Ahead of the World Heavy Oil Congress and Exhibition (WHOC), set to take place at the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre from 2 September – 4 September, industry experts gathered in Oman to prepare the groundwork for the event, according to a press release.

Supported by the Ministry of Oil and Gas and hosted by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the Technical Conference Committee examined 255 individual papers and selected submissions showing technical expertise for eight separate specialist categories which included two newly added categories, Project Management and Operational Excellence, Maintenance & HSE. Finally, 110 papers will be selected and presented to more than 3,000 international experts and specialists at WHOC.

The Director General, Planning & Studies at the Ministry of Oil and Gas in Oman, Dr. Saleh Al Anboori iterated the importance of the WHOC in a press release. According to him, by the year 2030 not only will global crude oil rise to 89 million bpd, but 30 per cent of it will be produced from heavy oil.

Currently, heavy oil in Oman comprises 40% of the Sultanate’s resource base. There is “enormous future potential for the Sultanate,” he stated.

Junaid Ghulam, Field Development Manager, Petroleum Development Oman, and 2019 Co-Chairman echoed similar sentiments. According to him, developing heavy oil effectively and in an environmentally-friendly way is something Oman has extensive expertise in. “We are excited to share our experiences and expertise with the global heavy oil community, and also look forward to collaborating with other countries and companies to make heavy oil a sustainable fuel.”

According to Dr Rifaat Al Mjeni, EOR Portfolio Leader, at Petroleum Development Oman, and the WHOC 2019 Technical Committee Chairman, “The Sultanate of Oman has a number of full field developments of heavy oil using both thermal and chemical recovery processes as well as number of EOR trials, which will pave the way for the next set of heavy oil fields in which EOR will be implemented. WHOC is an excellent platform through which we, PDO, can share our own experiences, as well as learn from the visiting speakers, exhibitors, and delegates on ways to address the various challenges related to heavy oil production and processing. With PDO exploring every option to further drive energy efficiency forward, the successful WHOC submissions will cover the entire supply chain of heavy oil development and ultimately help us continue the great progress being made.”

Members of the 2019 Technical Conference Committee of the World Heavy Oil Congress include (but are not limited to:

• Dr Abdulazim Marafie (Senior Research Scientist, Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research)
• Ali Mohammed Al Ansari, (Superintendent Oil Processing, Bapco)
• Dr Renke Rommerskirchen (Global Technical Manager EOR, Sasol)
• Dr Xudong Jing (Manager Shell Technology Oman, Shell Development Oman LLC)
• Erik Sellman (Domain Champion – Oil & Electro statistics, Schlumberger)
• Muscat University’s Nader Mosavat (Director of Programmes, Faculty of Engineering and Technology)

The team will be joined in Oman by:

• Rafael E. Hincapie (Senior EOR Engineer TECH Center & Lab, OMV)
• Sultan Al Amri (Reservoir Characterisation Manager, Occidental Oman)
• Nasser Al Arzi (Cluster Leader, PDO)
• Talal Aulaqi (EOR Front End Development Manager, PDO)
• Vaclav Lastovka (Reservoir Engineer, PDO)