Bahrain's Oil Minister opens 5th Maintenance & Reliability Conference

Manama, Nov. 26 (BNA): Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa on Sunday opened the 5th Middle East Maintenance and Reliability Conference at the Gulf International Conference Centre. There was a wide participation from a number of interested engineers, specialists, presidents, executives of local, regional and global specialised companies to share knowledge, experience and ambitions in inventions and showcase the latest technologies in this important field. The event was organised by the Gulf Association of Maintenance Professionals and the Bahrain Society of Engineers in coordination and cooperation with the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA) and with the support of Saudi Aramco, Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), Kuwait Petroleum Company, SABIC and other local, regional and global companies. In his opening address, the minister of Oil welcomed all the participating delegates and wished them a well stay in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and participate in the celebrations that the kingdom is witnessing in the democratic wedding of the parliamentary and municipal elections of 2018, which came with a result of 67%. The minister expressed his congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa the Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, and to the people of the Kingdom of Bahrain, to the success achieved by the process of parliamentary elections and municipal councils, which highlighted a renewed picture of cohesion images to meet the call of duty for a bright future. In the context of the conference, the minister explained that the return of stability to the world oil markets this year is a catalyst for oil companies to inject more oil investments and to implement new projects and expansions including areas of extraction, development, production, gas and refining, petrochemicals and other major industries. Making preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance and proactive maintenance essential to be considered in order to maintain facilities that aim to extend their lifespan. The minister said that the government attaches a lot of importance to enhancing the role of oil investment in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which is beneficial to our national economy. He assured that NOGA is operating its oversight in ensuring the implementation of comprehensive maintenance in all of its oil projects including the most important projects: Bahrain Refinery Modernisation project, Bahrain Gas Station project, the Bahrain-Saudi Arabia Pipeline project, the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Harbour project and other projects that need to consolidate the maintenance concept. He praised the tireless efforts of the maintenance workers in the oil and gas sector, which contributes to the strength and competitiveness of this vital sector as well as the dedication of environmental aspects. The minister concluded by thanking and appreciating all the participants in this important event, the president of the conference, the Bahrain Society of Engineers, the Gulf society of maintenance professionals, the members of the organising Committee, the supporting authorities and the exhibitors, on their efforts towards this event. He stressed that NOGA strives to overcome all difficulties for the success of various specialised international events that enhance Bahrain's position as an important regional centre for holding global events. The opening session was also addressed by Abdulhakim Al Gouhi, vice president of industrial services at Saudi Aramco, who expressed the importance of this event, which is distinguished by attracting to major local, regional and international oil and industrial companies, which is a good opportunity to exchange information and expertise to the latest products, technologies and related services at the accompanying exhibition. President of the Bahrain Society of Engineers, Dr. Dheya Tawfiqi, delivered a speech on this occasion, expressing his thanks and appreciation to the Minister of Oil for sponsoring this conference and the accompanying exhibition. Whereas this association is keen to attract conferences and exhibitions specialised in the engineering sector, noting that this conference is one of the largest conferences and exhibitions organised by the Association, because of its high level of specialisation, which attracts a group of scientists and specialists in the sector and senior sponsors and exhibitors. The chairman of the conference, Nezar Al Shammasi, spoke about the importance of the technical papers presented, the most important of which is the management of comprehensive physical assets (HPAM)- Strategic and tactical perspectives, how to design and implement effective oil analysis, operational excellence in the field of M & R, root cause analysis of maintenance Reliability and many related topics. The conference and accompanying exhibition included 54 technical papers as well as a number of practical discussion sessions in which a distinguished group of international speakers from regional and international oil and industrial companies participated. On the sidelines of the conference and the accompanying exhibition, and for the first time a special platform for new inventors to showcase their innovation and inventions in this growing sector, which is a unique opportunity for innovators to showcase their talents between local and international oil and gas companies and to government officials in this sector. Also, among the accompanying events are the launch of several new initiatives that celebrate specialists in this sector such as the Gulf Society Award for maintenance and reliability of excellence and other initiatives. The minister of Oil and a number of officials and attendees opened the exhibition, which was attended by 66 exhibitors from 15 countries across the world, to learn about the latest findings of modern specialised technologies in this regard and meet and listen to a large number of representatives of companies participating in this major event, including Saudi Aramco, SABIC, YASREF, Bapco, Kuwait Petroleum Company, Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC), Bahrain Aluminum Company (Alba), SASREF, and international companies from Germany, India, Canada and many more. The event is expected to attract more than 800 participants from different countries of the world.