SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

Experts at the World Heavy Oil Congress to be held in Muscat from September 2 to 4, will address industry delegates on latest technologies and sustainable solutions. Oommen John P reports

By 2030, the global crude oil demand is estimated to be about 89 MMbbls/ day; and an approximate 30 per cent of that production is expected to come from heavy oil.

Advancements in enhanced oil recovery methods, technological innovations and infrastructural upgrades are increasingly making it possible to explore and upgrade heavy and extra-heavy oil; enabling the oil and gas producing countries to meet increasing consumption, growing demand, and production levels. Of late, there has been considerable interest in exploring and upgrading heavy oil to meet the energy needs of the future.

Providing a platform for the global heavy oil community, across the entire value chain, to convene, exchange knowledge, and do business, the World Heavy Oil Congress and Exhibition (WHOC), taking place in Muscat, from September 2 to 4, will have a three-day technical conference featuring case studies and presentations; a two-day strategic conference featuring key insights from global business and thought leaders across the heavy oil value chain, and a three-day international exhibition where EPCs, OEMs, service and technology companies will showcase their projects, products and services.

Oil demand is expected to grow marginally in 2019, with the transportation and industrial sectors anticipated to perform better than in 2018 in light of recovering economic activities. In 2019, Middle East oil demand is anticipated to expand by 0.03 mb/d as compared to 2018, according to OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report.

Heavy oil resources are significantly large over the world. In Oman, they form about 40 per cent of the resource base. The Sultanate has been already exploiting a lot of its heavy oil resources and this trend is expected to continue and expand in the future. Further, the Sultanate has a number of ongoing full field developments of heavy oil using both thermal and chemical processes, which is a significant element of Oman’s daily production.

“The Sultanate of Oman has a number of full field developments of heavy oil using both thermal and chemical recovery processes as well as number of EOR trials, which will pave the way for the next set of heavy oil fields in which EOR will be implemented. WHOC is an excellent platform through which we – PDO- can share our own experiences, as well as learn from the visiting speakers, exhibitors, and delegates on ways to address the various challenges related to heavy oil production and processing. With PDO exploring every option to further drive energy efficiency forward, the successful WHOC submissions will cover the entire supply chain of heavy oil development and ultimately help us continue the great progress being made,” says Dr Rifaat Al Mjeni, EOR Portfolio Leader, at Petroleum Development Oman, and WHOC 2019 Technical Committee Chairman.

“With Oman’s vast unexploited heavy oil resources, investor friendly environment and transparent business practices, Oman is definitely a place where we want to be. We are very pleased to be part of the 2019 World Heavy Oil Congress and Exhibition and look forward to sharing our industry knowledge and gaining some valuable insights from the world’s most influential leaders,” said Jonas Lindvall, CEO and Managing Director of Maha Energy. Held under the auspices of the Ministry of Oil and Gas of the Sultanate of Oman, the 10th annual World Heavy Oil Congress & Exhibition (WHOC) will host over 80 international senior heavy oil experts. Industry leaders from Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), TDA Research, Unipetrol, Indian Oil, Occidental of Oman (Oxy), Ejaad and Baker Hughes, a GE Company are confirmed to address conference delegates at the Strategic and Technical Conference sessions across three days of the congress. The congress and exhibition will be held at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Occidental of Oman (Oxy) return to the event as Gold sponsors and are joined in the same category by JP Global Digital and Maha Energy as Silver Sponsor. Specialists joining the Congress include Dr SM Farouq Ali, Professor of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Houston, and a widely respected veteran within the heavy oil and oil sands sector, who will address the conference attendees on crucial topics including heavy oil development in the era of increasing shale production.

Sami Al Baqi, Technical Director at Petroleum Development Oman, Said Al Balushi, Senior Vice President – Technical at Occidental of Oman and Ayman Khattab, President and CEO – Gulf & North Africa, Baker Hughes, a GE Company will jointly address the topic of “Producing more with less: Leveraging new technologies and realigning strategies to improve recovery in current economic climate.”

Speaking on the topic of “Upgrading and marketing heavy oil through advanced innovation in refinery operations, infrastructure and technologies,” is Jiri Hajek, Director of Development and Innovation and Vice Chairman of the Board at Unipetrol, and Girish Srinivas, Vice President of TDA Research will speak on educating the audience regarding the establishment of efficient R&D partnerships, AlMuatasim Al Bahlani, Business Development Manager at Ejaad, will address bridging the gap between academia, industry, and government through the evolving needs of the energy sector. The congress will also provide an important platform for speakers, Junaid Ghulam, Field Development Manager at Petroleum Development Oman, and Dr Saleh bin Ali Al Anboori, Director General of Planning and Studies at Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas to share their insights on radical industry shifts and how the industry can cooperatively unlock new value from existing crude resources.

In addition to the top line Strategic Conference, the Congress will host a technical conference presenting 18 categories of discussions across three days. Technical conference speakers have been invited to share their first hand experiences and findings on pilot projects, existing field operations, new research, and existing and potential technologies for the heavy oil sector. Technical sessions will focus on advances in chemical flooding, technologies for production maximisation, role of R&D in advancement of heavy oil utilisation, driving efficiency in brownfields, data analytics and integration, and emerging methods in EOR and heavy oil production amongst others.

Showcasing representation from over 41 countries, the technical conference will feature shortlisted technical speakers from Petroleum Development Oman, Sasol Performance Chemicals, Bechtel, Engineers India Limited, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Saudi Aramco, Ace Energy Group, Basra Oil Company, PDVSA, PEMEX, Petronas, Salamander Solutions Inc. and Occidental of Oman.

While the Technical and Strategic Conferences are accessible to conference delegates only, a new feature introduced this year will allow visitors to take advantage of new content presented at the event. The E-poster Presentations will take place on the Exhibition Floor across three days and feature over 20 presentations covering the entire heavy oil value chain.

Over 10 Omani Local Community Contractors have confirmed their participation at the PDO LCCs and SLCCs Pavilion, including Al Baraka Oilfield Service, Al Shawamikh Oil Services, Dohat Al Khaleej LLC, Berba, Mideast Integrated Drilling and Well Services, Peace Land Energy, and MSTC Oman.

WHOC 2019 will open doors to over 3,000 attendees, 500 conference delegates and 80 participating companies from more than 50 countries. Considered the world’s leading heavy oil congress and exhibition, the conferences focuses on upstream, midstream, and downstream heavy oil operations. The Congress and Exhibition is being held in Oman for the second year in a row and is hosted by Petroleum Development Oman.

The Congress will include a two-day strategic conference and three-day technical conference alongside a threeday international exhibition. The event will include panels, interactive sessions, and networking opportunities with top oil and gas industry leaders, technology providers and professionals from around the globe.

With Oman’s vast unexploited heavy oil resources, investor friendly environment and transparent business practices, Oman is definitely a place where we want to be - Jonas Lindvall