DHAHRAN, 26 March 2006 — A state-of-the-art oil field research center, described as the first of its kind in the Middle East and Africa, was opened by Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi here yesterday. This is the first research center to open at the King Abdullah Science Park of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM).
The Schlumberger Dhahran Carbonate Research Center (SDCR) as it is named houses a team of international scientists working on oil and gas industry research projects in collaboration with other research institutes, both across Saudi Arabia and overseas.
The center is a long-felt need of the Kingdom, which Al-Naimi welcomed as a significant development in the Kingdom’s rich oil industry. “This will benefit a lot to the Kingdom and also its researchers, as the center will enable interaction with their international counterparts in-house and also with other centers worldwide,” he said and lauded the efforts of Schlumberger in enabling the Kingdom to take this giant step toward enriching Saudi research in the oil sector.
Al-Naimi noted with satisfaction that Schlumberger will be sponsoring more than 25 students in many fields of science and engineering at KFUPM and that the international company researchers will conduct courses for local students. “We’re appreciative of their efforts in setting up this research center,” he added.
KFUPM Rector Dr. Khaled S. Al-Sultan hoped that the location of the research center and its closeness to Saudi Aramco and its oil fields would have a tremendous impact on their activities. “It will lead to significant contribution to the deployment of developed state-of-the-art technologies,” he said.
Speaking about the Techno-Valley project, Al-Sultan said it would be established in the KFUPM premises over a land measuring 600,000 square meters. “It (Techno-Valley) is envisioned to be the most prestigious R&D and technology nucleus in the Middle East.,” he said.
The research center has been built to promote future technology development through closer interaction between research scientists from Schlumberger, experts from KFUPM, Saudi Aramco and King Abdul Aziz City for Science & Technology (KACST) as well as other regional oil companies and institutions.
“We’ve heard a lot about the successful experiences at similar international facilities in Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Cambridge, Oxford, New York, North Carolina and the Silicon Valley. We hope that Dhahran Techno-Valley will create an ideal environment where innovations transform into successful business ventures,” he said, adding that the Dhahran Techno-Valley is destined to pooling together national and international research centers in one location.
With the Dhahran Techno-Valley allowing frequent interaction between world-class researchers in an easily accessible facility, it will provide infrastructure for the state-of-the-art specialized and sophisticated equipment and test facilities. It will also house an incubator that serves to nurture promising new technical and IT companies. These companies will create new jobs and serve existing business and industry. “We envision that an innovation center and a consulting clinic will also be established soon in the valley,” Al-Sultan said. The Schlumberger Research Center is a testament of the leadership and proactive nature of this international company, he added.
KFUPM Director Dr. Khalid Al-Sultan said: “The center is a pure example of universities’ persistence to create technical alliances with major technology companies such as Schlumberger.”
“We believe the combination of the Kingdom’s leading human and natural resources and our own expertise will allow this new center to develop ground-breaking technologies that will maximize both oil and gas resources in the region and the contribution the exploration and production industry makes to the global economy,” Schlumberger Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Gould said.
Schlumberger, which has principal offices in New York, Paris and The Hague, comprises two business segments. Schlumberger Oil Field Services supplies a wide range of products and services and WesternGeco, jointly owned with Baker Hughes, which is the “world’s largest” seismic company providing advanced acquisition and data processing services.
