ABU DHABI, 1 March 2005 — Last week in Compunet we showcased the enhancements to the Energy Competency Center (ECC) located at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) Center of Excellence for Applied Research and Training (CERT) in Abu Dhabi. Many readers wanted more information on the functionality of the ECC and so we’d like to elaborate a bit more on some of the technologies available through the center.

It’s essential to note that while right now the ECC is a one of a kind facility globally, it won’t be alone much longer.

“This is the first center of its kind and we will be creating several more this year. In the spring we will take this model, lift it up and transport it over to Moscow. Then we will probably have two or three others by the end of this year,” said Bob Moore, director, Chemical and Petroleum Industries, IBM EMEA. “We would like to think of this center as the focal point for the industry and we’ll have solutions and experts based here. We would also like to think of it as a portal or window into technologies we’ve got in development and use elsewhere in the world. We are very proud that something that was created in the Middle East will be implemented on a worldwide basis.”

The ECC is really an amazing place and the computing power on tap there is being made available to both the oil and gas industry and the companies that serve this sector. It was pointed out that in the last couple of years solutions providers focusing on the oil and gas industry had brought their software source code to the ECC in order to optimize it using the computing resources there. No one could ever remember another setting in the Middle East where US-based IT vendors had taken such action.

Thanks to advancements in technology, dramatic changes are expected soon in the operations of the oil and gas industry. IBM calls this trend the move to the “Intelligent Oilfield.” Basically it is expected that technology will transform the upstream petroleum business into a virtual organization of partners collaborating across the globe. Wireless technology will enable access to information anywhere, at any time. Deep Computing Visualization (DCV) will allow experts to collaborate in an immersive (cinema-like) environment to view high-resolution 2D and 3D images created from large data sets collected in the field. Experts who cannot be present on site can still be a part of the DCV experience using remote visualization. Remote management of oil and gas fields will become commonplace.

Of course for the Intelligent Oilfield to become a reality companies will have to be convinced that utilizing these new technologies is not only feasible but brings a good return on investment. ECC allows both technology providers and their industry clients to experience new IT solutions in a risk-free environment. Equally important, IBM and Intel view the ECC as a learning resource that enables true technology development in the Middle East.

“Because the ECC is based at a university, students with an interest are able to experience these advanced technologies very early on and there is no limit where that may lead,” commented IBM’s Moore. “This center is all about innovation, something fundamental to IBM. Technology transfer, skill development and other initiatives related to education are very important to IBM as a responsible global corporate citizen. There is no reason why students from universities in Saudi Arabia could not interact with the resources at this university. There is no formal process in place right now but we view the ECC as a resource for the community. Bringing students from universities in other nations here is a good thought and something that should be considered.”