AME Info, United Arab Emirates: Shell applies technology to reduce environmental impact of oil industry: Monday 26 December 2005

Environmental impact of the oil and gas industry can be significantly reduced through the use of technology and information gathering, says international oil company Shell.

From left to right: Dr. Yousef Sayed Khalaf, Organizing Committee Chairman KIPCE 2005, Dr. Zara Khatib, Manager for Technology Deployment in Shell International Exploration and Production (E&P), Dr. Ken Taylor, Chairman of Shell in Kuwait, and Mr. Mohammed Al-Habsi, Surveillance Reservoir Engineer in the Oman/Shell joint venture Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), at the Kuwait International Petroleum Conference & Exhibition (KIPCE) 2005 held in Kuwait earlier this month.

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Shell's sponsorship of the Second Kuwait International Petroleum Conference & Exhibition (KIPCE) 2005 marks the most recent activity in the company's commitment to sharing its knowledge and technology on reducing the environmental impact of oil and gas operations on a regional and global level.

The conference, entitled 'Meeting Future Demand through Wise Decisions', saw two international Shell experts share the latest developments in sustainable water management, a key area in reducing the oil industry's environmental impact.

'Excess water is the largest by-product in oil and gas production and the main criterion for abandoning oil and gas wells,' said Dr. Zara Khatib, Manager for Technology Deployment in Shell International Exploration and Production (E&P).

'This presents an environmental challenge on two levels since produced water is at once a potential pollutant as well as a wasted resource,' she added.

'Research into and the application of water technologies associated with oil and gas exploration is leading to important developments in increasing the amount of water available for the region while reducing the environmental impact of exploration,' she said.

Mohammed Al-Habsi, Surveillance Reservoir Engineer in the Oman/Shell joint venture Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) said, 'Following 35 years of oil production, our current research is resulting in a greater understanding and application of research tools in water flood behaviour that will ultimately lead to more sustainable water management.'
The Oman/Shell joint venture, focusing on water flood behaviour in different reservoir layers of one of Oman's largest and oldest oil fields, has produced the country's largest data acquisition programme to-date.

'The gathered data will enable us to stay at the forefront of technological developments, giving enormous economical, technical, environmental and social benefits in the Gulf region and on a broader global level,' said Mr. Al-Habsi.

Shell experts from a range of disciplines are applying cutting- edge technologies to locate water reservoirs, track water movements, control production and manage water treatment.

Shell's commitment to sharing its expertise is part of the international oil company's international knowledge and technology sharing programme.

Other recent activities include Pieter Kapteijn, Smart Fields Programme Manager at Shell International E&P, highlighting a growing need in Kuwait and the Gulf region for 'Smart Oil fields'. His presentation at the 3rd GCC/EU Advanced Technology Conference, stressed the importance of utilising 'smart discovery' electronic hardware and software to improve the efficiency of pinpointing oil and gas reserves, thus minimizing the disturbance of drilling.