The EXPEC Advanced Research Center (EXPEC ARC) won the prestigious New Horizons Idea Award at the 2008 World Oil Awards. The award was granted for the research and innovation of Resbots (reservoir robots). Resbots are nanorobots, less than 1/100th the size of the human hair, that can move through the reservoir. They will be deployed as a microscopic army with injected water into the reservoir. During their journey, they will analyze reservoir pressure, temperature and fluid type, and store that information in onboard memory. They will then be picked up from the produced crude at the producing wells to download that information and tell us everything about the reservoir they have encountered during their journey, thus effectively mapping the reservoir. EXPEC ARC manager Muhammad M. Saggaf and the Resbot team presented the award to Khalid A. Al-Falih, executive vice president of Operations, during a November 9 visit to EXPEC ARC. Accompanied by top officials from Exploration and Producing, Al-Falih recognized the Resbots team and EXPEC ARC, commending them on their major achievement. “Congratulations, EXPEC ARC! This is a tremendous step,” Al-Falih said during the ceremony. “I am very proud of this award.” Al-Falih toured the center and received brief presentations from several technologists on current research and milestones, followed by a light luncheon with the EXPEC ARC team. “Each time I visit EXPEC ARC and learn about their initiatives and accomplishments, I leave feeling energized and confident of the future,” Al-Falih was quoted as saying in a report carried today by Saudi Aramco's web-site. --MORE
