The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) held its first workshop titled Iraq Field Development Experiences. The workshop which was held last month in Basra, Iraq lasted two days and attracted over 180 guests from more than 50 regional and international companies. It was a successful sequel to the meeting held in Istanbul, Turkey in 2011.
“SPE’s mission is to collect, disseminate, and exchange technical knowledge concerning the exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources, and related technologies for the public benefit; and to provide opportunities for professionals to enhance their technical and professional competence,” said Waleed Refaay, managing director at SPE Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.
“In support of our mission, this will be the first international society led event in Iraq and SPE is proud to lead the effort of attracting international expertise to help the country in building human capabilities and advancing oil and gas technologies,” continued Refaay.
Discussion topics covered the successful execution of projects in Iraq along with its challenges and opportunities; reservoir characterisation case studies; production optimisation; water sourcing and management; Iraq gas utilisation and gas flaring reduction initiatives; new and applicable technologies for Iraqi fields.
“I see the SPE meeting in Basrah as a very good way to contribute to this much needed capacity building effort and promoting new technology. This interaction between Iraqi and international expertise in the oil and gas sector epitomises this endeavour,” said Thamir Abbas Al Ghadhban, chairman of the Advisory Commission to the Iraqi crime minister.
The keynote speech on the second day was delivered by Ihsan Al-Attar, project management expert at the Ministry of Oil in Iraq, who spoke about how implementing service contracts by international oil companies have had positive economic, social, and environmental impacts on the local communities.
A number or of national and international oil companies and service operators were represented at the workshop including; Iraq Ministry of Oil, Baker Hughes, BP, Delta Hydrocarbons Corporation, Eni, ExxonMobil, Gaffney, Cline & Associates, Habboush Group, Kuwait Energy, Lukoil, Petrofac, PETRONAS, Petronor, Schlumberger, Shell, Total, and University of Technology in Iraq.
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 110,000 members in 141 countries worldwide.
