HE Sheikh Abdullah addressing the opening session of the ninth International Petroleum Technology Conference yesterday.

HE the Prime Minister  Sheikh Abdullah calls for a continuous dialogue between energy producers and consumers to ensure sustainable development across the globe

By Pratap John
Chief Business Reporter


Stability in the global oil market was Qatar’s objective, said HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani.
At the opening ceremony of the ninth International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) yesterday, Sheikh Abdullah said: “Qatar is still on track to optimise its natural resources to meet global demand despite the new price structure in the energy markets. Volatility that is not based on supply and demand will not be in the interests of producers or consumers in the longer term.”
He said the large decline in oil price might be of interest to the consumers but it would have a significant impact on the industry in that it would reduce the huge investments in oil, gas and petrochemical sectors. This will hamper the interests of the energy industry. Additionally, it will have “direct negative effects” on the producing countries.
He called for a continuous dialogue between energy producers and consumers to ensure sustainable development across the globe, improve the living standards of people and to ensure continued huge investments in the industry.
Sheikh Abdullah noted that the conference coincided with the Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris and emphasised that research and development in the energy industry would go a long way in finding lasting solutions to climate change and mitigate harmful emissions around the world.  
HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada praised the theme of this year’s IPTC, adding that it was on the top priority list of any nation striving to achieve progress.
“The world today needs to maximise the utilisation of modern and new technologies to reduce capital and operational expenditure”.
He added that the $1bn Jetty Boil-Off Gas Project (JBOG) would recover more than 90% of the gas flared at LNG loading jetties at the Ras Laffan Port.
The “biggest project of its kind and one of the largest environmental investments” in the world, the JBOG Project represents “significant milestone” in Qatar’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions from its LNG industry.
The JBOG Project is part of the Common Facilities Projects at RLIC and it is led and operated by Qatargas on behalf of Qatar Petroleum and RasGas Company Limited (RasGas).  It is an environmental project to recover the gas flared during Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) loading at the six LNG berths in Ras Laffan Port.
Qatar Petroleum president and CEO Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, who is also the conference co-chair, said: “The petroleum industry has and will always be an international industry that affects and is affected by all economic and political turmoil. It requires a massive and continuous investment and continuous advancement in technology. Our projects always need longer time to starts showing a real return in investment.”
He also called upon industry leaders to convert current challenges facing the industry into opportunities for the future development of the industry.
Shell Upstream International Director Andy Brown touched upon his personal experience working in Qatar and said: “My own experience here in Qatar when delivering Pearl GTL was a great testament to the principles of technology and partnership.”
The conference is the largest multi-society, multi-disciplinary oil and gas event in the Eastern hemisphere – and draws more than 5,000 oil and gas professionals from all over the world.
Taking place until December 9 at the Qatar National Convention Centre, the ninth IPTC, whose theme is “Technology and partnerships for a sustainable energy future”, is hosted by Qatar Petroleum and co-hosted by Shell.
The key event has the patronage of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Business Pages 1, 19, 20