Under the patronage of the
Minister of Oil H.E. Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the Second Middle
East Heavy Oil conference and Exhibition was opened on Tuesday, 11 April 2017,
at Awal Hall, Gulf Hotel. The event was organized by DMG Events in coordination
with the National Oil and Gas Authority and supported by the Bahrain Petroleum
Company (Bapco) and Tatweer Petroleum Company.
In his opening speech, the
Minister of Oil highlighted the current status of the oil and gas sector in the
Kingdom of Bahrain, future investment plans, the Bahrain refinery modernization
project and other projects related to natural gas and heavy oil, mentioning
that Tatweer Petroleum had implemented its first heavy oil project in 2012.
He said that heavy oil was
one of the fossil energy sources, and that this kind of unconventional oil can
be used as a valuable source of energy, despite the complexities associated
with it, especially the refining of this type of oil which requires techniques
that are different from and technically more advanced and sophisticated than
refining conventional oil. He added that modern technologies and innovations
play an important role in giving heavy oil a high place in the global energy
sector. He pointed out that gatherings like this Congress contribute to
understanding the various methods of heavy oil extraction used around the
world, knowing the global reserves and ways of the development of heavy oil
production. Such meetings also help explore and identify the future prospects
of the heavy oil industry as well as the challenges facing it.
During the six technical
sessions of the congress, challenges and the technologies in use were discussed
as well as opportunities for investing in this type of energy. The congress was
addressed by 25 international speakers who are highly knowledgeable and
experienced professionals to share their ideas and expertise. Their papers
focused on heavy oil, modern technologies and strategies for improving oil
exploration and upgrading of refineries in the Middle East.
After the opening of the
congress, Minister of Oil His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa
opened the accompanying exhibition in which Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco),
Tatweer Petroleum Company from Bahrain, Kuwait Oil Company and King Abdullah
University for Science and Technology from the GCC and other international
companies participated. His Excellency toured the exhibition and was shown the
latest technologies in this field.
