JEDDAH — Amid heightened global demand for energy, coupled with rising hydrocarbon prices and increased exploration and production activities by major oil companies, Saudi Aramco underlined the important role of drilling in efforts to satisfy the market.
In the recently held first drilling symposium organized by the state-owned oil company in Alkhobar, Saudi Aramco’s senior vice president Abd Allah S. Al-Saif said in his keynote speech that “these days the oil industry is overwhelmed, to say the least, with issues such as prices, cost, peak oil, safety, environment, and security of supply and demand.”
He said that rising demand — along with a decreasing supply from other producers, geopolitical tension, misconceptions about resources, and environmental concerns — have led Saudi Aramco to intensify its activities to meet the global demand.
“By the end of 2009, we will have a sustainable capacity of 12 million barrels per day, compared to 10 million barrels per day in 2004,” he said after listing some details of those efforts.
In the longer term, Saudi Aramco’s goal is to increase the discovered resources and increase the recoverable portion of those resources. “The role of drilling and service companies is essential to accomplish these objectives,” he said, adding “our rig count has grown from less than 50 rigs in 2003 to about 130 rigs in 2007.”
In a symposium held at an Alkhobar hotel on Dec. 1-2, he further said collaboration with academia, and drilling and service companies is an important part of the plan. Under a new approach to collaboration, the company is “identifying current needs and then collaborating with the service companies to develop appropriate tools to address these needs.”
Andrew Gould, chairman and CEO of Schlumberger, in his keynote speech, said “drilling is a profession that requires men and women of strong character. They demand clear instruction and clear communication. They are often called upon to make difficult and dangerous decisions with insufficient data in rapid time frames.”
Zuhair A. Hussain, executive director of Drilling and Workover, said the drilling industry overcame many challenges in the past and will continue to “push the envelope,” especially in the use of new technologies to save time and money.
More than 500 representatives from drilling contractors, service companies, universities, research and development centers, and national and international oil companies participated in the symposium under the theme “Drilling Technology, Pushing the Envelope”.
Symposium chairman Saud S. Al-Otaibi, said “in the last few years, the drilling industry has made quantum leaps in the use of new technologies on many fronts, in the drilling rigs and in the types of wells drilled. What makes it more exciting is not only has the quality of work improved but also the quantity.”
He said the world’s rig count has increased by more than 60 percent in the past five years and that Saudi Aramco’s rig activities have increased almost threefold in three years.
Meanwhile, following the success of Saudi Aramco’s first drilling symposium, another technical symposium on energy will be held in Dhahran on May 10-12, 2008, this time sponsored by SPE Saudi Arabia. Under the theme “The Ultimate Challenge: Unlocking Hydrocarbons Through Optimum Exploitation Strategies,” the discussion is aimed at sharing expertise, experience, knowledge and promote applied research and technology advancements in E&P among oil and gas industry researchers, practitioners, scientists, geology professionals, and engineers in related disciplines.
The symposium is designed to provide a forum for a broad range of topics relevant to E&P practices including, but not limited to, drilling, production operations, formation evaluation, reservoir engineering, reservoir characterization, gas technology, energy management and environmental issues, and petroleum information technology.
“We particularly encourage the presentation of field cases, innovative ideas, challenges, and new technologies as this is an excellent way to share actual experiences and providing new solutions,” the organizer said.
The best technical paper will be selected according to SPE standard criteria by skilled professionals from the industry.
Hamoud A. Al-Anazi of Saudi Aramco will be the chairman of the upcoming symposium.
