With an estimated $400 billion to be invested in the Middle East on upstream facilities, members of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) gathered in Dubai recently in a workshop entitled, "Unlocking Production Capacities and Maximizing Value of Production Facilities." The event drew 23 Saudi Aramco professionals among the 80 in attendance, according to a press release on the company's website. Southern Area Oil Operations and technology groups from Shell International joined SPE in hosting the workshop, co-chaired by Hani H Al-Khalifa, a process engineer in North Ghawar Producing. Abdullah N. Helal, manager of North Ghawar Producing, on the first day shared some of the biggest challenges the industry will soon face. They include capping field costs, reliability of aging facilities, environmental regulations and development of expertise. Al-Helal talked about some of the ways Saudi Aramco is approaching the challenges and called for "a collective discussion to come up with innovative ideas" to address those issues. One session began with presentations by Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations on different views to tackle them. The group divided into four breakout sessions, each focusing on one challenge. The results of the discussions were shared in reports to the main group. --MORE 1107 Local Time 0807 GMT
