Muscat: 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 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 & 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, EOR Portfolio Leader, PDO and WHOC Technical Committee Chairman. “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.

Facilitating greater knowledge exchange between industry peers, the Technical Conference addressed a number of engaging topics including Heavy Oil Production Case Studies, Health & Safety in Oilfield Operations, Enhanced Steam Flooding, and Counter Measure Challenges in Heavy Oil Refineries.

Participants can also expect stimulating sessions on the third day covering the role of R&D, EOR Evaluation and emerging production methods, driving efficiency in brownfields, and data analytics and integration.

Showcasing the best technologies, products, and services for the heavy oil sector by regional and international NOCs, IOCs, service and technology providers, the WHOC exhibition will continue to welcome visitors until Wednesday 4th September till 17:00. 

Held under the auspices of the Ministry of Oil & Gas, the World Heavy Oil Congress & Exhibition is co-hosted by Petroleum Development Oman. The highly anticipated show is supported by JP Global Digital and Occidental Oman returning as Gold Sponsors, and Maha Energy as Silver Sponsor.