The UAE has accounted for the highest increase in upstream oil and gas investments in the Middle East, raising expenditure by 30% from US$42 billion to $55 billion in 2009, according to recently published reports.
Amidst the Emirates’ emergence as the only country proceeding with new upstream investments, local oil and gas companies are leveraging new analytical solutions to boost their decision-making processes, exploration and project profitability.
In today’s economic climate, oil and gas companies are seeking to improve reservoir characterisation and flow modeling based on geostatistical analysis to estimate reserves with as much accuracy and reliability as possible. SAS, a provider of business intelligence and analytic software and services, are at this week’s Gastech event in Abu Dhabi to build partnerships with the UAE’s upstream players.
“As the country with the fifth largest oil reserves in the Middle East, the UAE has become a key market for our analytical solutions,” explained Peter Venn, regional director – Oil & Gas, SAS – Middle East & Africa. “Furthermore, the downward slope of the global economy has convinced the UAE Government of the importance of pushing its oil and gas initiatives in terms of exploration and development, and also in addressing issues concerning declining reserves, deteriorating assets and long-term supply.”
“We are committed to supporting the growth of UAE’s oil and gas industry by aiding them transform masses of data into strategic business intelligence, which will serve as fuel for competitive advantage, proactive decision making and enhanced reserves exploitation,” added Venn.
National Oil Companies (NOCs) in the Middle East are facing challenges such as ageing infrastructure and equipment, lack of efficiency in refinery processes and shortage in skilled manpower. Venn says that by adopting SAS Analytics, companies are better equipped to achieve sustainable production improvements and control costs. Furthermore, upstream organisations can also improve their overall operational efficiency, safety and integrity, lower maintenance costs, and lessen the impact of unplanned shutdowns.
“The oil and gas industry generates large volumes of valuable data – from the sub-surface operations, reservoirs, oil fields, other assets, suppliers, contractors – which can be analysed to produce credible intelligence to boost efficiency and profits. We have been working with some of the biggest oil and gas organisations in the region and across the globe to ensure that oil fields are monitored and managed very carefully to produce maximum yields, and we look forward to becoming a trusted partner for more organisations in the future,” concluded Venn.
