ISLAMABAD: The two-day-long 29th Annual Technical Conference (ATC) and Exhibition of Oil and Gas Companies arranged jointly by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Pakistan Section and Pakistan Association of Petroleum Geoscientists (PAPG) concluded here on Wednesday.
The theme of this year’s conference was “Exploring the Unexplored: High-Risk Plays and Economic Challenges”. The conference and exhibition was inaugurated by Federal Minister for Energy Muhammad Ali on the 7th of November 2023.
On Wednesday, the Federal Secretary for the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division), Momin Agha, was the chief guest at the closing ceremony. In his address to the forum, he mentioned that the government is working on attracting new FDI with a particular focus on “offshore exploration” in the Arabian Sea as the game changer for the E&P sector of Pakistan. Later on, he presented shields to the main organizers of the conference.
During the ATC, 36 professional papers were presented on technologies and case studies related to the field of oil and gas exploration.
A keynote address was delivered by Mohamed Al Marzouqi who is executive vice president of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Regional Director for SPE Middle East and North Africa.
A session was held on the importance of “Diversity & Inclusion in Oilfield”.
A panel discussion was moderated by Zaurayze Tarique, managing director of SLB Pakistan and Yemen on the theme of the conference.
The elite panelists included Muhammad Aamir Salim from the OGDCL, Faheem Haider from the MPCL, Mausuf Ahmed from United Energy Pakistan, Muhammad Asim Subhani from Prime Pakistan Limited and Hilal Al Busaidi from SLB.
All the panelists agreed that the situation with indigenous oil and gas in Pakistan is far from over, although, the low-hanging fruits have already been picked. With the right approach and support from the government, focused efforts can minimise the dependence of imported energy and the forum pledged to provide support wherever needed.
Farrukh Saghir representing the Pakistan Association of Petroleum Geoscientists, in his closing address, highlighted the activities of the two days of conference and thanked the delegates, the sponsors, the authors, the exhibitors and all the participants, for making the 29th ATC a memorable event. He emphasized the appropriateness of the theme and highlighted “High-Risk Plays” and the challenges associated.
The ATC is a flagship event of the upstream oil and gas industry of Pakistan which attracts international and domestic experts. It provides an opportunity to international and local industry to showcase technology. It is a forum where the authors share their experiences of successful deployment of technology for the benefit of the entire industry. The application of new technology can bring improvement and increase oil and gas production from the indigenous resources of Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023