Dow Chemical is investing in expanding its local innovation capabilities to continue developing and customising solutions for the region’s unique needs

Chemicals major, Dow Chemical is looking to increase its footprint in Africa, and in addition to the broad portfolio of microbial control technologies, the company is uniquely positioned to address the hydrocarbon industry challenges in that continent.

"Dow’s oil and gas experts draw upon global R&D resources and decades of experience for customizing solutions and services tailored to the evolving needs of our customers there," says Adriano Gentilucci, commercial director – India, Middle East, Africa and Turkey for Dow Oil, Gas & Mining.

The recent volatility in the global energy market and the effects of declining oil prices have prompted oil and gas players who are faced with budget constraints to seek new, more efficient techniques that will maximise resources deployed in the recovery process, he points out.

Through the unique merger of chemistry and engineering experience, Dow’s advanced innovations and exceptional service help customers achieve more efficient flow, control contaminants and enhance all phases of an asset’s performance across the oil and gas value chain.

In June 2016, Dow announced the successful completion of the transaction to restructure ownership of Dow Corning, previously a 50:50 joint venture of Dow and Corning Incorporated. Dow Corning will now operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow, and will continue to serve customers through the Dow Corning brand as well as the Xiameter and Molykote trademarks in the near term and will transition over time to the Dow brand, he says.

Dow Corning’s silicone expertise brings an entirely new chemistry to Dow and is fully aligned to Dow’s technology portfolio. Together, Dow Corning and Dow bring complementary leadership in high-growth and attractive end-use applications across a number of key industries including oil and gas.

Gentilucci says: "We have been actively engaged in major projects across the region working closely with engineering companies and oil and gas operators to provide technical expertise and supply chemicals like amine solvents and heat transfer fluids for their refining and gas processing plants.

"This year we supplied initial fills of process chemicals to new plants in Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE and Iraq. We also finalised supply contracts for two mega gas developments in Saudi Arabia and Egypt for 2017.

"Despite several delays in project execution we still see growing opportunity in the region for our gas treating solution portfolio."

As the region increasingly turns to speciality chemistries to address its unique oil and gas challenges, Dow is investing in expanding its local innovation capabilities, to continue developing and customising solutions for the region’s unique needs, he says.

One such example is Dow’s partnership with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust), a multi-year, multi-million-dollar R&D framework that included the setting of Dow’s Middle East Innovation Centre (MEIC) in Kaust in 2011.

The work at MEIC focuses on research into water treatment and technologies for oil and gas technologies applications like flow assurance.

An agreement was signed with Kaust in 2015 to further expand this Centre into a dedicated building to expand its research capabilities into other oil and gas related fields like enhanced oil recovery and exploration.