Sharing the keys to success at MEPEC

Saudi Aramco took part in the three-day Middle East Process Engineering Conference and Exhibition (MEPEC) recently held in Bahrain.

Ahmad A. Al Sa’adi, senior vice president of Technical Services for Saudi Aramco, spoke during the opening session of the conference, which was held under the sponsorship of HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahrani prime minister. The exhibition is one of the biggest in the Gulf region where the latest process engineering technologies are displayed and discussed.

HH Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Bahraini deputy prime minister, opened the exhibition and visited the Saudi Aramco booth, getting a chance to see some of our company’s latest innovations and technologies in the energy sector.

The future of process engineering

In his address, Al Sa’adi noted that “Saudi Aramco continues to achieve high levels of crude oil and natural gas production, in addition to achieving stronger integration in the hydrocarbon value chain. This has been achieved despite the continuing drop in oil prices and weak performance of the world economy.”

Al Sa’adi said the company has adopted four strategies that have contributed to achieving sustained growth and optimal performance over the past few years to adjust to challenging economic conditions.

These strategies include:

• Leading in technology and innovation
• Capitalizing on the digital revolution
• Improving capital efficiency
• Embracing Operational Excellence.

Leading in technology and innovation

Speaking about leading in technology and innovation, Al Sa’adi said, “The importance of developing technology and innovation is represented in maximizing the value of our hydrocarbon materials and achieving a more diversified market and the competitiveness of our products on the world level.”

Al Sa’adi noted that our research and development efforts focus on high-impact technologies while maintaining the capability of creating greater competitiveness for company operations and of helping grow new operations.

Capitalizing on the digital revolution

On the second element of Saudi Aramco’s strategy, which is leveraging the digital revolution, Al Sa’adi noted the company’s efforts, including the improvement of 3-D applications and geo-steering technologies in upstream subsurface applications, where Saudi Aramco has led the industry in the development of smart fields.

“Another disruptive technology is our development of the TeraPOWERS reservoir modeling and simulation platform, which has won several prestigious global awards.”

Improving capital efficiency

Al Sa’adi said that in 2011, as part of Saudi Aramco’s strategic Accelerated Transformation Program, the company launched a capital efficiency initiative to establish a system for executing projects and achieve further improvements, which in turn has helped achieve the goals set by the capital efficiency strategy.

One of many examples of creating value in various capital projects is the Fadhili Gas Plant, where the company managed to improve the scope of the project, implement new cost-effective technologies, and abide by the targeted cost and time schedule, he said.

Operational Excellence

On Operational Excellence, Al Sa’adi said: “Saudi Aramco’s quest for excellence began decades ago. Operational Excellence is the ultimate manifestation of Saudi Aramco’s corporate values, enabling us to drive for the best results and remain agile in addressing challenges.”

He further added that in the field of technology, the EXPEC Advanced Research Center won more than 20 international awards in 2017.