Increasing population
growth, energy demand intensity and
globalization has led to a phenomenal
rise in the use of energy. Demand for
oil and gas continues to grow and will
have to be met through traditional as
well as unconventional sources. In
response to these challenges, the
Kingdom has stepped up efforts in
exploration and production with
substantial expansion programs, which
pivot on the development and application
of innovative technologies.
In light of this, the King Abdulaziz
City for Science and Technology (KACST)
and the Ministry of Petroleum and
Mineral Resources are pleased to
organize the first Saudi Scientific
Meeting on Oil and Gas Exploration and
Production Technologies (OGEP 2008) with
the theme “Towards Local Research &
Development”.
In response to the boom in
world economy and oil demand, Saudi Arabia has
ambitious upstream strategies which include
expanding its exploration activities.In
addition, several research programs have started
with the objective of increasing the recovery
factor of the existing fields. It is worth
mentioning that most of the new upstream
expansions will utilize latest edge technologies
such as smart well completions and i-Fields..
Enabling these goals depends to a large extent
on our continued ability to push the envelope of
technology and pinpointing those R&D efforts
that have the greatest chance to produce both
major breakthroughs and the new tools and
technologies needed to achieve higher recovery,
discovery of more oil and gas, and more
efficient operations.
