60 Years of Oil in the UAE

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2018

Meeting the world’s

energy needs The story of the oil sector in the UAE has been one of resilience and triumph, proven by the nation’s natural oil reserves, among the world’s largest he UAE’s fortunes have often relied on its substantial reserves of oil, the vast majority of which was found in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. It all started in the early 20th century during the 1930s when the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Shaikh Shakbout Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was approached by the Iraq Petroleum Company

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(IPC), the partners of which included the Anglo Persian Oil Company (later renamed as Anglo Iranian), the precursor to British Petroleum (BP).

IPC was instrumental in obtaining a two-year option in 1936 for oil exploration in Abu Dhabi.

IPC created a subsidiary called CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Gulf News Archives

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60 Years of Oil in the UAE

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2018

The story of oil discovery in the Middle East Milestones on the journey to the discovery of oil in the UAE

1908 British businessman,

May

1940 Oil discovered in Qatar

William Knox D’Arcy discovers oil in the Middle East in what is present day Iran

1952 Abu Dhabi’s new venture,

October

1927 More oil discovered in

created jointly by British Petroleum and French firm Compagnie Francaise des Petroles (now Total), called Abu Dhabi Marine Areas (ADMA), states a 65-year concession that expects signatories to start exploring for oil within five years or from 1958

what is modern-day Iraq

1954 French explorer Jacques

Cousteau is hired by ADMA to work at the new floating base, Calypso in the Arabian Gulf for 10 weeks of exploration that would see divers retrieving rock samples from the sea for scientific analysis

1930s Oil exploratory deals

signed by British explorers with rulers of the emirates that would later form the UAE

1939 Oil exploratory deal

signed between British companies and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Shaikh Shakbout Bin Sultan Al Nahyan

1932 More oil discovered in

March,

1958 77 days after drilling is

1977 Oil production in Abu

Dhabi reaches 2 million barrels a day

2011 Oil production in Abu Dhabi tops 3 million barrels a day.

2018 The emirate currently

1957

produces about 2.9 million barrels a day

Shaikh Shakhbout inspects the newly installed 4,000-tonne floating oil rig off Das Island in Abu Dhabi

appoints a representative to handle the ADMA project in Abu Dhabi

Signal sets sail from Das Island carrying 254,544 barrels of crude, the first oil from Abu Dhabi to be sold to the world

Dhabi increases to 44,000 barrels per day

December,

1953 British Petroleum

1962 The oil tanker, British

1963 Oil production in Abu

initiated, oil is discovered at the Umm Shaif field, the first time oil is formally discovered in present-day UAE

January

July,

Bahrain

1938 Kuwait and Saudi Arabia

join the list of emerging nations from the Middle East with rich oil deposits discovered Infographic: John Catherall/Gulf News

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Meeting the world’s energy needs the Petroleum Development Trucial Coast (PDTC, later renamed as the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company or ADPC) to oversee all the oil exploration activities. Oil exploration was temporarily stopped during the period of the Second World War.

Later, during the 1950s, BP, alongwith its French partner, Compagnie Francaise des Petroles (later renamed Total) established Abu Dhabi Marine Areas (ADMA), a company jointly owned by both entities and that helped obtain an offshore concession to geologically map Abu Dhabi’s seabeds. It proved to be a very successful move.

Black gold

ADMA struck oil in 1958 with the discovery of the large 300-square-kilometre Umm Shaif field. Meanwhile, a year later, PDTC made progress on-

shore with the discovery of the Murban Bab field. The well, later called Murban-3, was completed in May 1960 and began producing crude oil at a rate of 3,674 barrels per day.

The export of Abu Dhabi crude started three years later in December, 1963, after the creation of a 112-kilometre pipeline and the construction of the export terminal at Jebel Dhanna.

A host of other oil fields were discovered in quick succession, with PDTC discovering the Bu Hasa field in 1962 and ADMA discovering the Zakum offshore field in 1965. Other oil field discoveries included the ones at Bida Al Qemzan, Asab, Shah and Sahil.

The stratospheric increase in oil production as well revenues led to the founding of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in 1971 by late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

New oil and gas finds for the UAE

Discovery also paves the way for Dh486 billion in support from Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council for ADNOC’s five-year growth strategy

More emirates, more oil

he Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) of Abu Dhabi recently approved ADNOC’s new integrated gas strategy and its plan for capital investment between 2019-2023, allowing for Dh486 billion ($132.33 billion) in capex to support ADNOC’s five-year growth plan. The plan was approved at a meeting headed by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

“The SPC’s approval of ADNOC’s gas strategy will add potential resources that will enable the UAE (United Arab Emirates) to achieve gas self-sufficiency, with the

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Gulf News Archives

A concerted attempt is being made by the UAE government to enhance and gain better returns from existing oil fields

The mid-1960s proved successful for Dubai and Sharjah as well, while Ras Al Khaimah discovered oil deposits offshore in the 1980s. No commercial finds have been made so far in the other three emirates.

However, while exploration continues to the present day, a concerted effort has been made by the UAE government since the mid-1990s to focus on enhancing and gaining better returns from the existing fields with the help of better and more technologically advanced recovery techniques.

The process has reaped benefits in no small measure.

Today, with the world’s fourthlargest proven global reserves of oil, the UAE is one of the major global oil producers, with sufficient deposits to allow production at current rates to continue for more than a century.

aim of potentially transitioning to a net gas exporter,” ADNOC said in a statement.

At the meeting the SPC also announced that new discoveries of upto 1 billion barrels of oil were in place as were discoveries of gas totaling 15 trillion standard cubic feet. The gas strategy is expected to sustain the production of LNG upto the year 2040, allowing ADNOC access to growth opportunities in LNG production as well as in the gas-to-chemicals sector, the company said in a statement to the press.

ADNOC’s new strategy is expected to the firm develop the gas projects at Hail, Ghasha and Dalma that are expected to hold multiple trillions of cubic feet of recoverable gas with an ex-

pected daily production capacity of more than 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas. The firm is also expected to unlock unconventional gas reserves even as it continues its regular exploration activities.

ADNOC’s Chief Executive Sultan al-Jaber, while addressing the press said, “The substantial investments we will make, in the development of new and undeveloped reservoirs, gas caps and unconventional resources, will ensure we can competitively meet the UAE’s growing demand for power generation.”

The UAE, a major OPEC producer, pumps around 3 million bpd of crude oil, with plans to boost its output oil capacity to 3.5 million bpd by the year-end.

60 Years of Oil in the UAE

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2018

Innovation will fuel change

ADVERTISERS’ CONTENT

PARTEX OIL AND GAS

The history of the petroleum business in the Middle East

The global oil and gas industry needs to adapt to emerging technologies to stay competitive as the world increasingly looks at sustainable energy solutions s investments in alternative renewable energy sources gain momentum, one thought is resonating across corporate boardrooms of oil and gas majors across the world – to stay competitive and keep the fuel flowing, one needs to innovate. With global firms increasingly exploring and aligning themselves with smart technologies in the bid to gain that competitive edge, we look at some options that have gained traction in recent years.

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Smart drilling

Most oil majors are into hyperdrive these days, hoping to gain access to the reserves in double quick time and extract the contents even faster. However, having a great set of equipment that is top of the line is not enough, smart drilling holds the cue. Smart drilling, or the combination of technology and the thought process that helps one reimagine managing and executing early well life will be key, according to James Larnder, Managing Director, Aquaterra Energy.

“The key is ensuring that design, analysis, equipment selection and implementation are all aligned and buttressed by operational expertise,” he said while speaking to Offshore Technology, a digital magazine for the oil and gas industry.

“Where companies lack the expertise or resource, initiation specialists will fill the void,” he added.

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Harnessing blockchain

As envisaged in many sectors across industries, the role that blockchain could play in the oil and gas sector could be a critical one, if explored properly feel experts. In fact the blockchain revolution is expected to have already started with major oil firms expected to take advantage of the many opportunities that the technology promises to bring.

The vast reserves of data that oil and gas companies are in possession of may be seen as a burden, however blockchain has enormous potential to reduce the risk of fraud, error, and invalid transac-

tions in energy trading, allowing financial transactions to be made more efficient, while facilitating regulatory reporting requirements, and enabling interoperability.

“Blockchain will have huge benefits both upstream and downstream,” said Simon Tucker, Head of Energy and Commodities, while speaking to Offshore Technology. “From scheduling equipment maintenance to managing exploration acreage records, blockchain offers a single, unalterable record of transactions and documentation between numerous parties,” he said.

Smart oilfield technology

Whatever be the location, oil and gas providers across the world hope to focus budgets on improving productivity while being able to simultaneously and dynamically monitor their local and remote assets.. Smart oilfield technology allows just this providing critical data in real-time without any downtime.

“From a technology standpoint, the ideal solution would need to seamlessly connect all systems and hardware platforms across the various fields of operation,” said Kamal Mokrani, global vice-president, InfiNet Wireless.

The process would involve integrating exploration, drilling and production facilities, and ultimately delivering useful data and video streams to a central location, allowing the operators to make better and quicker decisions.

One of the challenges the industry faces relates to contractors and assets generally moving from one location to another on a daily or weekly basis. For instance, providing uninterrupted service without on-site technicians is only achievable through the adoption of high capacity wireless platforms, such as InfiNet’s, which are able to auto-align and mitigate these challenges.

Factors driving the adoption of wireless technologies in the industry will be an increasing demand for smarter sensors/devices in the field.

ADVERTISERS’ CONTENT

TRIVENI TURBINE LIMITED

Benchmark steam turbine solutions for the world

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riveni Turbines is a 60-year-plus old organisation that was founded around the same time oil was discovered in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Triveni is a strong engineering and research-oriented organisation backed by state-ofthe-art manufacturing facilities, serving industries across the world with steam turbine solutions.

Aligning itself to the vision of the great visionary UAE leadership, Triveni supports and provides solutions to refineries and petrochemical plants, manufacturers of steel, cement, paper, glass, ceramics, food and sugar,

as well as those engaged in the fields of solar thermal, waste to energy.

Triveni is on a mission to support these customers with better energy utilisation by optimising steam networks, introducing cogeneration as well as turbines for a variety of steam conditions starting from saturated low pressure to ultra high pressure, hence reducing the carbon footprint of these industries.

For the Oil & Gas industry Triveni offers highly reliable Turbines adhering to API and even more stringent in-house standards, packaged with gearbox, lube oil systems and other

complete accessories required for safe operation of the Steam Turbines.

The brand’s strength lies in its ability to align itself to the client’s requirements on specifications while maintaining excellent quality and benchmark delivery.

Triveni has been marching forward with over 4,000 satisfied customers in over 70 countries and a group turnover exceeding $550 million.

To stay closer to their Clients, Triveni has offices in strategic locations including the UAE, the UK, Indonesia and Thailand.

For more information visit www. triveniturbines.com

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osé M. Pereira, Partex Middle East Representative, talks about how the organisation, founded eight decades ago went on to become instrumental in steering the fortunes of the petroleum industry in the region.

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Please share some information on how the Partex Oil and Gas Group was found-

ed.

The Partex Oil and Gas Group has been instrumental in the development of the oil and gas industry in the Middle East. Its founder, Calouste Gulbenkian, an Armenian born in Istanbul, pioneered exploration and development activities in the region with the creation of the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC). In 1938, he founded Partex (Participations and Explorations Corporation) to manage his interests in the business.

In 1939, Partex, as part of IPC, signed the first concession agreement with the Abu Dhabi authorities, which lasted 75 years (it ended in January 2014).

In line with strategic decisions and business requirements, new group companies were created over the years with 100 per cent ownership

by Partex Oil and Gas (Holdings) Corporation, a holding company with a single shareholder, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, a Portuguese institution. Hence, Partex has a unique feature in the industry: the profits revert to a foundation.

Please share some information on the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Established in 1956 as a Portuguese foundation to serve humanity, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s original purpose focused on fostering knowledge and raising the quality of life through the arts, science, education and charity.

Bequeathed by the last will and testament of Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, the Foundation is of perpetual duration and undertakes its activities structured around its headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal, with delegations in Paris and London.

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Jose M. Pereira, Partex Middle East Representative

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How has Partex supported and trained UAE nationals planning to join the indus-

try?

Partex has always been actively involved in the development of UAE nationals, namely through its participant company, ADNOC Gas Processing (AGP), and the Petroleum Institute (PI). Staff from AGP and graduate students from PI regularly spend assignment periods at the Partex office, actively participating in R&D projects and training programmes.

How has Partex helped in sharing technology and knowledge transfer with its partner firms?

Within its obligations as a shareholder, Partex seconds highly qualified technical staff to participate in necessary technical support and assist in day-to-day operations, as well as in solving technical problems, optimising operations and establishing future strategy.

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60 Years of Oil in the UAE

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2018 ADVERTISERS’ CONTENT

DUCAB

New products at ADIPEC A

shish Chaturvedy, Marketing Manager, DUCAB, talks about what to expect from the oil major at ADIPEC this year and the industrial opportunities and challenges over the next few years How do you see the future of the energy industry, what role do you see oil and gas playing in the future mix?

Energy is the most significant driver of development and it has been a key component of every economic transition. Nowadays, we are seeing huge investments to tap into new, clean energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy and nuclear energy among others. According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewables capture two-thirds of global investment in power plants up to 2040 as they globally become the least-cost source for the new generation .

At the same time, oil and gas will remain an essential ingredient in the global energy mix. Recent reports suggest that there is $895 billion of oil, gas and petrochemical projects

EMDAD

Fuelling sectoral growth for the past 40 years

By Aly Abdel Malak

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Ducab’s PetroBICC cables are designed to cater to corrosive environments

planned or under way in the MENA, with about $576 billion of that amount still being planned . Nearly half of the value of the MENA market is within the GCC. Will you be showcasing any innovations at ADIPEC? In line with the UAE national agenda, Ducab is committed to being one of the key players in promoting innovation, research and development, and strengthening the regulatory framework for the cables industry. With that, Ducab has its specialised OGP range of cables, PetroBICC cables, designed to cater to corrosive environments that are often subject to

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chemical products consisting of acids, bases and different hydrocarbons.

These cables are layered with polyamide and lead sheath to equip the cables with chemical resistance to ensure hydrocarbon resistance and low toxicity, especially when critical oil and gas infrastructure is being built.

What are the biggest opportunities and what are the major challenges that the industry will face in the next few years?

Countries across the region are reconsidering their energy sources, meaning that the renewables market is one that has, and will continue to see growth in the coming years.

Amidst this growth, there are increased opportunities for companies such as Ducab to provide essential cabling requirements that are necessary for such projects to flourish.

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Will you be looking to forge new partnerships during the event?

We will definitely be looking to continue the growth route through strategic partnerships. ADIPEC brings together a unique mix of audiences that we can engage with and share knowledge, expertise and partner with to expand our product range, reach out to a wider geographical presence, and a more empowered and skilled workforce. We also look to strengthen the existing relationships we have with clients, consultants, contractors and regulatory bodies.

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ADIPEC offers amazing networking opportunities for industry majors such as Ducab

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MDAD has been part of the growth of the UAE oil and gas sector over the last 40 years.

While our first 30 years have seen us accompany ADNOC as a partner, introducing best-in-class products that were required for its operations and field-development projects, the last decade has seen EMDAD develop its service capabilities both upstream and downstream in response to our shareholders’ vision to transform EMDAD into a local, integrated service provider, engaged throughout the energy value chain with particular focus on the producer’s operational needs.

Our upstream assets and service teams are present on every drilling rig in every field in our area of operation, providing one or more of our services in pressure pumping (cementing, stimulation and coiled tubing), well intervention (whipstock and fishing) and waste management (solutions for oil-based mud cuttings).

Our downstream assets and service teams are providing critical turnarounds and shutdowns, asset integrity services and specialty services in valve maintenance, catalyst changeouts, flange management, industrial cleaning, and non-process facilities management to refineries, petrochemical plants, LNG terminals, oil and gas processing plants, utility plants and most recently, aluminium production facilities.

The vessels of our offshore support subsidiary, MARCAP are fully engaged serving offshore producers in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Our continuous

association with leading international suppliers ensures our traditional trading activities maintain their vital link with the customer supply chain for their ongoing requirements.

The recent initiative launched by ADNOC during ADIPEC 2017 to support In-Country Value capture and creation, has strengthened our entrepreneurial drive and created additional motivation for our shareholders to renew their commitment to the vision set for EMDAD. Through focus on the quality of our service and the continuous investment in technology, talent, and performing assets, EMDAD has successfully maintained all its service businesses in growth mode despite the severe pressure faced in the last two years.

The resilience we developed locally encourages us to tackle our expansion to new markets in select services outside the UAE with greater confidence.

Visit us at ADIPEC Hall 3, Booth 3130.

— The writer is CEO, EMDAD