OREANDA-NEWS. June 14, 2013. More than 1,500 engineers and geoscientists attended the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) 2013 Technical Symposium at an al-Khobar area hotel.

Organized by SPE’s Saudi Arabia Section and sponsored by Saudi Aramco, more than 80 technical papers were presented. Upstream senior vice president Amin H. Nasser attended the event, which detailed the latest developments in the industry.

Petroleum Engineering and Development vice president and SPE section board chairman Khaled A. Al Buraik noted the impetus behind the symposium is to provide a platform for knowledge transfer and experience sharing between industry professionals and to promote the latest research and technology developments that address the industry’s future challenges.

The symposium saw heavy participation by Saudi Aramco professionals, across all upstream specialties and showcased the company’s leading roles in innovation and technology development in the industry.

“The oil and gas industry is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the strength of its human capital and financial resources to address future upstream challenges for a brighter tomorrow,” Al Buraik told symposium delegates.

Three distinguished keynote speakers addressed the delegates at the opening ceremony of the 2013 Annual Technical Symposium and Exhibition addressing issues of strategic importance to the industry.

Khalid Mugharbel, president of Schlumberger Middle East Area, emphasized the importance of developing and maintaining strong partnerships between operators and service providers to ensure development of technologies targeted at solving each operator’s unique challenges.

David Hobbs, research head at the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center, focused on the main levers behind the success of unconventional resource development globally and how such practices can be implemented in the Middle East.

And SPE International president Egbert Imomoh praised the impressive number of activities the SPE Saudi Arabia Section has conducted in promoting technical exchange and knowledge sharing in its membership and the wider community.

He also praised the section’s membership growing to become the second largest in the world, thanks to Saudi Aramco’s strong support to all of the section’s initiatives. He also highlighted the section’s efforts in bridging the knowledge gap between the industry’s young, energetic talent and its experienced professionals.

The ensuing three days of the symposium saw a heavy presence and participation from Saudi Aramco in all of the event’s 20 technical sessions addressing various upstream disciplines. The symposium also hosted a notable panel discussion composed of industry technology leaders. The panel was moderated by Waleed Mulhim, manager of Saudi Aramco’s Southern Area Reservoir Management Department, and included Samer AlAshgar, manager of EXPEC Advanced Research Center at Saudi Aramco; Rustom Mody, vice president of Technology at Baker Hughes; Dr. Greg Powers, vice president of Technology at Halliburton; and Tom Tilton, Weatherford’s vice president of Research and Engineering and CTO.