ADIPEC opens doors

More than 2000 exhibiting companies and over 60,000 oil and gas professionals from 127 countries are expected at this week’s Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), at Abu Dhabi's national exhibition center, ADNEC. 

The event, which opens tomorrow (November 10), is labelled as being situated at the crossroads of East meets West. It is also in a region where the upstream sector has been on a growth curve, including offshore. The Middle East is also thought to be more immune from the current drop in oil prices, backed by the region's strong cash reserves, making it an attractive venue for those offering their goods and services as other areas pull back of spending.

Read more: Middle East upstream resilient to oil price drop

Middle East gas and technology hungry

Inaugurated in 1984, the conference, now in its 17th edition, was re-launched last year as an annual event. Addressing the theme of ‘Challenges and Opportunities for the Next 30 Years’, this year’s exhibition and conference takes place from 10-13 November. 

Among those exhibiting are Hydratight, which recently signed a new agency agreement with distributor ADOS. The joint integrity specialist will have a dedicated display within the ADOS stand. 

Hydratight will be showcasing its Hot Bolting Services, which have been launched globally following a successful North Sea pressure test. Hydratight says the services will be of particular interest to offshore operators across the world with aging assets, including in the Middle East, which alone has about 500 platforms with an average age exceeding 28 years, according to Infield.

Hydratight is creating a custom pipeline which will form the centerpiece of its exhibit – in addition to a Hot Bolting clamp, the pipeline will comprise a range of operating products, advanced machining, hot tapping and flange facing services, including a 4in Morgrip Mechanical Weldless Connector.

Antony Crofts, Hydratight Regional Manager – Southern Middle East, said: “Rather than just display our products in isolation, we decided to do something a bit different. The pipeline will allow visitors to see how our products actually work together ‘in-situ’ to create a complete joint integrity solution.”

Stainless steel and special alloys producer and distributor Sandvik will be showing its products at ADIPEC. 

Haydn Eagle, Sandvik Regional Sales Manager EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) said: “For Sandvik, ADIPEC is of special importance providing us with the opportunity to demonstrate to visitors just how our innovative products, technical knowhow and extensive stock range can benefit their businesses and processes.

Examples of Sandvik’s extensive range of stainless steels and special alloy seamless tubes for hydraulic and instrumentation, heat exchanger, high temperature boiler and fertilizer plants will be on display. The company also supplies a comprehensive range of seamless pipe, welded pipe, butt weld fittings, flanges, screwed and socket weld fittings.

Smith Flow Control will showcasing new and existing products. The firm specializes in valve safety interlocks (valve control equipment) and valve management systems (EasiDrive, FlexiDrive and TorkDrive). 

The firm is launching SmartTrap at the show, a tool designed to ensure that vessel closure doors can only be opened when particular process conditions have been met. This could mean that the key for opening the door will only be released when the pressure inside the vessel is released and no dangerous gasses or residue are detected, for example.  This is achieved by permissive signaling, which can include (but is not limited to) pressure detection, gas detection, flow/level and pig detection. We are launching other new products at the show, including TorkDrive, a valve torque limiting device, and SmartKey+, a key management system which records the movement of keys in real-time using RFID technology.

Smith Flow Control says its sales to the Middle East have almost quadrupled in the last few years due to increasing demand for the firm’s valve safety and valve management products. 

Following last year’s ADIPEC, the firm set up distributor relationships for Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Egypt and Iran. 

Pressure management specialist Elfab has highlighted the Middle East as a key geographical growth area for its explosion protection products.

Following a successful ADIPEC event last year, Elfab has developed close links with local partners to enhance its sales into the Middle East. The appointment of a selection of strategic agents in one of the largest oil and gas producing regions worldwide has expanded Elfab’s global sales network, and supports the company’s overall growth strategy. 

The agents now working on behalf of Elfab include Al Shehab Electronics Co. in Iran, Bernat Trading Co. in Iraq, Inrep in Turkey, Safe Technical Supply LLC in the UAE, Stratus General Trading in Oman and Al-Fozan in Kuwait and Bahrain. 

Sales Engineer responsible for activity in the Middle East, Richard Moore, commented “The oil and gas sector in this region will be key for Elfab in the coming years. Its challenges will allow Elfab to show its adaptability through product innovation and our strong network of representatives offering local support will help to develop relationships with both existing and new customers in the region.”  

At ADIPEC this year, Elfab will be displaying its latest product developments, including the industry’s first Ex d-approved, non-invasive rupture disc burst detection system, Flo-Tel XD. 

Oilfield services company, Expro will showcase its pioneering well flow management solutions at ADIPEC. 

Product line experts will present the solutions with models and live demonstrations, including Expro’s PowerChokes, SafeWells well integrity software modeling and CaTS wireless communications technology. 

Hussein Elsisi, Business Development Manager for Middle East and North Africa at Expro, said: “There is more than meets the eye to Expro in the Middle East. We have a strong, established reputation in the region for our well testing and slickline services and are building our brand recognition for our innovative solutions including DST, production enhancement and drilling optimization.”

The company’s SafeWells well integrity data management solution was developed in collaboration with industry, to allow well integrity to be monitored in real time and provide a clear overview of asset integrity. A full demonstration will be available on the stand, highlighting how this is customized to operator requirements in alignment with company, legislation and industry best practice.

CaTS wireless technology is a revolutionary development in the field of reservoir monitoring and control. It can be retrofitted into existing wells and transmits high quality pressure and temperature data to surface in real time using the well’s casing as a conduit for the signal to transfer along.  

Expro’s Advanced Reservoir Testing (ART) will also be showcased and is a special application of CaTS that enables permanently abandoned E&A wells, zones or pilot holes to be cost effectively converted into long term, high value monitoring assets. The data provided by CaTS proves invaluable in reducing uncertainties in formation connectivity and identifying reservoir boundaries. 

Recently launched, the new Automatic Back Pressure (ABP) System from Expro PowerChokes allows the operator to accurately set the back pressure to maintain a constant wellbore pressure. PowerChokes is the industry leader for reliable severe service choke applications, with more than 800 PowerChokes utilized in drilling both offshore and onshore. 

In addition to product demonstrations, Expro will also feature some of its most recent market-leading products, including its ActiveSONAR meter and DST/TCP products such as the BigCat Packer and ExACT (Expro Annulus-Operated Circulating and Test) tool.

Elsisi continued: “We have a proactive team in the region and delegates visiting the Expro stand at ADIPEC will see that we continue to represent excellence in innovation and operations. 

“We are committed to supporting oil and gas operators to meet ever-increasing standards for service quality and reliability, which will help us to maintain our market prominence within the region.”

Situated at the crossroads of East meets West, ADIPEC is the oil industry’s new meeting point, bringing together key sellers and buyers from 98 countries, operating in the Middle East, Africa and Asian Sub-Continent.

Intertek recently invested in a new £1.8 million Technology Centre in Abu Dhabi, supporting new exploration and existing operational activity.

The company is experiencing a growing demand for services in the Middle East to address critical oil and gas industry issues. Challenges arising from mature fields and unconventional reserves require new technology for reservoir and production optimization to maximize recovery and minimize operational costs.   

The Abu Dhabi Technology Centre is currently fully equipped to provide reservoir characterization services, including routine and special core analysis. In the near future, the capabilities will be expanded to include services in pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) and fluid phase behavior, flow assurance, corrosion and production chemistry.  These services are designed to maximize the oil and gas recovery from the reservoir and minimize risks during production operations.

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