Oil Minister, Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, will patronise the Bottom of the Barrel Technology Conference (BBTC MENA 2017), due to be held on December 4-5.

The event is organised by Euro Petroleum Consultants and Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) in cooperation with the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA).

It is supported by a number of international oil companies in the Gulf, and attended by a large number of experts and engineers and those interested in the various aspects of the oil industry from different countries of the world.

The minister expressed pride in the kingdom’s choice to host the event for the second time thanks to its good reputation at the world level in the conference and events industry specialised in this vital area, citing the impressive results of the conference held in Bahrain in 2015.

He expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to the government for providing the highest levels of support for such events and for supporting the sustainable development witnessed by the Kingdom of Bahrain in the areas of knowledge sharing, exchange of experiences and constructive participation in strengthening capacity and skills and raise the efficiency of the human element in this important sector and other relevant sectors.

He said that remaining fuel oil is very important for the oil and gas industry in the region, especially in light of the challenges facing the oil refineries and the treatment of heavy materials in the overall utilization of remaining oil from the distillation products. 

The minister added that the conference will discuss a number of key subjects, through a review of a number of scientific papers, which will shed light on the current challenges in the oil and gas industry in the world; which is a challenge to look differently on the oil industry in a more flexible methodology. Where the drop in prices has led to a decline in capital per diem on the sectors of oil, gas and energy. Given the low prices, the oil refineries are looking for low-cost projects with high returns projects such as removing bottlenecks and improving the infrastructure, production and competitive products. H.E. appreciated the efforts of Bapco in the implementation of projects into the production of value-added products and eco-friendly, which was represented in the modernization of the refinery efficiency; where Bahrain’s government seeks to increase the productive capacity of the refinery and the introduction of the latest technologies to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness. Bahrain refinery modernization project is one of the strategic projects designed to raise the level of unliquidated obligations and the production of clean and environmentally friendly products.

It is expected that this conference will have many participants from specialized technicians and engineers from various local, regional and international companies, specialized in the field of oil refining industry. As well as the presence of a number of researchers and scholars in this specialization of the different countries of the world, where this type of conferences extensive international participation in view of the success achieved in the first conference of this series of conferences. It is also expected that the exhibition attracts many national and global companies and review the latest products and the latest technical developments in the oil industry, where the fair is an opportunity to talk closely with the representatives of the participating companies.

In a related context, the minister of oil pointed out that the refining industry is witnessing a qualitative shift in the world markets as a result of the recommendations of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) to reduce the proportion of sulfur in fuel for ships, as well as continuing changes in energy demand and the growth of the world economy and the new challenges such as electric cars. He added that the marine fuel also witnesses rapid changes as a result of the decision of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce sulfur content in marine fuel used in open seas from 3.5% to 0.5%, and is expected to become effective in 2020.

He confirmed that these restrictions pose a challenge to the refineries, which requires planning for what should be done toward the remaining oil, which can no longer be combined in the fuel of the vessels, which need oil refineries to work quickly and take investment decisions on the treatment of the remaining oil to cope with increasingly stringent legislative and environmental regulations for this industry. 

The minister said he is looking forward to reaching solutions to make the remaining oil economically feasible and environmentally friendly.