Four decades of technology innovation and leadership
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) showcased its technology prowess in a special Technology Day celebration and Exhibition in November. OER reports:

Oman’s complex geology has created challenges in almost every aspect of hydrocarbon exploration and production. To meet the challenges from the nature, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has kept its focus on expanding the technological boundaries to play a catalyst role in the economic development of the Sultanate.

As part of PDO’s commemoration of the 40th anniversary of its first oil export cargo, the company celebrated its Technology Day and Exhibition with a ceremony at the Oil and Gas Exhibition Centre in November. On the occasion, PDO’s Managing Director John Malcolm said, “It is hard to overestimate the importance of technology in our day-to-day lives be it at home, our workplace or in the world at large. At PDO, technology has dramatically changed the way we do business and it has opened up new horizons in all our operations.”

He further stressed on the importance of the application of cutting-edge technologies at PDO: “In recent years, PDO has embarked on several enhanced oil recovery projects aimed at sustaining PDO’s oil production for the long term. These projects are based in many instance on the state-of-the-art technologies.”

A short film showing the history of technological advancement at PDO was screened at the ceremony. It featured seven technology themes:

Primary Recovery: The first stage of oil production, in which the natural energy in the underground reservoir – say, from an overlying gas accumulation or underlying aquifer – drives the hydrocarbons from the reservoir into wells and up to surface. As the reservoir pressure declines because of production, it often is necessary to implement an artificial lift system, such as a pump, to bring the oil to the surface.

Secondary Recovery: The second stage of hydrocarbon production during which an extraneous fluid such as water is injected into the reservoir. The purpose of such “water flooding” is to maintain reservoir pressure and to displace hydrocarbons toward the producing wells.

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR): The production of oil by means other than those used in primary and secondary recovery. The commonly applied EOR methods fall into three categories: thermal (say, by heating the reservoir with steam to reduce the oil’s viscosity), chemical (say, by injecting chemical agents into the reservoir to alter the oil’s flow properties) and miscible displacement (say, by injecting a gas into the reservoir into which the oil can dissolve). PDO is one of the few companies in the world carrying out field-development projects in all three EOR categories.

Natural Gas: The gaseous hydrocarbon on which many of the Government’s economic diversification plans are based. Not only is it exported from Oman in liquefied form, but also it serves as feedstock for the production of fertilizer and other petrochemicals. More than 30 per cent of the hydrocarbon energy that PDO currently supplies to its shareholders comes from natural gas. To produce and process it in the field, special technologies are sometimes required.

Environment & Integrity: Technologies that enable PDO to limit the environmental impact of its operations, to treat the copious amounts of waste water it produces and to ensure that its wells are in good working order.

“Smart” Fields: The integration of digital information technology with the latest drilling, seismic and reservoir-monitoring equipment to produce hydrocarbons more efficiently.

Exploration & Drilling: The technologies applied to find underground accumulations of hydrocarbons and to drill wells to reach them.

“This Technology Day and Exhibition was aimed at showcasing – in an engaging and accessible way – the widespread application of new technology in PDO,” said Abdul Amir bin Hussein al Ajmi, PDO’s Manager of the External Affairs and Communications Department, which organized the event.


QUOTES

	“We always expect PDO to apply the most advanced technology in their operations. With the establishment of the study centre by PDO, we expect more and more technology development originating from Oman.” HE NASSER BIN KHAMIS AL JASHMI Undersecretary, Ministry of Oil and Gas
“We (SQU) look at PDO as our strategic partner. We are conducting projects for PDO in various areas including oil fields, environment, agriculture etc. This exhibition is a good opportunity for our faculty and students to experience the entire spectrum of technologies used by PDO.” PROF. AMER AL- RAWAS Deputy Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University for post graduate studies on research
	“PDO is a good medium for technology related training and the application of technology. Now we need to work towards ensuring that more and more Omanis are engaged in the development of technology instead of application of technology alone.” H.E. DR. HILAL BIN ALI AL HINAI Secretary General of the Scientific Research Council
“PDO has been at the forefront of exploration and production technology. We intelligently integrate technologies with best practices from around the world and apply these to solve challenging EOR opportunities to enhance our oil production.” DR. ELAINE S. LEITH Thermal Cluster Leader
	“The exhibition showcases PDO’s technological competence especially in EOR, where PDO stands distinctly ahead of others in the region.” DR. ABDULLAH KHALIFA AL-HADHRAMI Reservoir Engineer, Harweel Project

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