plan is to double our gas production in Egypt before the end of this decade, BP currently produces around 1.4-1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day in Egypt.

EAGE Middle East Event Calendar March 2016 07-10 March GEO 2016 – 12th Middle East Geosciences Conference & Exhibition

29 August − 01 September 15th European Conference on the Mathematics of Oil Recovery (ECMOR XV)

Manama, Bahrain | www.geo2016.com

Amsterdam, Netherlands | www.eage.org

04-08 September Near Surface 2016

Dubai, UAE | www.eage.org

Barcelona, Spain | www.eage.org

02-04 May EAGE/SPE Subsalt Imaging Workshop Dubai, UAE | www.eage.org

Abu Dhabi, UAE | www.eage.org

30 October – 06 November Second Middle East Land Seismic Acquisition Boot Camp

September 2016

23-24 March AAPG/SPE/EAGE/SEG Knowledge Management Challenge Workshop

May 2016

23-26 October EAGE/SPE Workshop on Integrated Geomechanics in E&P

Al Ain, UAE | www.eage.org

November 2016

October 2016 02-05 October EAGE Workshop on Petroleum Geo chemistry in Operations & Production

21-23 November Third SPE/AAPG/EAGE Shale Plays Workshop Muscat, Oman | www.eage.org

Doha, Qatar | www.eage.org

30 May – 02 June 78th EAGE Conference & Exhibition 2016 Vienna, Austria | www.eage.org

09-12 October EAGE/SPE Workshop on Tar Mats and Heavy Oil Muscat, Oman | www.eage.org

27-29 November EAGE Workshop on Evaluation and Drilling of Carbonate Reservoirs Muscat, Oman | www.eage.org

December 2016

09-12 October Second EAGE Borehole Geology Workshop

05-07 December Sixth Arabian Plate Geology Workshop

St Julians, Malta | www.eage.org

Abu Dhabi, UAE | www.eage.org

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2016