Aramco Expats

ARC Advisory Council Says Center on Track

1. Pipeline
2. Saudi Aramco News
3. Dhahran Media

Author: Saudi Aramco News
Released 22 February 2010

DHAHRAN, February 17, 2010 -- Even experts periodically need advice and direction. To get that strategic feedback, the EXPEC Advanced Research Center (EXPEC ARC) recently held its seventh International Advisory Council (IAC) meeting.

The IAC reviews EXPEC ARC’s activities and performance, suggests future direction and recommends new and emerging technologies to meet Saudi Aramco’s business needs and challenges.

EXPEC ARC gathered experts from around the world for the 7th International Advisory Council Meeting to recommend future direction and emerging technologies.

The council consists of world-renowned scientists from respected institutions: Dr. M. Nafi Toksoz, professor of geophysics and founder of the Earth Resources Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, in the United States; Dr. Stephen Holditch, head of the Petroleum Engineering Department at Texas A&M University, College Station, in the United States; Dr. Farouk El-Baz, director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston (Massachusetts) University, in the United States; Dr. Luciano Maiani, president of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche in Rome and former president and director general of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland; and Dr. Sidqi Abu-Khamsin, chairman of the Petroleum Engineering Department at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran.

Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani, executive director, Petroleum Engineering and Development, and Samer AlAshgar, EXPEC ARC manager, kicked-off the three-day gathering Jan. 16 with opening remarks.

Also attending were Abdullah Naim, vice president, Exploration; Zuhair Al-Hussain, vice president, Drilling and Workover; Muhammad Al-Saggaf, chief petroleum engineer; and chief technologists of EXPEC ARC.

The opening activities were followed by a full-day presentation and discussion on 2009 accomplishments, and future plans for 2010 and beyond.

“The International Advisory Council of EXPEC ARC, in a short span of time, has played a major role in guiding Saudi Aramco’s subsurface research and development,” said Al-Qahtani. “Their experience, knowledge, expertise and wisdom have been influential in guiding EXPEC ARC’s achievements.”

AlAshgar said, “The opinions of these experts — as well as their insight, foresight and vision — have proven to be invaluable.” He said the group discussed key focus areas for technology and research, and current and future strategic initiatives, as well as the key resource of EXPEC ARC — its people.

“2009 has been another banner year for EXPEC ARC,” Dr. Toksoz said. “It has been an excellent continuation of the previous year’s hard work and successes.”

During the meeting, EXPEC ARC members representing all upstream disciplines reported on major technology milestones, updates and future direction, as well as strategy and organization.

The IAC members said they were pleased to hear that GigaPOWERS, the oil industry’s first billion-cell reservoir simulator, went live Jan. 23. “This is a significant achievement, one that is not achieved overnight,” Dr. Holditch said.

“Saudi Aramco’s support of young women’s education for future employment is a visionary initiative,” Dr. El-Baz stressed. “We need to encourage female students to select science and engineering fields. … Future demands for highly skilled individuals will necessitate the addition of women to the technical work force.”

On the Young Researcher Program (YRP), a key corporate initiative, Dr. Abu-Khamsin said, “EXPEC ARC needs to be commended for its success in attracting and developing an increasing number of young Saudi professionals who are successfully contributing and making a substantial impact.”

On EXPEC ARC’s Smart Waterflood research program and the results of preliminary tests showing increases in oil recovery, the council said it could eventually prove extremely important to Saudi Aramco’s exploration efforts.

The council also urged EXPEC ARC to “continue thinking ahead so as to identify problems that will need solutions in five, 10 or more years in the future. Exploration in the Red Sea, tight-gas reservoir exploration and development, and the use of Resbots are three such visionary areas for EXPEC ARC to work on,” council members said.