Shell plans to revitalise its Middle East operations through new long-term growth projects, says a top official.
In Abu Dhabi, Shell has been actively involved in the oil and gas activities in partnership with Adnoc.
“We are very proud of our success, but we still have more challenges to overcome as we are committed to meeting the energy challenge through forward thinking and technological innovation,” said the official.
“We plan new investments in cleaner fuels and renewable technologies, and a pioneering approach towards environmental protection,” he said.
“Major projects are occurring right through the region that are inextricably linked to our divisions.
“Our growth strategy encompasses these developments and focuses on comprehensively expanding our regional presence, and tapping into new markets to deliver the very best products and services for our consumers,” Al Qurashi added.
Celebrating a centenary of global operations, Shell, one of the world’s leading players in the energy and petrochemicals industries, reaffirmed its commitment to meeting the global energy challenge through innovation and social consciousness, during a ceremony in Dubai.
A delegation of business leaders, stakeholders and key customers from around the region convened at the event to mark the anniversary of one of the largest foreign investors in the Middle East.
The company, which was formed on July 05, 1907 following an agreement between Royal Shell and Shell Transport and Trading, is now a global group of energy and petrochemical companies, employing more than 108,000 people worldwide and active in 145 countries and territories.
With a Middle Eastern exploration and production network headquartered in Dubai, Royal Dutch Shell’s history spans 68 years in Abu Dhabi and 50 years in Dubai, incorporating established divisions in chemicals, aviation, bitumen, commercial fuels, lubricants and marine.
Shell chemicals, lubricants, aviation and marine fuels are widely available throughout the Middle East, and the company is a major trading partner with 17 countries throughout the region.
Shell’s companies have businesses in oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects including wind and solar power.
Also this month, Shell played a prominent role at the World Energy Chemicals Exhibition and Conference held in Kuwait, one of the largest energy forums in the Middle East.
On the first day of the conference, Shell was represented by two keynote speakers, Dr John Barry, vice-president Uncon-ventional and EOR and Dr Zara Khatib, manager for technology deployment in the Middle East region.
Both Barry and Khatib used the conference as a platform to discuss various approaches that Shell has undertaken to tackle world energy challenges.
Barry illustrated the potential alternatives to energy resources and some of the solutions to extract these unconventional energy sources.
Khatib gave a technical commentary on Shell’s experience to turn such challenges into opportunities is supported by Shell’s own global experience and success in the energy field.
“This global dilemma is forcing oil companies to focus their exploration programmes on increasingly challenging, and previously unexplored environments searching for Unconventional hydrocarbons,” asserted Barry.
Unconventional hydrocarbons provide great hope for the future as a number of companies are deploying and further developing leading edge technologies, which can make these vast unconventional resources economically competitive.
Shell’s past efforts show that technologies like horizontal well stream soak, bitumen upgrading though hydrogen additions, gasification, and even advanced electrical heaters deployed underground, all have a significant impact on all various energy challenges’ he added.
These efforts have contributed to turning Shell into one of the international leaders in areas such as tight and sour gas development and heavy crude production and upgrading.
Shell has also historically experienced successes in the region concerning oil recovery.
Khatib gave an example of how Shell’s new techniques for extracting oil from fractured reservoirs was important in places such as Qarn Alam Field in Oman despite the major challenges.
The adoption of the Shell’s innovative new design for steam injection, SAGOGD (steam-assisted gas-oil gravity drainage) takes advantage of what had been one of the chief problems of the reservoir’s development, the fracturing within the carbonate, and makes it part of the solution.
The SAGOGD method has another advantage too: it requires fewer wells than conventional steam floods, Dr Khatib explained that this is intended to maximize recovery while at the same time limiting negative environmental impacts. Both speeches confirmed Shell’s commitment to exploring diverse sources of energy by utilizing leading-edge technology for optimal sustainable growth.
The keynote speakers also touched on Shell’s experience of managing CO2, Sulfur and produced water, which leads to the creation of beneficial economic activity.
