Technology is key in oil: Minister

Manama : The Arabian Gulf is home to the world’s largest oil and gas reserves. The challenge is to combine technology, business and human resources in a way that will enable us to produce these supplies successfully and deliver them to the market efficiently, which requires participation between industry, government and consumers, considering supply and demand, said Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Oil yesterday. 

The Minister was inaugurating the 13th Middle East Geological Sciences Conference (GEO 2018) at the Ritz Carlton Hotel yesterday. 

The minister pointed out that the development march witnessed by the oil industry in the region is witnessing continuous up-to-date with the latest technological developments and applications to ensure development and obtain the best results. He pointed out to the necessity of continuing to develop the technology used in Oil and Gas and accelerate the pace of production, keeping the cost of selected solutions into consideration.

The minister said that the oil industry in the region is seeking to develop high-tech industrial initiatives and provide the best incentives for exploring difficult oil and cooperate with the relevant support services companies to find innovative solutions to the challenges of this vital and important sector. Requesting to review the training programs that provide qualified professionals in this sector. He stressed the urgent need to attract youth to take over the leadership of the oil sector in the future to come, which requires investment in the development of competencies of the human capital in accordance with international standards. The minister praised the efforts carried out by the National Oil and Gas Oil Authority (NOGA) and its subsidiaries to adopt a comprehensive succession plan for the oil and gas sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The conference is being held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, at the Bahrain International Exhibition Center (BIC), from March 5-8, under the slogan “Push the Technical Boundaries: Drawing the Image of Energy.” The oil minister was deputised by HRH Prime Minister to inaugurate the event.

A large number of officials and CEOs of national and international companies, engineers and professionals, specialists and scientists, as well as researchers, academics, universities and university colleges and research institutes from around the world are participating in the event.

The Minister stated that we are feeling proud in the Kingdom to discover oil for the first time among the GCC countries in 1932. Since then, the oil sector has been operating according to a clear strategy to involve the private sector in implementing and managing oil projects. NOGA and its subsidiaries is carrying out many vital and important projects that support the development of this important sector. He referred to the modernization project of Bahrain Refinery, which is one of the strategic projects in the Kingdom of Bahrain to upgrade the first refinery in the GCC region, established in 1936. The project aims to enhance competitiveness and profitability and to continue to contribute to the structure of the national economy by increasing the production of the refinery. The minister added that the construction and modernization work in the project of replacing and modernizing the oil pipeline between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia is proceeding according to the plan and the budget allocated to increase the capacity of the current pipes, which have been over 70 years. He expressed his thanks and gratitude to the wise leadership for the support to the oil and gas sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The minister pointed out that NOGA pays great attention to making the Kingdom of Bahrain an international center for international oil conferences and exhibitions and is keen on the participation of international oil companies in the accompanying exhibitions. He stressed the keenness of the oil and gas sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain to develop the capacity building of the national human capital and improve their skills and competencies through attending the local and international participations and exporting their experiences through these participations accordingly.

The Minister thanked. Ahmed Al-Eidan, Chairman of the Conference, GEO 2018, Deputy CEO of KIPCO’s for drilling and technology and all members of the Executive Committee for their excellent efforts in the organization which contributed positively to the presence of high-level elites.