Bahrain's Oil Minister opens BBTC conference

Manama, Dec. 3 (BNA): Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa on Monday opened the Bottom of the Barrel Technology Conference (BBTC) Series, under themed "The best solutions to raise the level of petroleum waste." The inaugural ceremony was attended CEO’s of the national oil and gas companies and a number of affiliates of Gulf oil companies and global presence of experts and engineers and those interested in the various aspects of the oil industry from different countries of the world, to discuss the technological processors fuel oil remaining in the oil industry. That event is organized by Euro Petroleum Consultants and Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) in cooperation with the National Oil and Gas Authority. There will be a number of support from the international oil companies in the Arabian Gulf. The minister, mentioned the importance of remaining fuel oil in 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. He pointed out that it was encouraging to see that the theme of the conference was on the topics of improving environmentally friendly technologies, such as advanced trends in gaining carbon or enhanced oil recovery in the refining industry. He also mentioned that 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. The minister has confirmed that these restrictions pose a challenge to the refineries, which requires planning for what should be done toward the residual oil high sulfate content, 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 residual oil. In order to cope with increasingly stringent legislative and environmental regulations for this industry, looking forward to reaching solutions to make the remaining oil possible and economically feasible and environmentally friendly. 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 mentioned 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% expected to become effective in 2020. It will also highlight the legislative and environmental regulations and the most important investment decisions on the treatment of the residual oil. As well as the future aspirations to reach solutions to make the remaining oil possible and economically feasible and eco-friendly. He also pointed out that the Kingdom of Bahrain have acceded to the International Convention to prepare for and respond to the cooperation in the field of environmental pollution (OPRC) in year 1990, according to the Decree Law No. (4) of year 2010. He explained that however, it remains important to continue refining and petrochemical sectors work in finding solutions to the changing industrial landscape, through technology and innovation incentives with maintaining operational efficiency. Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Oil, opened the exhibition and met a large number of officials from different companies around the world