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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Experts share insights on optimising the heavy oil industry

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International industry professionals and experts are addressing challenges and discussing opportunities across the heavy oil value chain at the 2019 World Heavy Oil Congress & Exhibition (WHOC).


Held for the second time in Oman, the show is one of the largest congregations of heavy oil professionals around the globe. New to the programme this year are a set of engaging E-poster presentations and roundtable discussions, covering topics that span the entire heavy oil value chain.


The second day featured four thought-provoking roundtable discussions as part of the Strategic Conference, beginning with ‘In-Country Value Programme: Harnessing Omani Potential in the Oil & Gas Industry’ by Aqla al Maskari, Director of Local Resources Development, ICV Project Management Office, PMO Manager at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, alongside ‘Embracing digitalisation through incremental innovation & 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 utilise 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, EOR Portfolio Leader, PDO and WHOC Technical Committee Chairman.


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