Speaking at a press briefing at ADIPEC, German EPC contractor Wintershall said it is looking to further expand its upstream activities in the UAE.
Based in Kassel, Germany, Wintershall showed strong presence at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference announcing plans to become more active not just in the UAE but the Gulf too.
“We need to forge new paths and share knowledge and experience with each other if we are to master the challenges facing the oil and gas industry in the next 30 years,” said Wintershall Chairman Rainer Seele on Tuesday in a speech on the challenges and opportunities for technology and sustainability in the region’s industry and worldwide.
“We’re also expanding our activities in the United Arab Emirates because we believe in long-term, trusting partnerships such as the one we’re experiencing with ADNOC in our Shuwaihat project,” Seele added.
Wintershall has been operating ADNOC’s and OMV’s Shuwaihat sour gas and condensate field after signing an agreement for the technical appraisal of the project in 2012.
“As the operator, Wintershall is implementing its extremely high HSE (Health, Safety &Environment) standards and more than 40 years of experience in the safe development and production of sour gas fields,” the company said in a statement.
Speaking about the challenges of meeting rising domestic and export demands, Seele said companies in the region have the best prerequisites for mastering this challenge if the right technology is deployed.
“In the Arab world there are enormous, still undeveloped sour gas fields that are technologically extremely challenging. Nor should the mature fields in the Middle East be forgotten that are difficult to exploit but which offer immense potential.
“Just think of the opportunities that would arise if we could increase their recovery rate by one to two percent,” he concluded.
