PESA’s Middle East Chapter hosted U.S. Commercial Service Officers for Oil & Gas 101 Training on March 5 at NOV’s office in Dubai. The delegation, composed of officers from U.S. Consulates and Embassies in the region, heard from technology specialists and operations experts.
U.S. Commercial Services assist American companies seeking to penetrate new markets with services like matchmaking and trend analysis. By hosting Commercial Officers annually, the Chapter can broaden industry knowledge and provide updates on latest industry technology. PESA has been hosting training in Houston for U.S. Departments of State and Commerce Officers for 27 years through its International Programs Committee. The most recent program trained 26 officers in February.
The attendees began the day-long training with a facility and rig tour by PESA Middle East Chapter Chair, Ed Whitnell, VP International Operations & Managing Director – MENA, NOV. During the rig tour, attendees visited a drilling rig assembly site where latest technologies are deployed to increase safety, reduce emissions and increase efficiencies.
PESA Middle East Chapter Chairman Emeritus, Dennis Jol, VP International Operations, DistributionNOW, led a session about the oil and gas industry’s supply chain. The industry’s supply chains are vital cogs in the ability to supply energy to the world. Understanding the systems that take oil and gas from the identification to the end user provides context to issues that can affect the various stages. Many of the Officers who attended the training are posted in countries where various stages of these supply chains take place.
In addition to supply chain, attendees also heard from experts about completions and the upstream sector of the industry. José Lourenço Magri, Completions Project Manager UAE, Schlumberger, focused on the former. For those outside of the industry, learning about well completions is crucial to understanding the role of the oilfield services sector and its technology. The significant increase in onshore oil and gas production within the United States over the past decade comes from advances such as hydraulic fracking, which opens shale and tight formations.
To conclude the training, PESA Middle East Chapter Health and Safety Committee Chair, Ronan Le Gloahec, President Oil & Gas Eastern Hemisphere, Weir Oil & Gas, focused on how oil and gas gets from “rig to the grid.”
If your company is interested in joining the PESA Middle East Chapter, please contact Director Government Affairs Maria Suarez.
