Oil and gas giants convene at IPTC

The oil and gas industry’s giants will convene in Qatar this week to discuss the sector outlook and review the technology advancements, at the first and largest international gathering of energy producers and consumers for 2014 in the Eastern hemisphere.

The 7^th International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) which is the latest oil and gas event in the Eastern hemisphere, is set to attract over 6000 oil and gas professionals to what will be the largest ever IPTC.

Held from 19^th – 22^nd January at the Qatar National Convention Centre, the 7^th IPTC, which carries the theme Unlocking Energy Through Innovation, Technology and Capability, is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar.

The event has secured an impressive list of speakers, including:

• His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister and Interior Minister of the State of Qatar
• His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry of the State of Qatar
• Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Director, Oil and Gas Ventures, Qatar Petroleum
• Andrew P. Swiger, Senior Vice President, Exxon Mobil Corporation
• Chief Executive Officers, Presidents and Senior Vice Presidents from a range of national and international oil and gas companies.

“The 7^th IPTC returns to its birthplace for the third time, with registration from 63 countries and 521 organisations this year. Response to the conference and exhibition has been overwhelming,” commented Waleed Refaay, IPTC Project Director for the Middle East.

“Already this event has become the largest in IPTC’s history, with a 7500 m² net exhibition area with over 121 exhibitors including Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, Saudi Aramco, Weatherford, ADNOC, KPC, ConocoPhillips and Maersk Oil amongst others,” Refaay continued.

The nine-stream conference featuring over 400 technical and knowledge sharing presentations, including 67 technical sessions, and panel sessions with a host of industry experts will discuss challenging issues including:

• 'The Future of Integrated Project Management in a Cyclic Environment'
• 'Fundamentals of the Natural Gas Revolution'
• 'Growing the Resource through Upstream Technology'
• 'Delivering on Evolving Stakeholder Expectations'.

The organisers have also included a new topical luncheon session focusing on East Africa as oil companies compete for stakes in this high-yield area. This session will discuss how recent discoveries have increased the prospects of the region. It will also discuss operational, commercial, and geopolitical challenges and the regulatory and infrastructure gaps that could hinder the transition from gas exploration to production in the medium term. It will also touch on the global implications of these East Africa developments.

Exhibition highlights

The IPTC Exhibition devotes 7500 m² to the latest technologies, new product launches and best industry services in the oil and gas industry. There is a Technology Theatre where companies will present visitors with information about their latest technological breakthroughs, commercial offerings and innovations in oil and gas technology. Five sections of the exhibition have been dedicated to Technical Discipline Zones where drilling, gas processing, geoscience and reservoir, HSE, and projects and facilities will be the focus.

Knowledge Sharing ePoster Sessions have been set up to enhance interaction between authors and delegates, in an informal and interactive environment. Digital presentations will be made at scheduled slots during the daily coffee breaks on the exhibition floor.

Youth, Parents and Teachers programs

Meanwhile, the exhibition floors will feature a dedicated Youth Pavilion where various competitions will take place, thereby creating an open platform for the academia and industry to mingle.

More than 110 students from 31 countries, 67 universities and 13 degree disciplines will join 20 local Qatari students in the five-day Energy Challenges + Education = Our Future program. They represent some of the world’s brightest and best undergraduate geosciences and engineering students.

The 7^th IPTC will also witness, for the first time, involvement from parents and teachers. Some 180 high school students from Grade 10 to 12 students will also have a chance to vie for prizes at a Science fair competition held within the exhibition grounds at a dedicated Youth pavilion.

Through a two-day immersive program called Energy4All, these high school students will see first-hand, the latest technologies used by engineers in oil and gas exploration and production, including state-of-the-art software used for solving complicated engineering problems.

The key initiative this year for the high school event is a new science fair competition in which science projects will be open for judging by any conference delegate on day one, then by judges on the second day.

Leading up to this, the organizing committee has also put together a special teachers' workshop entitled Education Energizing the Future aimed at supporting teachers in the education of essential scientific concepts, that relate to the oil and gas industry. The workshop will provide educators with a variety of free instructional materials, which can be incorporated into their lesson plans.

There will also be a Future Engineers' Parents Dinner as organisers hope to make parents aware of the opportunities available in engineering, geosciences and science higher education, within the oil and gas industry.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/20012014/oil_and_gas_giants_convene_at_iptc_101/