Registration underway for heavy oil congress in Oman

Business Sunday 05/August/2018 14:52 PM
By: Times News Service
Registration underway for heavy oil congress in Oman

Muscat: A month away from the world’s leading heavy oil gathering, registration is underway for the World Heavy Oil Congress & Exhibition (WHOC) at the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre from September 3-5, 2018.
Expected to attract more than 3,000 international attendees, this year’s edition will explore the theme ‘Transforming the Heavy Oil Value Chain’, and provide an invaluable platform for industry leaders, decision makers, and professionals to converse and learn from each other on high level strategies, and mid to long-term plans for the sector.
“We have worked hard to put together a high quality programme of technical presentations, panel discussions, and dedicated case studies that are engaging, nurturing, and thought provoking to address the challenges and opportunities our industry faces both today and tomorrow," said Jean-Philippe Cossé, Vice President, Middle East at dmg events.
"With an impressive lineup of more than 100 expert speakers and moderators, we are confident that WHOC will provide a valuable and unparalleled opportunity for heavy oil professionals across the globe to gain the latest insights in heavy oil projects, investments, and technologies while sharing knowledge and experience with peers,” he added.
“We are delighted by the growing number of delegates who have registered for the strategic and technical conference programmes and look forward to having record attendance of visitors and delegates at this year’s event,” he said
Commenting on the untapped potential of heavy oil reserves, Dr Rifaat Al Mjeni, EOR Portfolio Leader at Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and Technical Committee Member for the World Heavy Oil Congress & Exhibition 2018, said, “Forty per cent of PDO’s hydrocarbon resources are classed as heavy and ultra-heavy oil of which very little has been exploited due to technical and commercial challenges. It is recognised that the key to unlocking a large portion of the heavy oil portfolio is enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and their associated technologies both chemical, and thermal. Currently, about 10 per cent of PDO production comes from EOR and it is anticipated that by 2025, this will increase to more than 30 per cent.”
Steven Moss, CEO of GlassPoint Solar said, “More than ever, GCC leaders are embracing the energy transition. In the past few months, we've seen major announcements from Saudi Arabia to the UAE and Oman revealing plans to diversify their energy mix with renewables and reduce domestic consumption of fossil fuels."
"GlassPoint stands at a unique position, offering a solar technology tailor-made and proven for oil and gas deployment. We're uniting the two industries to produce today's energy at lower costs and with less environmental impact, and at the same time, we're helping the oil and gas sector develop expertise and new capacities for the new energy era,” he added.
“As a company, we are focused on diversifying our project portfolio in new markets in the Middle East and North America and commercialising next generation technologies,” he explained.
Under the auspices of the Ministry of Oil & Gas and co-hosted by PDO, the World Heavy Oil Congress & Exhibition will include a two-day strategic conference covering 10 diverse sessions, and a three-day technical conference featuring more than 80 case studies and presentations, alongside a three-day international exhibition. Organised by dmg::events, an international exhibitions and publishing company headquartered in Dubai, the event is one of the largest congregations of heavy oil professionals globally.
In addition to the conference, WHOC 2018 will host an international exhibition with leading companies active in heavy oil sector exhibiting to include PDO, Eni Spa, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Bahrain Petroleum Company, OXY Oman, GlassPoint Solar, BadrEOR, RGL Reservoir Management INC, High Tower Engineering LLC, HP Well Screen, Kitsnet, Albpetrol, Safety Technical Services Co LLC, Soluforce, Salamander Solutions, Terralog Technologies, Sonovitaand Industrial Training Consultants to name a few. Petroleum Development Oman is the Host Sponsor of WHOC 2018 with ENI as the Platinum Sponsor and Occidental of Oman as the Gold Sponsor. The event is also sponsored by GlassPoint Solar and supported by Business Gateways as In Country Value Partner. Oman Air, Oman Holidays, and Oman Tourism have joined the event as Official Travel Partners.