Fostering Collaboration

The 2019 World Heavy Oil Congress and Exhibition emphasises on effective and sustainable production of five active heavy oil fields. Speakers highlight the deployment of cutting-edge innovative technologies and methodologies leading the industry into the future. Oman will continue to produce oil even if the prices drop below $40 per barrel. Oommen John P reports

Oman’s Oil and gas sector development will continue even if oil prices drop below $40 per barrel, HE Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas said.

“The Sultanate will continue its development projects even if crude oil prices fall from the current levels to $30 or $40 per barrel,’’ he said in a conversation with Dan Murphy, Correspondent, CNBC International at the opening of 2019 edition of the World Heavy Oil Congress and Exhibition (WHOC) at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Oil prices are driven by political situations that we all are in. “We are looking at long term plans of 10 to 15, 20 years and in case of heavy oil, a little longer. Allowing a short term view is risky. Oil will continue to have its place in global energy mix despite rising investments in renewable energy and natural gas production, he said.

HE Al Aufi provided insights on how Oman’s heavy oil activities can make heavy oil a sustainable fuel of choice and contribute to helping drive Oman’s long-term economic development, Oman’s vision of harnessing the potential of its people in the oil and gas sector, In-country value programme, and how governments worldwide are supporting and encouraging global collaboration and cooperation to accelerate heavy oil exploration, production and growth.

Highlighting the immense potential of heavy oil in Oman, he said that heavy oil is a sustainable fuel of choice and will contribute significantly to Oman’s long-term economic development. Heavy oil accounts for 15 percent of the Sultanate’s output. Of the five oil blocks, which are considered as heavyoil blocks, four are maintained by Petroleum Development Oman while the fifth is by Occidental Oman.

The last bid round for oil and gas blocks has seen potential interest in at least one block for heavy oil. “In fact, we are quite surprised by the interest that we received for that particular block. In addition, we are also looking for a potential investor for Habhab oil field, which is also a very challenging field. Heavy oil continues to dominate and production will continue to rise.

Our strategy is to localise the industry and increase our ability to respond fast. That’s where we’re driving our In-Country Value programme, which all operators are supporting,” said Aufi. “Oman continues to be open for business. The message to international operators is transfer your technology, share it with us, and we will extend our support to you as well.” The Government is supporting and encouraging global collaboration to accelerate heavy oil exploration, production and growth, he added.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci said by 2025, nearly a quarter of PDO’s oil production will come from EOR projects, up from around 11 per cent presently. In Marmul,

PDO is banking on polymer-based EOR technology to harness 61 million barrels of crude starting from 2023.

Raoul said that renewable energy sector will drive growth and solar will contribute significantly to the rising energy requirements in Oman. Miraah is a very tangible example of this commitment. Solar power represents an enormous opportunity for Oman, he said.

On the potential for heavy oil, Raoul said that it has tremendous growth

potential. For instance, the Habhab Project, is a promising ultra heavy oil opportunity and is one of the strategic projects for PDO, he said.

Welcoming participants from all around the globe, Jean-Philippe

Cossé, Senior Vice President - Energy, Middle East of dmg events, said, “With the tireless support over the last 12 months of our Strategic and Technical Committees, we have put together new content from across the globe covering all areas of heavy oil production and upgrading, from technical case studies to forward thinking panel discussions.”

Dr Saleh bin Ali Al Anboori, Director General of Planning and Studies at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, said the Sultanate’s production of heavy oil, which currently stands at 15 per cent of the total oil production, could possibly see an increase in the future.

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, addressed the conference on crucial topics including heavy oil development in the era of increasing shale production.

A high-level delegation led by HE Aufi, toured the exhibition, where regional and international NOCs, IOCs, service and technology providers showcased the best technologies, products and services for the heavy oil sector. The exhibition hosted LCC and SLCC Pavilion organised by PDO and the notable exhibitors included Al Baraka Oilfield Services, Al Shawamikh Oil

Services, Dohat Al Khaleej LLC, Berba, Mideast Integrated Drilling & Well Services Company, Peace Land Energy, Al Sawari International Investments, Al Sahari Oil Services, and NCC Oman, among others.

A key highlight of the day was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between PDO, Oman Shell, Oman LNG and the Oman OilOrpic Group, focusing on increasing Omanisation rates in their turnaround services. Through it, the companies have committed to developing a self-sustaining business model for the turnaround activities of oil and gas installations. The ultimate goal is to increase Omanisation in the Turnaround Execution Workforce (“TEW”), with potential for future expansion in other activities based upon the success of the new initiative.

Running simultaneously to the Strategic Conference, the Technical Conference began with 18 stimulating sessions. Providing an invaluable opportunity for heavy oil professionals to learn from one another, the sessions addressed a number of current hot topics including Advances in Chemical Flooding, Well Completion, Heavy

Oil Field Development, Technology Advancement in Heavy Oil Processing, and Operational Excellence in

Heavy Oil.

The second day featured four thoughtprovoking roundtable discussions as part of the Strategic Conference, beginning with ‘In-Country Value Programme: Harnessing Omani Potential in the Oil and Gas Industry’ by Aqla Al Maskri, Director of Local Resources Development, ICV Project Management Office, PMO Manager at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, alongside ‘Embracing digitalisation through incremental innovation and top down approach’, moderated by Boun Sananikone, Global Sales Director of JP Global Digital, and later, ‘Upstream Heavy Oil’ and ‘Downstream Heavy Oil’, moderated by Dr. Rifaat Al

Mjeni, EOR Portfolio Leader at Petroleum Development Oman and Dr. Abdulazim Marafie, Senior Research Scientist at Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research, respectively.

Junaid Ghulam, Petroleum Engineering Manager – Oil South, PDO and

WHOC Advisory Board Chairman, said, “The current production of heavy oil globally is around 15 per cent. Oman contributes a good portion of this and we are trying to grow it, but the future depends on access to affordable technology and innovative and sustainably viable technical solutions. This was a major theme during the Congress, where we discussed the transfer of technology from lab to field. Through this platform we have been able to share our challenges and our strengths, and host global experts to share knowledge and exchange know-hows to utilize them to enable sustainable growth in the industry.” “Oman’s oil production comes from a mixture of medium to heavy oil, so it’s important for us to maintain our levels. However, producing heavy oil is a challenge and we’ve always had to be innovative when it comes to the techniques, we employ to ensure higher recoveries, while taking into account environmental issues,” commented

Dr. Rifaat Al Mjeni. “These kinds of conferences bring academics and industry experts from all over the globe to help share knowledge, build our capabilities quicker, and plant the seeds of the next wave of oil recovery techniques. It also enables us to share what’s going on in Oman with the rest of the world. We are embracing new waves of development and we will achieve it by bringing the whole industry together,” he added.

Held under the auspices of the Ministry of Oil & Gas, the World Heavy Oil Congress & Exhibition was co-hosted by Petroleum Development Oman. The event was supported by the Ministry of Oil & Gas, with JP Global Digital and Occidental Oman returning to the event as the Gold sponsor, and Maha Energy as Silver Sponsor.

Heavy oil is a sustainable fuel of choice and will contribute significantly to Oman’s long-term economic development. Heavy oil accounts for 15 percent of the Sultanate’s output. Of the five oil blocks, which are considered as heavy-oil blocks, four are maintained by Petroleum Development Oman while the fifth is by Occidental Oman