New Omani firm to drive in-country value in pipeline construction

Jan 2: Oman Society for Petroleum Services (OPAL), the umbrella grouping of oil and gas companies, contractors, vendors and service providers in the Sultanate, organised a seminar showcasing a new game-changing technology that halves the cost, as well as the environmental impact, of pipeline construction by automating the process.

The event, which was held at the City Seasons Hotel Muscat, attracted pipeline engineering specialists. It featured presentations by representatives of the UK-based Sustainable Pipeline Systems Ltd (SPS), which is credited with pioneering the new technology.

The pipeline technology is currently under development in the UK where scaled up pipe tests are scheduled for mid-2017 at the GL/DnV test site in Cumbria.

Also at the event, a wholly Omani spinoff, named SPS-MENA, was unveiled to allow for In-Country Value (ICV) to be developed throughout the new supply chain at an early stage. Musallam al Mandhari , CEO of OPAL said: “OPAL is delighted to support the introduction of new technologies that offer concrete benefits to our oil and gas industry by delivering projects that are lower cost, ahead of schedule, secure and robust, and environmentally safe. We are especially thrilled by the prospect that the the SPS-MENA joint venture will be supporting In-Country Value development through the rollout of its proprietary pipeline construction technology in the Sultanate.”

Andrew Stevenson, Chairman of SPS Ltd said: “I was very pleased at the excellent and knowledgeable reception we received and look forward to working with OPAL and other industry leaders towards demonstration of this technology in Oman. We are planning to establish a number of technology demonstration centres outside of the UK in key regions of pipeline growth and Oman is in a good position to be the first such location.”

The seminar was also attended by representatives of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), Oman Gas Company, Petrogas, Occidental, Bahwan Engineering, OHI Petroleum, and Al Hassan Engineering.