Oman is a hidden treasure
Realising the growing stature of Oman’s oil and gas industry, Atlas Copco, the world’s only manufacturer of ISO certified oil-free air compressors, opted for Oman as the venue of its first Oil and Gas MaXimiZe course. Sunil Kumar Singh caught up with the organisers

The application of value-adding technology remains one of the top-end requirements of Oman’s oil and gas industry, not only to inflate production but also to ensure the safety and quality of production processes. Since more and more countries in the region are benefiting from breakthroughs in air compressing technology, it’s now time for the domestic oil and gas industry to catch up.

This was the central message of the four-day special convention held in Muscat from March 24-28, 2007, organised by Atlas Copco, the Sweden-based world-leading manufacturer of air compressors, having its regional headquarters in Manama, Bahrain. Called ‘MaXimiZe’, the course was the first of its kind to be organised by Atlas Copco in the world, specifically for the oil and gas business, and Oman was chosen as the first destination for it. As Henk Brouwer, Vice-President, Marketing, Oil-free Air Division, Atlas Copco, said: “The aim of this course is to introduce new technology such as the oil-free compressed air technology and Class-Zero technology to this market. In Oman there has been increasing investment in oil and gas industries, and this course was the obvious step for us to make use of our global experiences in this region. Delegates attending this course, who are working with the oil and gas section of Atlas Copco, would provide a suitable forum to share their experiences with our partners in Oman.”

Global experiences brought home
The ‘MaXimiZe’ course saw the participation of over 100 Atlas Copco specialists from 28 different nationalities to share their global experiences on the quality and safety requirements of the Oil and Gas sector. “It’s through events such as these that we gain an even better understanding of how to accompany our customers, whether in hazardous processes on platforms, nitrogen generation, in downstream applications, or control and instrument air,” said Emile Bado, Regional General Manager of Atlas Copco Services Middle East, adding, “In exploration, we are seeing a shift from piston compressed air technology to screw technology. This change is increasingly affecting operations in the Middle East. And as a general rule, customers world-wide are showing an enhanced concern for quality and for the safety of their operations.”

Currently, Atlas Copco’s oil-free air rotary screw compressors are also the only ones in the world that have been certified by TÜV (German Technical Monitoring Association) as ISO 8573-1 Class Zero compliant. That means the compressors are 100 per cent oil-free and eliminate risk of air contamination by oil, thus ensuring air purity, product quality and increased safety and productivity. Contamination of air by even trace quantities of hydrocarbons (in the form of aerosols, liquid or vapour) can result in damaged batches or products, high rejection rates and returns, as well as costly production downtime and clean-up, besides environmental pollution. Industries who risk contaminating their products with oil may expose themselves to product recalls, legal action and negative consequences, thereby having a bearing on company’s reputation and brand equity.

Emile Bado, Regional General Manager of Atlas Copco Services Middle East and
Henk Brouwer, Vice-President, Marketing, Oil-free Air Division, Atlas Copco

Business opportunities galore
For more than 15 years, Atlas Copco has been selling its products such as gas equipment, generators, construction mining equipment, industrial tools, among others, through its distributor – Bin Salim Enterprises – to many players in Oman. Asked about the business opportunities in Oman, Emile replies, “Oman is a hidden treasure of the Middle-East. It is unspoiled and has undiscovered potentials. Our compressor business is 50 per cent of the total turnover of Atlas Copco in Oman and Oman represents 10 per cent of our total turnover in the Gulf region.”

Since oil and gas is the major industry in Oman, it’s the largest buyer of Atlas Copco’s products. However, the company is also seeing immense business opportunities in sectors other than oil and gas too, as air compressors have their applications in a range of industries, such as food and beverage processing, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, aluminium, automotive paint spraying and ceramic as well as textile manufacturing. Due to the rapid industrialisation in Sohar and other industrial pockets, Atlas Copco is upbeat on business prospects in the Oman market. “Oman for us is very important because of the Oil and Gas industry as well as other mega projects that are coming up in Sohar, Sur, etc. Oman is experiencing a rapid boom due to high oil prices that has prompted increased investments in other industries, besides oil and gas. Last year, we got one of the largest orders from the region from Sohar,” he said.

Air compressor units are the core of any industrial plant and with the economic diversification drive, almost all the industries coming up in Oman will have a need for compressed air systems. The MaXimiZe course was an attempt to create awareness about the products that are not only cost effective, result in better productivity but are also environment-friendly.
 

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