Middle Eastern energy companies are being seen as rapid adopters of intelligent energy solutions say the organisers of the SPE Intelligent Energy International conference & exhibition whilst announcing a new edition next year of the event to be held in Bahrain.
Following this year’s event held in Utrecht in The Netherlands and recognising the demand for an event like this in the Middle East, the organisers have launched this new installment to take place from 3-5 October in 2011. The 2012 event will once again be held in Utrecht.
The chairman of the Executive Committee for next year’s technical conference and exhibition, the overall theme of which is ‘Intelligent Energy – Formation, Innovation, Transformation’, is Dr Muhammad Saggaf, who is chief petroleum engineer for Saudi Aramco.
Saggaf commented: “Technology is a strong enabler to intelligent energy, and intelligent energy technology now more than ever is enhancing production levels and ensuring reliable supplies. Crucial to the growth of intelligent energy technology has been its rapid adoption by Middle East companies, and for this reason the location of this international conference in Bahrain is very appropriate.
“The enthusiastic embrace of intelligent energy technology in all regions of the world is occurring because of the collaboration and connectivity of technology platforms. Companies around the world are reporting that recoverable reserves from existing fields are increasing because of consistent development and implementation of intelligent technologies such as smart completions,” he added.
A global approach to technology collaboration on the digital oilfield
Saggaf added that much progress had been made in developing the digital technology that intelligent energy requires. “But there is more to do in how we develop technology in the first place, and this demands that we reconsider how we, as an industry, do our research and engineering,” he said.
“After all, technology collaboration in a global industry has every reason to be global in approach – not only to share knowledge but also to harness our global strengths.
“A key metric of the industry’s stewardship will be to increase the recovery factor in fields around the world. By merging our strengths we will turn the vision of intelligent energy into reality and fulfill its promise of improved recovery and increased productivity.”
The deadline for papers to be submitted for SPE Intelligent Energy International 2011 is 30 December. The aim of the conference is to explore how digital technologies have transformed certain aspects of the oil and gas business, and their potential to transform others. The event will serve as a knowledge and experience-sharing platform for intelligent energy development and implementation across the E&P value chain.
Four key categories have been identified crossing multiple focus areas. These are: Process Workflow and Organisational Integration; Visualisation, Virtualisation and Collaboration; Infrastructure, Automation and Beyond; Business Value.
The SPE Intelligent Energy International 2011 event in Manama, Bahrain will follow the technical format of the previous conferences, the quality of which earlier this year drew more than 1,500 visitors from 37 countries, with 700 delegates participating in the peer-reviewed technical and panel sessions.
