Oil Minister Opens 3rd Middle East Artificial lift Conference and Exhibition

Minister of Oil His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa opened the 3rd Middle East Artificial lift Conference and Exhibition on November 30 at the Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel. The event was organized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) in cooperation with the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA) supported by Saudi Aramco, Schlumberger and Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), and a number of national and international oil companies. It saw a wide participation of experts and specialists, as well as managers working in the field of artificial lift.

The Minister said in his opening speech that one of the key measures to be taken by oil producing countries to improve cost efficiency, was a focus on the use of advanced technology and artificial lift techniques. This would help increase production capacity of the oil fields, he said. He pointed out that the oil industry should update systems and launch a number of unconventional initiatives which aims to develop engineering solutions and also investment in advanced technologies to stimulate and increase the production of oil fields. Most of the oil wells in the Kingdom of Bahrain used artificial lift that contributed to the national oil production volumes, he said, adding that NOGA attached great importance to upgrading systems and implementing the highest international standards and practices in the oil and gas companies in Bahrain. He talked about the prominent role played by banks and major financial institutions in support of relevant areas including oil, gas and energy as well as economic projects. He stressed the need to strengthen cooperation between the public and private sectors to accelerate the path of development and prosperity, inviting the private sector to be active financial partners in government projects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

He said the conference had gained much momentum over the years and today was more important for the region than ever before. With the continued pursuit of raising production rates in the world and especially in the region, oil production companies were moving towards introduction of non-traditional initiatives to extract more oil from untapped reservoirs. Artificial lift techniques played an important role in the production of crude oil. Oil wells world over used different artificial lift methods and advanced artificial lift devices to efficiently control lifting operations, alerting operators as to when they needed to intervene. Over time, there had been important developments in information management and control in the field of artificial lift systems, which brought about a high degree of reliability and economic feasibility as well as efficiency, he said.

In conclusion, H.E. Shaikh Mohammed extended his appreciation to the International Society of Petroleum Engineers, Mr. Mohammed Al Musharraf, the Conference Chairman, members of the organizing committee, all the event sponsors, supporting agencies, exhibitors, participants and visitors a successful conference and exhibition. Conference Chairman Mr. Al Musharraf, from Saudi Aramco, speaking at the event, highlighted the importance of the theme of the conference ‘Lift More for Less’ for the GCC and the Middle East. He expressed his gratitude and appreciation to H.E. Shaikh Mohammed for his support for the conference held in Bahrain several times. He pointed out that the year›s event came at a time when the oil industry faces a unique challenge with the drop in oil prices as well as higher production and an overall uncertainty into the future.

The Minister inaugurated the accompanying exhibition, participated by a large number of exhibiting companies, including Saudi Aramco, Schlumberger and several other sponsor companies, who showcased state of the art modern technology in the industry.