OREANDA-NEWS. June 06, 2014. Investment in the Gulf Region remains profitable. This was a common theme among participants at Petrotech 2014 in Bahrain last week.

The conference offered decision-makers and investors the chance to meet with personnel in the industry and get basic information about petrochemicals, including the mix of chemical products that will be available in the region starting in 2017, to sow the seeds of investment and gain a better understanding of the incentive plans available to investors.

Workshops during the conference focused on the growth of the petrochemical sector in the GCC region. Major executives of the region’s industrial companies spoke at the workshops, and discussions and presentations were designed to assess current and evolving investment opportunities.

Speakers also discussed the development of global demand for end-user and advanced products from the geographic and individual product perspectives. The workshops also highlighted the special competitive advantages available in the area of hydrocarbons to producers in GCC countries and the effect of such advantages on the industry’s global landscape given the developments in unconventional oil and gas.

Discussions also covered the effect of the ongoing supply side changes in the U.S. and elsewhere for producers in the Gulf, the importance of utilizing talented young professionals and the need to extract and produce materials at a competitive cost at or near potential markets. Workshops also focused on the opportunities available for producing countries in the region to play a more significant global role.

A number of participants in the discussions represented three types of institutions: banks, capital markets and export credit agencies. They discussed the role of regional government funds in financing various types of projects, developing human capital and supporting initiatives aimed at achieving sustainable revenues.

One finding of the discussions was that the Gulf Region is a positive environment for foreign direct investment, especially for companies that employ local talent in local manufacturing. Added to this are the incentives and advantages offered by the Gulf countries. Such a positive environment is composed of the following factors: Young employees, well-educated manpower, sufficient energy supplies, abundance of chemicals and minerals supplies, advanced industrial facilities either currently existing or under construction, proximity to regional and global markets, and positive local and regional expenditure plans to fuel business growth.

During the conference’s first day, Warren W. Wilder, Saudi Aramco vice president of Chemicals, presented a history of the company, starting with the its early beginnings and then covering crude oil production, refining and petrochemicals, ending with a future that includes conversion industries. “We are proud of our success stories to date but know that that there is a lot more we can do for the company and the Kingdom,” said Wilder.

Wilder stressed that the company has aggressive objectives in the area of chemicals. “Our goals in chemicals are ambitious. We plan to become a top tier chemicals company on a global level. We will integrate chemicals facilities with our refineries and maximize the value of refinery feeds,” he said. “As a company, our focus has always been on good citizenship and economic diversification, industrialization and job creation. Our chemical industries will be aligned with the conversion parks associated with the chemical facilities.”

Wilder participated in a workshop titled “Investment Opportunities” along with Ziyad Al-Labban, CEO of Sadara, Saudi Aramco’s joint venture with Dow Chemical Co. that is building a world-class chemicals facility in Jubail.

Another workshop, “Opportunities for Development of Refining, Energy and Services Businesses,” featured Abdulaziz A. Al-Judaimi, Saudi Aramco vice president of Corporate Planning, and Motassim Al-Ma’ashouq, Saudi Aramco vice president of New Business Development.

Omar S. Bazuhair, Saudi Aramco executive director of Refining and NGL Fractionation and chairman of Petrotech 2014, noted the company’s petrochemical ambitions are important to the Kingdom. “Citizenship is an important value at Saudi Aramco,” Bazuhair said in an interview. “The company exerts a lot of efforts to invigorate the Kingdom’s economy. In this conference, we sought to shed light on Saudi Aramco’s efforts in an area which is important to the Kingdom’s economy, i.e., petrochemicals, as we seek to attract establishments and companies engaged in areas of benefit to the company. … Our ultimate objective is to maximize synergies and integration so materials are used inside the Kingdom and exported as end-user products.

“Saudi Aramco has made a lot of investments in this area, such as Petro Rabigh, Sadara and SATORP. We are proud of what we have achieved. However, we do not believe that we have reached the end; rather, this is merely the beginning. We will continue on the road to increasing the welfare of Saudi citizens and creating more employment opportunities for them.”

After inaugurating Petrotech 2014, HH Sheikh Ali ibn Khalifah Al-Khalifah, Vice Prime Minister of Bahrain, listened with HE Sheikh Ahmad ibn Muhammad Al-Khalifah, Minister of Finance and Minister in Charge of Oil and Gas, and Khalid A. Al-Falih, Saudi Aramco president and CEO, to a number of presentations given by young employees at the company’s pavilion. Malik A. Zaineldain, representing Chemicals, gave a presentation on local and global business opportunities as well as the organization’s young talent. He noted that there are about 150 chemical and mechanical engineers in the company’s Chemicals organization, all of whom have been enrolled in professional development programs and working with local and international joint ventures.

Arwa Al-Harbi, a member of Saudi Aramco’s Young Leaders Advisory Board (YLAB), gave a general presentation on the company’s operations. She started with an overview of energy and economy in the Kingdom, then moved on to the oil and gas industry, highlighting the role of energy as the main driver behind all types of businesses, investment opportunities and the creation of abundant employment opportunities.

Sarah Abduljabbar, a chemical engineer, gave a presentation on Saudi Aramco’s drive into petrochemicals and the opportunities available to young people of both genders to be a part of petrochemical projects in several areas of the Kingdom.

Another presentation about the company’s chemical operations was given by Mohaned Al-Faisal, despite only 10 months with Saudi Aramco. A graduate who studied abroad in the U.K. with a major in safety engineering, Al-Faisal works in the NGL Fractionation Department at Jiddah Refinery.

Fatima Al-Mousa, of New Business Development, works for the Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) company. Although she is still enrolled in the Professional Development Program, she has major responsibilities as she works in the area of investing in emerging companies in energy and oil-related technologies. She gave an overview of such investments worldwide.

Khalid M. Al-Gimlas, of Chemical Operations Support and Coordination Department and also a YLAB member, gave a presentation on YLAB’s role.

Salem Al-Subaiey of the Chemical Projects Development Department gave a presentation on Saudi Aramco’s transition to the petrochemical industry until the phase of full integration is achieved in 2020. The success of this transition will rely on the most basic resource: the young people joining the company’s ranks. Al-Subaiey stressed that giving such a presentation at Petrotech 2014 was an affirmation that Saudi Aramco has already entered the world of petrochemicals.

Hytham Al-Saati of Ras Tanura Refinery’s Engineering Department gave a presentation titled “Development of Refining Technologies.”

An elite group of Saudi Aramco engineers and specialists contributed technical papers, sharing their successful experiences in an exchange of ideas and knowledge that aimed to benefit conference attendees. The papers received positive reactions. The contributing authors included Yasser Mowalad, Mamdouh Alderous, Mohammed Jalmood, John Haesle, Mohammad AlAbdullah, Suliman Albassam, Mohammad Mansour, Mathew Mickelson, Madhi Al-Anazi, Nimer Safi, Bruce Beadle, Mahmoud Ibrahim, Salman Al-Mishari and others.

Faisal Al-Faqeer, manager of the Ras Tanura Refinery’s Engineering Department and chairman of the conference’s technical committee, highlighted the importance of Saudi Aramco’s presence at Petrotech 2014, stressing that the company’s sponsorship and participation stems from a culture of supporting such conferences. More than 1,000 participants were present at the inauguration session, which, in itself, was a sign of the unique conference’s success.

Asked about the papers submitted to the conference, Al-Faqeer said: “The technical program is so rich in information. We selected working papers with utmost care, applying quality standards in terms of subject and presentation. The papers came from countries around the world and dealt with the subjects of refining, marketing, safety, modern technologies and petrochemicals.

“It is not easy to write a working paper for a scientific, engineering and technical conference like this one,” he said. “It takes a lot of effort and accumulated experience. This is why it is necessary for the committee to have members capable of evaluating papers from the scientific, technical and engineering points of view and ensuring they are up to the required level.”

Hamad Al-Mehthel, also a member of the technical committee and the official in charge of conference communications, noted the importance of the conference’s emphasis. “This is the only conference in the region that deals with the refining business with such a focus,” Al-Mehthel said. “We did something different during the current conference. We gathered a large number of participants from all fields to urge them to invest in the petrochemical industry. All the attendees, either industry experts or investment firms that will fund future projects, had authorities and decision-making capabilities.”

Earlier, as reported in the May 21 edition of The Arabian Sun, during the conference inauguration, Al-Falih had described the resources available to the refining and petrochemical industry in the Gulf Region as “historic opportunities.” The rest of the conference agenda offered ample evidence.