Oil & Gas Leaders Magazine: Sustainability Through Innovation in UAE's Oil and Gas Industry

OIL & GAS LEADERS
Chemical | Drilling | Exploration | Finance | Offshore-Onshore | Petroleum | Storage | Refinery | Up-Mid-Downstream
Sustainability
Through
Innovation
in UAE’s Oil
and Gas Industry
His Excellency
Saif Humaid Al Falasi
Group CEO, ENOC
Special Features:
Hilti: Moving Away From
A Price-Driven Battle
How McDermott’s Head of
Engineering Inspires Young Female
Engineers To Lead and Succeed
Catch Up On The Latest News:
ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics
Report Breakthrough in Algae Biofuel
Research
India Asks Qatar To Invest in Power
Plants as Condition For LNG Deals
Qatar Petroleum Announces New
Fuel-Oil Bunkering Solutions in Qatar
JULY 2017
ISSUE NO. 004

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Senior Editor
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Guest Editor
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Guest Editor
North America
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Behind every powerful industry are people who make the most
incredible things happen. In the oil and gas sector, different
companies with different sets of leaders, researchers, staff and
engineers are finding the best possible way to progress with
sustainability in mind.
In this month’s cover story, learn more about how the Emirates
National Oil Company (ENOC) became one of the largest oil and
gas players in the UAE. With a vision to be an innovative energy
partner with a foundation on sustainability, ENOC succeeded in
its ambitious plan to start dominating in the market. Now, in this
exclusive interview with ENOC Group’s CEO, His Excellency
Saif Humaid Al Falasi, learn more about the company’s history,
ambitions and its current performance as he shares the
company’s operations in the Middle East, its recent product
innovations, engineering and technology to meet the demands
in line with projections for EXPO 2020.
EDITOR’S
NOTE
We are also featuring a special interview with Mamina Radu-
Bogdan, Head of Energy and Industry META at Hilti Middle
East. He discusses the importance of Energy and Industry (E&I),
the department’s strategic positioning with the integration of
Champion 2020 as well as their improved business strategy and
changes within the industry based on new market trends.
Lastly, read our exclusive story on how McDermott’s Head
of Engineering inspires young female engineers to lead and
succeed in a male-dominated industry. Being the first female
production engineer when she entered McDermott, Elviana
Sari (Vivi) did not only encounter challenges at work as an
engineer, she also had to deal with how being a woman affects
her relationship with her co-workers. Learn more about Vivi’s
humble beginnings as a student who aspired to be an engineer
and find out how being a female engineer didn’t stop her from
climbing up the career ladder despite the several pressures and
problems she encountered along the way. She also shares the
common misconceptions she had to deal with at work and her
advice to female engineering students who want to pursue a
career in the industry.
So, get excited for this month’s amazing news and stories in the
oil and gas industry! Sit back and learn something new today.
Keep up with the latest trends on the Oil and Gas Industry with
GineersNow: Oil and Gas Leaders.
Engr. Alice Hernandez
Senior Editor-at-Large

Contents
Over 1,100 Kilometers of Power of Siberia
Gas Pipeline To Be Completed By Late 2017
Japanese Dryland Researchers
Visit Saudi Aramco
Iran Still World’s Largest Natural Gas Player 12
ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics Report
Breakthrough in Algae Biofuel Research
Rosneft Discovers Hydrocarbon Deposits
on Eastern Arctic Shelf
Saudi Aramco and Jacobs Create Joint
Venture for Social Infrastructure Program
Management Throughout Saudi Arabia and
Across Region
Moving Away From A Price Driven Battle. 18
ADNOC Opens North Depot Fuelling Facility
at Abu Dhabi International Airport
Qatar’s Emir Meets Exxon Mobil Corp CEO 25
KBR Awarded FEED For Oman LNG 25
9
10
14
16
17
22
Sustainability Through Innovation - How
ENOC Became One of the Largest Oil and
Gas Players in the UAE
Hedge Funds Hold Near-Record Short
Positions in Petroleum
Qatar Petroleum Announces New Fuel-Oil
Bunkering Solutions in Qatar
China’s 2017 Crude Oil Quotas Exceed Last
Year’s, Teapots Take A Cut
India Asks Qatar to Invest in Power Plants
as Condition for LNG Deals
“Plant 4.0” Start-Up Incubator: a 2nd
Edition on IoT With Five New Partners
NIOC Includes 4 More Russian Oil
Companies, Azeri Socar Prequalified
for Iran Projects
UAE’s ENOC Group and US’s Chevron
Explore Long-Term Strategic
Collaboration in Oil & Gas
How McDermott’s Head of Engineering
Inspires Young Female Engineers To Lead
and Succeed
26
32
34
35
37
38
40
42
44

Over 1,100 Kilometers of Power of Siberia
Gas Pipeline To Be Completed By Late 2017
The Gazprom in Eastern Russia, Entry into Asia-
Pacific Markets Press Conference was held in
Moscow in the lead-up to the annual General
Shareholders Meeting. The Press Conference
featured Vitaly Markelov and Alexander
Medvedev, Deputy Chairmen of the Management
Committee, Vyacheslav Mikhalenko and
Sergey Prozorov, Members of the Management
Committee and Heads of Departments, Pavel
Oderov, Head of Department, Alexander Kalinkin
and Vasily Petlichenko, Deputy Heads of
Departments, and Elena Burmistrova, Director
General of Gazprom Export.
It was noted that Gazprom continued its active
efforts within the projects under the Eastern Gas
Program.
Particular attention at the Press Conference
was paid to Russian gas supplies to China via
the eastern route. The construction project for
the Power of Siberia gas trunkline is ahead of
schedule. By 2017, 445 kilometers of its linear
part were built. As of early June 2017, some
774 kilometers were ready. Before the end of
the year, it is planned to complete over 1,100
kilometers of the pipeline, which translates into
about a half of Power of Siberia’s priority section
stretching from the Chayandinskoye field in
Yakutia to the Russian-Chinese border.
In accordance with the contract signed between
Gazprom and CNPC, gas supplies to China via
the eastern route will start in the period from
May 2019 through May 2021. In May 2017, the
parties began to negotiate the exact starting
dates for the said gas deliveries.
Discussions continue over gas to be supplied to
China via the western route and from Russia’s
Far East.
It was also noted that the Asia-Pacific region
was a traditional LNG market for Gazprom.
Between 2005 and 2016, over 75 per cent of the
Group’s LNG was shipped to the region. In 2016,
the Company supplied 2.8 million tons of LNG to
Asia-Pacific.
One of Gazprom’s top priorities is to ramp up
gas sales in Asia-Pacific with the help of a third
train of the LNG plant within the Sakhalin II
project. It is planned to build a new production
train similar to the two existing trains, with an
annual capacity of up to 5.4 million tons of LNG.
Design documentation for the construction
project is being finalized as part of FEED.
The Press Conference also touched upon other
issues related to Gazprom’s eastern projects.
Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017
9

Japanese Dryland Researchers
Visit Saudi Aramco
As part of Saudi Aramco’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), Aramco Asia-
Japan (AAJ) has partnered with Japan’s Arid Land Research Center (ALRC), Tottori
University to support their dryland research efforts.
ALRC is the only institute in Japan specializing in dryland-related research, with
some of their works receiving recognition globally. Through AAJ, the center has
established contact with the Environment Protection Department (EPD) at Saudi
Aramco — a unit that has a long and established track record in the areas of
effective management of sand and desert animals in the Kingdom.
Seeing is believing
A three-day program to Saudi Arabia,
organized by EPD, began with the hosts
presenting their biodiversity protection and
enhancement program while Yamanaka
Norikazu, head of ALRC, described his project
on afforestation along the roads in China,
a subject of much interest for EPD as the
Kingdom is facing similar challenges.
The EPD team headed by terrestrial ecologist
Chris Boland organized field trips for the
visiting Japanese delegation with the first trip
to the recently inaugurated Shaybah Wildlife
Sanctuary. Three endangered species —
Arabian oryx, Arabian sand gazelles, and
ostriches — have been reintroduced at the
sanctuary to help restore these animals
within the Kingdom. “As an oil and gas
company, Saudi Aramco’s commitment to the
environment is truly impressive,” Yamanaka
said.
EPD also took the Japanese visitors to
the mountainous area of Abha to observe
traditional wheat production. Tsujimoto Hisashi
of ALRC, a specialist in wheat production,
had opportunities to interview local farmers
and examined the local species. “I had been
interested in how the Middle East origin
crops had propagated to East Africa. Our
visit this time to the traditional cereal culture
in Abha was out of the cultivation season,
but I managed to find oats, bread wheat, and
macaroni wheat — many of which the genetic
types seem indigenous,” said Tsujimoto.
“I should be able to collect further information
by revisiting the area during the high season.
I hope to build more knowledge on the
Kingdom’s agricultural policy to search for
common ground that would lead us to some
joint research in future.”
For ALRC, in spite of numerous studies
overseas using their well-established network,
Saudi Arabia was one place left unexplored
until now, making this visit extremely special.
“Seeing the red sand dunes of Shaybah, the
vegetated valleys of the Asir Mountains, and
the salty sabkhas was a dream come true …
10 Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017

the plant species that exist in each location
differed greatly. But there were also some
familiar plants that I had seen before in the
deserts of Asia, so I felt the connection between
the Kingdom and East Asia through our deserts,”
Yamanaka said.
“Combatting desertification is one of the
greatest challenges facing people and
companies in arid regions of the world. It is
a global issue and requires a global effort to
address it, so it is very valuable to learn from
the experiences of the ALRC, which has been
studying desertification for decades across Asia
and Africa,” said Chris Boland.
Sharing knowledge for tomorrow
Both ALRC and Saudi Aramco EPD hope to
maintain this newly fostered relationship. 
“I was pleased to hear that Saudi Aramco is
thinking of critical issues such as greening
along roads, and that idea is to plant local
plant species, which is the modern global trend
in restoring the natural environment,” said
Tsujimoto.
“At ALRC, we have solid experience in data
collection using drones, monitoring the activities
of large animals, and using plants to manage
moving desert sands. Some of these methods
could be applied on a large-scale at particular
Saudi Aramco projects to assist monitoring and
management of the ecosystem,” Yamanaka said
after his return to Japan.
“I am delighted and thrilled to see this bond
between ALRC and AAJ, initiated in Japan,
is now taking some potential shape and
connecting its scope with the Kingdom. I am
looking forward to seeing some form of a joint
research materialized in the future by those
professionals from both ends of Asia,” said AAJ
representative director Anwar Hejazi.

Iran Still World’s
Largest Natural
Gas Player
A new report shows Iran still has the world’s largest
reserves of natural gas and is closely followed by
market rivals Russia and then Qatar.
The global energy giant British Petroleum (BP) in its
annual report on world energy reserves put Iran’s
natural gas reserves at 33.5 trillion cubic meters
(tcm).
The figure was obtained as a result of estimates
obtained at the end of 2016 and BP said in its report
– named “Statistical Review of World Energy 2017”
– that Iran’s reserves had remained unchanged from
last year.
BP further put the reserves of Russia – Iran’s closest
rival in terms of gas reserves - at 32.3 tcm.
The world’s third largest reserves at 24.3 tcm belong
to Qatar with which Iran’s shares its huge South Pars
gas field.
Iran’s gas reserves account for 18 percent of world’s
total. The reserves of Russia and Qatar account
for 17.3 percent and 13 percent of the global total,
respectively.
In terms of production, the United States maintained
its market supremacy in 2016 by producing around
750 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas.
Russia came next with about 580 bcm and was
followed by Iran at 202.4 bcm.
The next biggest producers were Qatar (181.2 bcm),
Canada (152 bcm), China (139 bcm), Norway (116
bcm) and Saudi Arabia (109 bcm).
According to the BP report, Iran also has the world’s
fourth largest reserves of crude oil at 158.4 billion
barrels (bbl).
At the top of the list stands Venezuela with 300 bbl
and is followed by Saudi Arabia (266.5 bbl) and
Canada (171.5 bbl).
Iran is followed by Iraq (153 bbl), Russia (109 bbl),
and Kuwait (101.5 bbl) in the league of countries
with triple digit oil reserves.
12 Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017

w w w . r e c a p e t r o l e u m . c o m

ExxonMobil and Synthetic
Genomics Report Breakthrough
in Algae Biofuel Research
ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics Inc. today
announced a breakthrough in joint research into
advanced biofuels involving the modification of an
algae strain that more than doubled its oil content
without significantly inhibiting the strain’s growth.
Using advanced cell engineering technologies at
Synthetic Genomics, the ExxonMobil-Synthetic
Genomics research team modified an algae
strain to enhance the algae’s oil content from
20 percent to more than 40 percent. Results
of the research were published today in the
peer-reviewed journal Nature Biotechnology by
lead authors Imad Ajjawi and Eric Moellering of
Synthetic Genomics.
Researchers at Synthetic Genomics’ laboratory
in La Jolla discovered a new process for
increasing oil production by identifying a genetic
switch that could be fine-tuned to regulate the
conversion of carbon to oil in the algae species,
Nannochloropsis gaditana. The team established
a proof-of-concept approach that resulted in the
algae doubling its lipid fraction of cellular carbon
compared to the parent – while sustaining growth.
“This key milestone in our advanced biofuels
program confirms our belief that algae can be
incredibly productive as a renewable energy
source with a corresponding positive contribution
to our environment,” said Vijay Swarup, vice
president for research and development at
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company.
“Our work with Synthetic Genomics continues to
be an important part of our broader research into
lower-emission technologies to reduce the risk of
climate change.”
“The major inputs for phototropic algae
production are sunlight and carbon dioxide, two
resources that are abundant, sustainable and
free,” said Oliver Fetzer, Ph.D., chief executive
officer at Synthetic Genomics. “Discoveries
made through our partnership with ExxonMobil
demonstrate how advanced cell engineering
capabilities at Synthetic Genomics can unlock
biology to optimize how we use these resources
and create solutions for many of today’s
sustainability challenges – from renewable energy
to nutrition and human health.”
Algae has been regarded as a potential
sustainable fuel option, but researchers have
been hindered for the past decade in developing
a strain that is high in oil content and grows
quickly – two critical characteristics for scalable
and cost-efficient oil production. Slower growth
has been an adverse effect of previous attempts
to increase algae oil production volume.
A key objective of the ExxonMobil-Synthetic
Genomics collaboration has been to increase the
lipid content of algae while decreasing the starch
and protein components without inhibiting the
algae’s growth. Limiting availability of nutrients
such as nitrogen is one way to increase oil
production in algae, but it can also dramatically
inhibit or even stop photosynthesis, stunting
algae growth and ultimately the volume of oil
produced.
The ability to sustain growth while increasing oil
content is an important advance. Algae has other
14 Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017

advantages over traditional biofuels because
it can grow in salt water and thrive in harsh
environmental conditions, therefore limiting stress
on food and fresh water supplies.
Oil from algae can also potentially be processed
in conventional refineries, producing fuels no
different from convenient, energy-dense diesel.
Oil produced from algae also holds promise as a
potential feedstock for chemical manufacturing.
“The SGI-ExxonMobil science teams have made
significant advances over the last several years in
efforts to optimize lipid production in algae. This
important publication today is evidence of this
work, and we remain convinced that synthetic
biology holds crucial answers to unlocking the
potential of algae as a renewable energy source,”
said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Synthetic Genomics
co-founder and chairman. “We look forward
to continued work with ExxonMobil so that
eventually we will indeed have a viable alternative
energy source.”
Since 2009, ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics
have been partners in researching and developing
oil from algae to be used as a renewable, loweremission
alternative to traditional transportation
fuels. Swarup said that while the breakthrough
is an important step, the technology is still many
years from potentially reaching the commercial
market.
“Advancements as potentially important as this
require significant time and effort, as is the case
with any research and development project,”
Swarup said. “Each phase of our algae research,
or any other similar project in the area of
advanced biofuels, requires testing and analysis
to confirm that we’re proceeding down a path
toward scale and commercial viability.”
ExxonMobil is engaged in a wide range of
research on advanced biofuels, partnering with
universities, government laboratories, and other
companies. Global demand for transportationrelated
energy is projected to increase by about
25 percent through 2040, and accelerating the
reduction in emissions from the transportation
sector will play a critical role in reducing global
greenhouse gas emissions.
ExxonMobil is also actively researching other
emission-reducing technologies, including carbon
capture and sequestration. In 2016, ExxonMobil
announced its partnership with Connecticutbased
FuelCell Energy, Inc. to advance the use
of carbonate fuel cells to economically capture
carbon emissions from power plants while
generating hydrogen and additional electricity.
Since 2000, ExxonMobil has spent about $8
billion to develop and deploy lower-emission
energy solutions across its operations.

Rosneft Discovers Hydrocarbon
Deposits on Eastern Arctic Shelf
Rosneft is performing the drilling of the
northernmost exploratory well on the Eastern
Arctic shelf following a comprehensive geological
study. During the drilling of the Tsentralno-
Olginskaya-1 well from the shore of the Khara-
Tumus Peninsula on the shelf of the Khatanga
Bay of the Laptev Sea, three core samples were
taken from depths of 2305 to 2363 m, which
showed high oil saturation dominated with light
oily fractions. On the basis of primary studies
already, it can be concluded that a new oil field
has been discovered, the volume of the resource
potential of which is increasing as the drilling
continues. Core sampling continues at the
moment.
Hydrocarbon saturation of the core samples
proves the geological model developed by
Rosneft experts. The obtained result of the drilling
at the Khatanga licenced area allows Rosneft to
be considered a pioneer of deposit discoveries on
the Eastern Arctic shelf.
Russian president Vladimir Putin’s command
Rosneft embarked on drilling of the Tsentralno-
Olginskaya-1 well. The significance of Rosneft
project was emphasised by the Russian president
during a video conference on the drilling start.
“In fact, work on the whole petroleum province
has been started, which, even according to
preliminary data, contains millions of tons of
oil equivalent. Horizontal drilling is a complex
and high-tech operation. This is just the first
well. There is much more work ahead. I would
like to wish you good luck and I hope for this
undertaking’s success” - the President of Russia
said.
In April Rosneft Head reported to Vladimir
Putin that the preparation for drilling had been
completed in record-breaking time. “With your
support, we gained the right to work on the
Khatanga block just over a year ago.”
The Company was awarded the licence for
Khatanga development in November 2015.
Gathering and set-up of drilling equipment were
carried out in the shortest time possible owing
to harsh weather conditions. On April 3, at the

Saudi Aramco and Jacobs Create Joint
Venture for Social Infrastructure Program
Management Throughout Saudi Arabia and
Across Region
Saudi Aramco entered into an agreement with
Jacobs (NYSE:JEC) to form a Saudi Arabiabased
joint venture company to provide
professional program and construction
management (PMCM) services for social
infrastructure projects throughout the Kingdom
and across the Middle East and North Africa.
Jacobs’ presence in Saudi Arabia spans more
than 40 years.
“Our joint venture exemplifies the power of
bringing together Saudi Aramco and Jacobs
as an effective economic catalyst to support
the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. The new company
combines Jacobs’ industry-leading capabilities
and our joint project delivery skills to help
transform social infrastructure in this rapidly
changing region.”
Jacobs Chairman and CEO Steve Demetriou
said, “Our joint venture exemplifies the power
of bringing together Saudi Aramco and Jacobs
as an effective economic catalyst to support
the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. The new company
combines Jacobs’ industry-leading capabilities
and our joint project delivery skills to help
transform social infrastructure in this rapidly
changing region.”
The new company’s services will include a
full-spectrum of professional PMCM activities,
with expertise in supporting all phases of
the project lifecycle for social infrastructure
projects. The company will advance training
and help create quality jobs for Saudi nationals
through the development of a sustainable and
competitive program.

MOVING AWAY FROM A PRICE
DRIVEN BATTLE
Hilti is a global leader in providing cutting-edge
products, systems and services to professionals in
the construction and energy sectors. From design
to demolition, Hilti supports customers with expert
technical advice, reliable products, prompt delivery
and outstanding service. The product range
covers drilling and demolition, direct fastening,
diamond and anchoring systems, firestop and
foam systems, installation, measuring and screw
fastening systems, as well as cutting and sanding
systems. As a result of this, Hilti’s portfolio helps
construction professionals through every step of
the construction journey. A direct-selling company,
Hilti generates over 200,000 customer interactions
per day, providing it with superior insight into
company and market demands. Hilti Emirates LLC
and Hilti Middle East FZE have been operating
in the UAE since 1991. Today, Hilti Emirates has
more than 200 employees, its own warehousing
facility and a state-of-the-art repair center.
Thomas Stumpp is Head of Market Region Middle
East Turkey & Africa; while Mutaz Almaani is Head
of Sub Region Gulf.
For more information, please call Hilti Emirates at
800-Hilti (44584) or visit www.hilti.ae.
Hilti Middle East’s Energy and Industry
department shifts from project focused scope
to becoming a relevant integrated business
partner.
18 Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017

and elevators based on 3 pillars: Segment
Management, Account Development and
Professional Project Management. This setup
allowed the department to understand, build
and communicate specific value propositions.
The Segment Managers are responsible for
strategic steering, product development to close
application gaps and building a strong value
proposition. META Business Developers in E&I
are representing the interface for global accounts
at local levels. They are liasing with accounts they
handle (through their needs, visions and strategy),
and cooperating with the local Hilti project support.
What does your business model focus on?
A professional approach to key stakeholders,
including owners and customers through a tailormade
value proposition in perfect synergy and
approach towards headquarter offices and project
sites.
Mamina Radu-Bogdan
Head of Energy and Industry
META at Hilti Middle East
Mamina Radu-Bogdan, Head of Energy and
Industry META at Hilti Middle East; discusses
the importance of Energy and Industry (E&I),
the department’s strategic positioning with the
integration of Champion 2020 (aims to achieve
sustainable value creation through leadership
and differentiation. Market leadership through
added value for our customers offers products,
services and software that provide superior
productivity and safety to our customers and
differentiate from the offering of our competitors),
as well as their improved business strategy
and changes within the industry based on new
market trends.
When was the META department established?
What was the department’s focus?
The E&I META department was established
in January 2016 - an energy and industry
regional structure with focus on power, oil
and gas, decommissioning, industry, facade,
Few years ago, the E&I segment was strongly
dominated by mega projects with extensive
budgets; where the cost of building was less
important given the potential output of the facility
where each oil barrel was 100 US Dollars.
When did you feel there was a need for change
in your strategy?
Hilti’s innovation was a great fit in this kind of
environment and Hilti X-BT Grating Fastening
solution soon became a standard of building for
many important players. While Hilti was widely
recognized as the problem solver especially in
grating applications in offshore environment, we
understood that we were heavily depending on
our “one trick pony show”, thus being vulnerable.
We needed to make the change towards a more
sustainable model.
How did you adjust your approach to fit the
economical change that heavily affected the
E&I sector?
The 100 US Dollars price per oil barrel will not
come back again. Instead, adjusting ourselves to
fit these economical changes is critical - a modest
approach is visible already today in the energy
sector amongst developers and investors. We

should engage stronger with key players and
increase our relevance. We have to move away
from a price-driven battle and instead leverage
a service driven value proposition built around
engineering.
With inevitable competition, how does E&I
standout?
It is our duty to learn from what the market is
telling us and adapt our model to win. We need
to see the change, move with it and finish the
learning curve, even if that means reinventing
ourselves against what made us successful till
now.
In order to outplay competition, E&I thought
of ISB (Integrated System Business) - build a
customized value proposition on engineering,
logistic services, special product solutions, site
support and price agreements to go hand in hand
with the customer’s specific requirements. Part of
the execution is also the Total Solution Warehouse
where the E&I META team is able to provide
logistic related services such as cut to length,
kitting, packing, shipping and full size mock ups for
required approvals.
Today, ISB (Integrated System Business) is a
unique step change. A great advantage in the way
Hilti does business globally and provides access to
all levels of stakeholders in owners structures and
high level decision makers in our focus accounts.
How do would you react to change in
developing the company’s value proposition?
20 Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017

ADNOC Opens North Depot Fuelling
Facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), with
its subsidiary company ADNOC Distribution,
hosted an official opening ceremony for its new
state of the art ‘North Depot’ aviation fuel facility
at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
The ceremony was overseen by Abdulla Salem Al
Dhaheri, Director of Marketing, Sales and Trading
for ADNOC, and Saeed Mubarak Al Rashdi, Acting
Chief Executive Officer of ADNOC Distribution.
It was attended by senior ADNOC and ADNOC
Distribution executives and key stakeholders,
including Abdul Majeed Al Khoori, Acting Chief
Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Airport.
Abdulla Salem Al Dhaheri, Director of Marketing,
Sales and Trading for ADNOC, said: “The opening
of the North Depot at Abu Dhabi International
Airport’s new Midfield Terminal represents the
latest stage in our growth and expansion strategy
to meet the needs of aviation customers. Through
ADNOC Group, we now refuel as many as 34
aircraft per hour at 26 fuel depots across the UAE.
More than 200 customers in the civil and military
sectors rely on our high standard products and
services, distributed through state-of-the-art
fuelling facilities, and with health, safety, and the
environment (HSE) at the core of all operations.”
Some Dh750 million (over $200 million USD) was
invested in the fuel depot at the new Midfield
terminal to meet an anticipated significant
increase in demand for aviation fuel from Etihad
Airways and its associated airlines. With a fuel
storage capacity of 96 million litres - comparable
to the amount of water needed to fill 38 Olympic
22 Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017

size swimming pools - the North Depot will
be the airport’s exclusive provider of Jet A1, a
fuel manufactured to meet the most stringent
standards and specifications as recognised by
its international validation.
“ADNOC’s sophisticated systems and
operational processes are internationally
recognised as delivering increased reliability,
elimination of delays, lower rates of accidents
and incidents, and reduced overall costs. Our
equipment and facilities compete with the very
best available among the world’s aviation fuel
providers”, added Al Dhaheri.
Abdul Majeed Al Khoori, Abu Dhabi Airports
Acting Chief Executive Officer, commented
“We are delighted that ADNOC has opened this
new facility, which is another milestone towards
the completion of the iconic Midfield Terminal
Complex. Working in close cooperation with key
stakeholders, such as ADNOC, will enable us
to deliver one of the best airport terminals ever
seen, moving Abu Dhabi Airports closer towards
its vision of being the world’s leading airports
group.”
The North Depot will provide up to 6.5 million
litres of fuel per hour through a battery of 24
pumps controlled by a Basic Process Control
System with sophisticated gauging mechanisms
to monitor the level of fuel in the depot’s tanks:
the facility will be capable of fuelling more
than 100 aircraft simultaneously as a result. To
ensure the highest safety levels, the depot is
equipped with advanced fire detection and fire
suppression/firefighting systems. Continuity of
service is ensured by a full generator backup
facility to power the depot and its pumps in the
event of a cut in electric power from the public
grid.
A key element in the realisation of Abu Dhabi
Vision 2030, Abu Dhabi International Airport’s
new Midfield Terminal, which will be served by
the North Depot, has the capacity to handle
more than 30 million passengers annually after it
becomes fully operational.
Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017
23

Qatar’s Emir Meets Exxon Mobil Corp CEO
The emir of Qatar met with Exxon Mobil Corp chairman
and CEO Darren Woods in Doha on Saturday for talks
on “cooperation,” state news agency QNA reported,
following a rift between four Gulf states and Qatar that
has raised worries about energy supplies.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and
Egypt on Monday cut ties with Qatar, accusing the
country of supporting extremism. Qatar denies the
allegations.
QNA said the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-
Thani, met with Woods and ExxonMobil Qatar General
Manager Alistair Routledge at the Al-Bahar Palace.
“During the meeting, they discussed bilateral cooperation relations and means to develop them in
addition to the latest developments in the energy sector,” the agency said.
Qatar and Exxon have had development agreements for more than a decade, with Exxon helping
Qatar to become the world’s largest LNG exporter. Exxon, working with government-controlled
energy company Qatar Petroleum , has invested in LNG-processing plants, transport ships and
related infrastructure.
Exxon said earlier this month that production and exports of liquefied natural gas from Qatar have
not been affected by the row.
The growing diplomatic dispute has raised concerns about global access to Qatar’s LNG,
especially after some regional ports in the Gulf said they would not accept Qatari-flagged vessels.
KBR Awarded FEED For Oman LNG
KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) announced that it has
been awarded a Front-End Engineering Design
(FEED) and project management services contract
for Oman Liquefied Natural Gas LLC (Oman LNG)
in Qalhat, Oman. Oman LNG operates three
liquefaction trains with a total nameplate capacity
of 10.4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).
KBR is a recognized leader in LNG with over
40 years of continuous experience and depth
of capability, know-how and engineering talent
that is unmatched in the industry. This project
represents KBR’s reentry into the Oman market
and supports our strategic focus on gas
monetization in the Middle East region.
“This contract confirms KBR’s strong reputation
as one of the world’s preeminent leaders in
LNG facilities and demonstrates the trust that
Oman LNG has placed in KBR following the
successful development of the original Front-End
Engineering Design (FEED) of this world-class
LNG facility,” said Jay Ibrahim, KBR President:
Europe, Middle East & Africa. “We are committed
to expanding our footprint in the Middle East and
are delighted at this opportunity to reestablish
KBR in Oman and contribute to Oman’s In-
Country Value (ICV) initiatives.”
Revenue associated with this contract was
undisclosed and will be booked into backlog
of unfilled orders for KBR’s Engineering &
Construction business segment in the second
quarter of 2017.
Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017
25

Sustainability Through Innovation:
How ENOC Became One
of the Largest Oil and Gas
Players in the UAE
With a vision to be an innovative energy
partner with a foundation on sustainability,
the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC
Group) succeeded in its ambitious plan to
start dominating in the oil and gas industry
and play an integral role in empowering the
UAE’s social and economic development.
Now, ENOC is working on achieving
its aggressive growth plan to meet the
demands in line with projections for
EXPO 2020 and become the leader in the
domestic market.
In this exclusive interview with ENOC
Group’s CEO, His Excellency Saif
Humaid Al Falasi, learn more about
the company’s history, ambitions and
its current performance as he shares
ENOC’s operations in the Middle East, its
recent product innovations, engineering,
technology or standards and the future
goals of the company.
Describe ENOC’s operations in the
Middle East.
ENOC is a leading integrated international
oil and gas player operating across the
energy value chain, with operations ranging
from upstream to downstream. As a whollyowned
entity of the Government of Dubai,
and integral to the Emirate’s success,
ENOC owns and operates assets in the
fields of exploration & production, supply
& operations, terminals, fuel retail, aviation
fuel and petroleum products for commercial
& industrial use.
Servicing thousands of customers in over
60 markets, the Group employs a workforce
of over 9,000 employees and is deploying
its world-class customer service, latest
innovations and technologies and best
practices to empower the UAE’s social and
economic development.
Broadly speaking however, ENOC operates
across two major business streams: Energy
business and General business
Energy Business:
• Supply, Trading and Processing - ENOC
owns, operates and manages a
refinery, an MTBE Plant and also trades in
a diversified portfolio of products
including petroleum, as well as soft
commodities. STP operates in the UAE,
Singapore and London.
• Terminals - ENOC manages and
operates Horizon Terminals - 11 terminals
in Morocco, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, South Korea and
Singapore
• Exploration and Production – this arm
of ENOC mainly has Dragon Oil which has
exploration assets in Turkmenistan, Iraq,
Algeria, Tunisia, Afghanistan and Egypt.
• Fuel retail - ENOC manages and
operates 116 service stations in United
Arab Emirates and six in Saudi Arabia
Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017
27

• Products – ENOC trades in several
petroleum products such as lubricants, and
products for the automotive industry,
aviation sector, marine industry and
industrial products
General Business:
• Automotive services - ENOC owns,
operates and manages several vehicle
related services such as Autopro for vehicle
maintenance and Tasjeel for
vehicle testing and registration.
• Non-Fuel retail such as ZOOM,
Paavo’s Pizza
• A Fabrication subsidiary – Cylingas which
provides design, engineering, project
management and construction services
for process plants, oil & storage terminals at
airports and power plants.
What recent product innovations,
engineering, technology or standards
have you introduced lately?
Innovation is a key component that drives the
growth of our operations, particularly in fuel
retail.
ENOC has introduced a number of innovative
technologies to facilitate payments and
enhance customer experiences at our service
station network:
• Known as ViP (Vehicle Identification Pass),
it is a completely automated and
paperless system without the need for
cash, fuel cards or receipts. All vehicle
owners have to do is drive into the service
station, refuel with the help of an attendant
and drive off.
His Excellency
Saif Humaid Al Falasi
Group CEO, ENOC
• Vehicle Identification Pass (ViP) for both
commercial and individual use to speed
up the refuelling process. The automated
and paperless system eliminates the need
for cash, fuel cards or credit/debit cards.
The ViP system uses an innovative
technology which consists of a securely
encoded electronic security tag mounted
near the fuel tanks. This allows the
nozzle to automatically recognize the

fueling preferences individuals have set
for their car, calculate the amount of fuel
filled from the dispenser and deducts the
money automatically from the individual’s
VIP account. This speeds up the refueling
process and enables customers to better
manage their accounts and set budgets
for each fueling transaction.
• We have recently signed a partnership
agreement with Network International and
introduced PIN-less and paperless debit
and credit card transactions in the
forecourts of its service station network.
The new initiative enables customers to
make purchases at convenience stores,
and pay for fuel without entering their PIN
numbers. This reduces waiting times
at ENOC service stations. The initiative
also fulfills customer demands to stay
in the car during card payments and retain
confidentiality of their PIN numbers.
Other recent innovations include the launch of
the UAE’s first solar-powered service station.
The station, which is located at the Dubai
Internet City entrance, uses PhotoVoltaic (PV)
solar panels on the roof of the canopy that can
produce a peak capacity of 120kWh (Kilowatt
per hour) energy on an ideal day, generating
approximately 30 percent more than the
average energy required to run the station. The
excess power generated is transmitted back to
DEWA’s main grid through a DEWA solar metre
that tracks the power injected to the power
grid.
The DIC service station will reduce the
network’s carbon footprint by 195 equivalent
tons of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) per year.
Discuss the company’s history,
current performance, vision and
ambitions.
Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC Group)
is a leading integrated global oil & gas player
operating across the energy sector value chain.
A wholly-owned company of the Government
of Dubai, ENOC was initially established in
1993. Since our formation, we have made
significant contributions to Dubai’s continued
drive towards economic diversification and
sustainable development.

At ENOC, our vision is to be an innovative
energy partner, delivering sustainable
value and industry-leading performance.
To accomplish this, we’ve built ENOC’s
foundation on sustainability, which
distinguishes and guides us in all our
operations.
Earlier this year, we announced a record
volume of sales of petroleum products of
245 million barrels, reflecting a 5-year rolling
average growth of 9 percent, despite the
challenging macroeconomic situation. As part
of the five-year strategy, ENOC will focus its
efforts and investments on fulfilling Dubai’s
energy needs through the expansion of its
refinery and service station network, building
terminals storage capacity, and increasing its
market share in the marketing of diesel, jet
fuel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
For 2017 and beyond, we intend to build upon
our successes by expanding our regional and
international footprint. The focus will be to
continue diversifying our revenue streams by
investing in operations that are well positioned
to generate profitable sustainable growth.
We intend to achieve this by strategically
positioning ourselves and our portfolio, and
by attracting and retaining the right talent.
Describe the company’s past
achievements.
Being a group with such a diversified portfolio,
our achievements are many. However, one of
our biggest achievements for the first half of
this year was the Dubai Internet City service
station, as mentioned earlier.
Last year, we launched the Vehicle
Identification Pass (ViP), a cashless and
cardless system of payment, for our retail
customers across our service station network.
For two years prior to that, we had huge
success with ViP for our corporate customers.
We also embarked on the expansion of the
ENOC Processing Company Limited’s (EPCL)
refinery in Jebel Ali, a project that is valued at
over US$1billion. When complete in 2019, the
refinery’s capacity will increase by 50 percent.
Last year, we also commissioned “Black
Pearl”, a project that involved the expansion
of Vopak Horizon Fujairah Limited, which
30 Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017

added 478,000 cubic meters (cbm) of crude oil
storage capacity to increase the facility’s total
capacity to 2.6 million cbm.
What projects are you currently
working on?
We have an aggressive growth plan to expand
the network in Dubai to reduce congestion and
meet the demands in line with projections for
EXPO 2020 and beyond. We have plans to grow
our service station network by 40 percent until
2020. These plans include the construction of
54 more in Dubai and the ongoing renovation
of major service stations such as the stations in
Dubai Internet City which is up and running now
and Oud Metha is expected to open later this
year.
Additionally, we will commence construction of
Project Falcon’s phase 2, which is a 16km jet
fuel pipeline connecting our refineries in Jebel
Ali to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai
South. Phase 1 connected Jebel Ali to Dubai
International Airport. The Dragon Oil acquisition
transformed the company into a fully integrated
oil and gas business. These achievements are
aligned with the Group’s strategic direction to
meet the energy needs of the UAE, expand
its operations and invest in the infrastructure
required to facilitate Dubai’s growth.
What are the future goals of the
company?
At ENOC, we aim to be a leader in the domestic
market and gradually expand our operations
internationally. We have a clear strategy and
roadmap for the next five years which we
continuously monitor and adjust in line with a
changing business environment. Our current
focus is to enhance customer experience in line
with EXPO 2020 and Dubai Plan 2021 in the
local market.
We are one of the largest players in the UAE
and we intend to further enhance our market
positioning. At the same time, we intend
to expand into new markets with complete
offerings of products and services across the
energy value chain.

Hedge Funds Hold Near-Record
Short Positions in Petroleum
Oil prices have been rising gently during the
past four trading sessions despite concerns
about the continued rise in the U.S. rig count
and enormous excess inventories.
Front-month Brent futures prices are up by
about $2 a barrel since touching a low of $44
on June 21, which could herald a break in the
downtrend that had been in place since late
May.
Rising prices most likely reflect hedge funds
covering some short positions rather than a
fundamental reappraisal of the outlook for
supply, demand and inventories.
Hedge fund managers have become
progressively more bearish about petroleum
prices in recent weeks.
By June 20 hedge funds had amassed 480
million barrels of short positions in the five main
futures and options contracts linked to crude,
gasoline and heating oil, up from only 350
million barrels on June 6.
Fund managers have only held a larger number
of short positions in petroleum once before, in
January 2016, when their combined shorts in
the five contracts totalled 484 million barrels.
The position in January 2016 coincided with
the trough of the oil price cycle and marked the
start of the recovery.
The question is whether the large number of
shorts now will mark a similar turning point.

Qatar Petroleum Announces New
Fuel-Oil Bunkering Solutions in Qatar
Oil prices have been rising gently during the past four trading sessions despite concerns
about the continued rise in the U.S. rig count and enormous excess inventories.
Front-month Brent futures prices are up by about $2 a barrel since touching a low of $44
on June 21, which could herald a break in the downtrend that had been in place since
late May.
Rising prices most likely reflect hedge funds covering some short positions rather than a
fundamental reappraisal of the outlook for supply, demand and inventories.
Hedge fund managers have become progressively more bearish about petroleum prices
in recent weeks.
By June 20 hedge funds had amassed 480 million barrels of short positions in the five
main futures and options contracts linked to crude, gasoline and heating oil, up from only
350 million barrels on June 6.
Fund managers have only held a larger number of short positions in petroleum once
before, in January 2016, when their combined shorts in the five contracts totalled 484
million barrels.
The position in January 2016 coincided with the trough of the oil price cycle and marked
the start of the recovery.
The question is whether the large number of shorts now will mark a similar turning point.
34 Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017

China’s 2017 Crude Oil Quotas Exceed
Last Year’s, Teapots Take A Cut
China issued a second batch of crude oil import
quotas under the so-called “non-state trade” that
is higher than for all of the allowances in 2016,
but allotments to independent refineries were
lower than a year earlier.
The lower grants to the independents dealt
the new group of crude oil buyers another
blow because they were already barred from
exporting refined fuel, squeezing margins in an
oversupplied domestic fuel market.
The Ministry of Commerce approved 22.92
million tonnes to 32 companies, against 29
recipients in the first issue for 2017, according
to a document dated June 14 and viewed by
Reuters on Monday.
The 32 companies included mostly independent
oil refineries, also known as teapots, and some
state-run companies.
That latest quotas take the total issued this year
to 91.73 million tonnes, compared with 87.6
million tonnes in 2016. The second batch will be
valid until year-end.
Volumes for the 19 independent oil plants that
make up two thirds of the total issues for 2017
dropped by 12.36 million tonnes, or nearly 17
percent, from last 2016.
“The message is pretty clear: the government is
tightening the screws as the industry is heavily
oversupplied,” said a Beijing-based trading
executive who deals with independents.
“Those who have not played by the rules, underusing
quotas for instance, are taking a bigger
cut.”
Four independents -- Baota Petrochemical,
Wonfull Petrochemical, Haiyou and Chambroad
-- took the deepest cuts, between 43 percent
and 90 percent, according to data Reuters
compiled based on official documents.
Uncertainties over the time and the size of issues
have led some independents to scramble for
purchases, resulting in brimming fuel stocks and
port congestion.
“We are rushing to buy as much crude as we can
because we thought the government is going
to issue second batch of quotas based on the
volumes (used) in the first half of the year,” said
a trader with Shandong Wanda Group, owner of
Tianhong Chemical.
“That led to higher running rate as we don’t have
enough storage ... and in turn a glut of refined
products.”
The Ministry of Commerce did not immediately
respond to request for comment.
Company officials at five independent refiners
told Reuters that they have received a second
batch of crude import quotas.
Beijing approved the oil quotas under the “nonstate
trade” designation, so they do not include
state-owned oil companies Sinopec, China
National Petroleum Corp, Sinochem Group,
China National Offshore Oil Corp and Zhuhai
Zhenrong Corp
The increased quotas buoyed the price of Oman
crude on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange to its
narrowest discount against Dubai swaps in four
sessions. China buys most of Oman’s crude
output.

India Asks
Qatar to Invest
in Power Plants
as Condition for LNG Deals
India said it would sign future long-term liquefied
natural gas (LNG) purchase deals with Qatar
if only Doha agrees to acquire stakes in the
South Asian nation’s power plants, oil minister
Dharmendra Pradhan said.
India is the latest major LNG buyer to seek
concessions from Qatar, the world’s biggest LNG
exporter, in order to re-sign long-term supply
contracts. Amid a global glut of LNG and a slump
in prices, other buyers have sought more flexible
contracts, including clauses that would allow
them to resell gas they do not consume.
“Yesterday, we have given a firm proposal to
Qatar. If they want to have a long-term off-take
assurance, there is a window. They can deal with
our stranded power plants, from end to end they
can give some solution,” Pradhan told Reuters on
Tuesday.
India is suffering from natural gas shortages that
have required power plants with capacity of as
much as 25,000 megawatts to shut down or run
as lower rates. Qatar’s RasGas is India’s biggest
LNG supplier.
“It won’t be quid pro quo but mutual interest...
They can share the profit of those power plants,”
said Pradhan, adding New Delhi wants to expand
its ties with Doha beyond simply buyer and
supplier.
India wants to gradually move to a gas-based
economy and has plans to raise its annual LNG
import capacity to 50 million tonnes in the next
few years from 21 million tonnes now.
India is also open to granting stakes to Qatar
in local oil and gas companies and LNG
terminals, should the Gulf emirate make such
a proposal, said Pradhan. India’s biggest gas
importer Petronet LNG annually buys 8.5 million
tonnes under a long-term contract. It also buys
additional volumes from Qatar under spot deals.
Prabhat Singh, chief executive of Petronet, said
the Gulf nation needed to decide quickly on the
Indian proposal. He said India could be a stable
outlet for Qatar’s LNG.

“Plant 4.0” Start-Up Incubator: a 2nd
Edition on IoT With Five New Partners
Total is today launching its second Plant 4.0
start-up incubator, joined this year by Air
Liquide, AREVA, Eiffage, Solvay and VINCI
Energies. This is the very first multicorporate
Plant 4.0 start-up incubator in the world. The
partners’ common goal is to accelerate the
deployment of digital technology in industry.
Buoyed by the success of the Plant 4.0 start-up
incubator launched by Total in 2016, the Group
decided to repeat the experience, this time
opening up the project to include other industry
partners, on the narrower theme of innovative
solutions offered by the industrial Internet of
Things (IoT).
This open innovation approach aims to identify
the start-ups that offer practical, relatively
mature industrial solutions to meet specialized
operational requirements. The fledgling
companies can test their technology, product
or service directly with their potential customers
and are put in contact with the incubator’s
manufacturing partners and their start-up
ecosystems. Total and the other partners will
also share their expertise with the successful
candidates.
With the spread of sensors and new
developments in data collection and
management, innovative solutions can improve
the efficiency and boost the performance of
plants and different industries. This international
call for projects focuses on connected objects
in industry in four areas:
Acoustic detection of leaks or anomalies.
Corrosion monitoring.
Non-invasive flow measurement.
Manual valve position displays.
“Total works in an open innovation process
with start-ups and manufacturing partners
because we all face the same challenges.
Building digital solutions together speeds up
their deployment in our plants and industrial
facilities,” says Gilles Cochevelou, Chief Digital
Officer at Total. “Digital tech improves safety
and efficiency, while reducing costs. It offers
a world of opportunities and could increase
competitiveness in industry and for start-ups.”
For the first incubator, all industrial digital tech
fields were covered by Total, from robotics,
transportation, IoT, cybersecurity and remote
diagnostics to augmented reality, drones and
artificial intelligence. Out of 150 submissions,
24 start-ups were shortlisted and 9 selected
for incubation periods of about 6 months.
Total introduced streamlined processes for
collaboration with the start-ups, for example
by having a single contact person. Proofs of
38 Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017

concept (pilots) were conducted at production
facilities and some of the start-ups continue to
work with Total today.
Why participate in a multicorporate incubator?
“Our involvement in the” Plant 4.0” incubator
reflects our Digital Transformation strategy,
whose management of ecosystems is a
major axis,” underlines Olivier Delabroy, VP
Digital Transformation, Air Liquide. “The
relationships we have built and continue to
enhance with start-ups are a critical part of
our open innovation approach. It is a longterm,
partnership-based approach aiming
at accelerating innovation and our Digital
Transformation, focused on usages and design,
serving the customer experience. This proximity
with start-ups helps us to increase our agility
and to reinforce the expertise required to carry
out projects in various fields, including IoT. In
this respect, we look forward to joining this
incubator that Total is opening for the first time
to external partners.”
“Industry 4.0 concepts, ‎including IoT, are the
first pillar of our digital transformation program.
We have over three years of experience with
Open Innovation and are very pleased with
the results. For New AREVA, joining the Plant
4.0 incubator is in line with this and reflects
our willingness to enhance our involvement in
industrial collaboration programs,” commented
Jean-Luc Delcuvellerie, Digital Transformation
Program Manager, New AREVA.
“The participation in Total’s “Plant 4.0” incubator
with key industrial players is a way for Eiffage
to work within a strong dynamic of open
innovation, on the issues already identified. The
pool of qualified start-ups and the identified
uses will allow us to support the deployment of
digital technologies in our industrial activities to
improve our performance, also accompanying
the Group itself in the digital transformation”
stated Valérie David, Sustainable development
and transversal innovation Director, Eiffage.
“The teaming up of this group of industrial
companies with specialized start-ups will help to
efficiently identify and address the digital needs
of the industry. The cutting-edge solutions these
start-up companies can bring will accelerate the
digital revolution that will transform our industrial
sites,” said Alain Faessler, Solvay Group General
Manager Industrial.
For Olivier Albessard, Brand director of
Actemium, the VINCI Energies brand
dedicated to the industrial process: “Partnering
with startups and niche experts allows
agility, creativity and a degree of solutions
customization that accelerate our capacity to
design innovative offers for the industry of the
future. We develop our ability to respond as well
as our relevance, while the startup conquers
difficult markets to reach on her own. Our
contribution to the Total incubator, one of our
major industrial partners, will allow us to go
even further in this operational approach of coinnovation,
improving the industrial performance
of our client.”
TO PARTICIPATE
• Register at: www.plant4-0-startup-incubator.com.
• The closing sate for submissions is September 2, 2017.
• Shortlisted projects will be presented to the panel of judges.
• The selection committee will reveal the names of the first start-ups selected
in the fourth quarter of 2017.
• The successful start-ups may be incubated for several months.
The judges will include managers and experts from Total, Air Liquide, AREVA,
Eiffage, Solvay, VINCI Energies and their partner Impulse Labs, which
specializes in accelerating energy- and industry-related start-ups.
Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017
39

NIOC Includes 4 More Russian Oil Companies,
Azeri Socar Prequalified for Iran Projects
The National Iranian Oil Company has added
five more international oil companies in its list
of prequalified companies for Irans oil and gas
upstream projects, just days before the June
19 deadline for the Azadegan oil field tender
consortia, Platts reported.
NIOC has added Russia’s Gazprom Neft, Rosneft,
Tatneft and Zarubezhneft and Azerbaijan’s
state-owned Socar, taking its list of prequalified
companies to a total of 34.
Russia now has six companies with Gazprom
and Lukoil in the list, the single largest number
of prequalified companies for Iran’s upstream
projects, followed by five companies from Japan.
Officials at Russian companies have said they
are potentially interested in projects in Iran but
the companies are waiting for a final contract
to evaluate the economics and decide whether
they are to take part in them and in which form,
individually or via consortia.
NIOC’s updated prequalified list of companies
comes as Tehran is gearing up for the biggest test
of interest in the country’s oil sector in years, as
major international oil companies prepare to bid
for the right to develop the Azadegan oil field, one
of its most prized assets.
The prequalified oil companies have been
asked to provide details of their planned
consortium partners by Monday, as
part of NIOC’s planned tender
to develop the giant onshore
Azadegan oil field.
NIOC has also asked prequalified companies to
seek its approval if they are selecting partners that
have not been prequalified for Iran’s upstream
bidding rounds.
It plans to distribute detailed tender documents to
the companies in July.
The tender will be Iran’s first bidding round for a
major oil field, having previously relied on bilateral
negotiations to award development contracts. It
is also the first to be launched under Iran’s new
model contract, the Iran Petroleum Contract,
which is yet to be published.
This replaces the buyback contract, which
was not successful enough to attract
sufficient investor interest due to its tough
terms.
NEW CONTRACT
The delay in launching the new
contract has held up Iran’s ambitious
plans to bring in new international
oil companies and restore its oil
production to pre-sanctions levels of
around 4 million barrel per day.
“Azadegan is the core of Iran’s
upstream development plans,
and accounts for most of Iran’s
target for oil production capacity
increase. Hence, the upcoming
tender is perhaps the most
important event the government
has been looking forward to for
a while.

The tender covers the development of the entire Azadegan
field. Azadegan currently produces around 125,000 b/d, with
75,000 b/d from the northern portion and 50,000 b/d from the
south. NIOC plans to raise production to 150,000 b/d in the
north and as much as 600,000 b/d in two phases from South
Azadegan.
At the start of June, Gazprom Neft and Austria’s OMV, which
is also a prequalified company, signed an agreement on
cooperation on projects in Iran.Gazprom Neft was “studying
the possibility of participating in the development of two
blocks in Iran” and given OMV’s experience in Iran and the
Middle East, “joint geological assessment of blocks will be
most effective.”
Gazprom Neft earlier said it was looking at the Changouleh
and Cheshmeh Khosh oil fields.
Iran has already invited OMV to participate in an imminent
tender to develop the Azadegan oil field.
Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas and Royal Dutch Shell have
handed over their technical studies report on the Azadegan
oil field to NIOC.France’s Total and Japan’s Inpex Corp. have
also offered their surveys on Iran’s largest crude reserves,
Noureddin Shahnazizadeh, the managing director of Iran’s
Petroleum Engineering and Development Company said.
Total, Shell, Inpex and Petronas are among the prequalified
companies to bid for the Azadegan field.

UAE’s ENOC Group and
US’s Chevron Explore
Long-Term Strategic
Collaboration in Oil & Gas
Senior officials of the ENOC Group and
Chevron met recently to discuss existing
and potential business opportunities.
The meeting between Saeed Al Tayer, Vice
Chairman of ENOC Group, Saif Humaid
Al Falasi, Chief Executive Officer of ENOC
Group, Michael Wirth, Vice Chairman of
the Board and Executive Vice President,
Midstream and Development for Chevron
Corporation, and Jay Pryor, Vice President
of Business Development at Chevron,
comes at a time when the ENOC Group is
continuing to expand its businesses across
the energy value chain.
“ENOC and Chevron have had a successful
long-term collaboration for nearly two
decades and it is based on this foundation
that we continue to look at future
collaborations that are mutually beneficial
to both parties. We hope to build on our
mutual track record and explore new
business opportunities,” Al Tayer said.
Welcoming the opportunity to meet ENOC
leaders, Wirth said, “Chevron and ENOC
have had a strong partnership for nearly
two decades and we remain committed
to ongoing collaboration.” The alliance
between Chevron and ENOC extends
across various aspects of downstream
operations ranging from lubricant marketing
to aviation refuelling.

How McDermott’s Head of Engineering
For Batam Inspires Young Female
Engineers To Lead and Succeed
If there’s one thing every female engineer has
in common at work, it’s having to deal with the
misconceptions of being a woman in engineering.
From leading a team to being “emotional”, every
female engineer has to work twice as hard as the
men just to prove that they are capable of doing
the work, climb up one’s career ladder and earn the
respect of the people they work with. For Elviana
Sari (Vivi), becoming the McDermott International,
Inc. Head of Engineering for the Batam fabrication
yard meant going through several challenges to
reach this point in her engineering career.
Being the first female production engineer
when she entered McDermott, she did not only
encounter challenges at work as an engineer, she
also had to deal with how being a woman in a
male-dominated industry affects her relationship
with her co-workers. As the Head of Engineering
for McDermott in Batam, she manages five
departments: Construction Engineering, Detailing
Office, Production Engineering, Document Control
and Completion Engineering. Her work also
includes bidding, safety and quality commitment,
presentation for bid proposal, and staff
development and initiatives.
In this exclusive interview, learn more about Vivi’s
humble beginnings as a student who aspired to
be an engineer and find out how being a female
engineer didn’t stop her from climbing up the
career ladder despite the several pressures and
problems she encountered along the way. She
also shares the common misconceptions she
had to deal with at work and her advice to female
engineering students who want to pursue a career
in the industry.
Meet Elviana Sari
Family
Elviana Sari (Vivi), who hails from Medan,
Indonesia, is the eldest among four siblings in
her family. She has two younger sisters, one a
pediatrician and the other an accountant; and
a younger brother who works as a marketing
manager for a shipping company in Medan. Both
her parents were teachers who retired as the
principals of two local schools.
Vivi was married in 2006 to her co-worker, an
American expatriate who worked in McDermott in
Indonesia. They went separate ways in 2014. Vivi
and her ex-husband remained committed to the
education and co-parenting of their two children.
Work experience
• January 2001 – November 2004:
Joined McDermott as Structural
Production Engineer
• December 2004 – April 2005:
Retrenched from McDermott and joined a
contact lenses manufacturer as Equipment
and Facility Engineer
• May 2005 - May 2007:
Rehired by McDermott as Lead Structural
Production Engineer
• June 2007 – September 2009:
Fabrication Coordinator – manage structural
and other disciplines such as piping,
mechanical, coating, electrical and
instrumentation
• October 2009 – July 2010:
Followed husband back to US and then
subsequently moved to Nigeria before
relocated back to Asia to deliver her second
baby in Singapore by the same gynecologist of
her first born child.
• September 2010–February 2014:
Deputy Construction Manager
• March 2014 – February 2016:
Deputy Fabrication Manager
• February 2016 – current:
Head of Engineering – manages five
departments i.e. Construction Engineering,

Detailing Office, Production Engineering,
Document Control and Completion
Engineering. Other roles include bidding,
safety and quality commitment, presentation
for bid proposal, and staff development and
initiatives.
What motivated her to pursue engineering?
Since she was young, Vivi had a clear vision of
her choice of career. She aspired to be either a
doctor, to care for her mother who was always
sick back then, or an engineer as she had always
been captivated by pictures of flares emitting from
oil rigs, people wearing safety helmets, glasses
and coveralls – something that she was exposed
to due to the calendars that her PERTAMINAemployed
uncle brought home every year.
“I thought it was cool to be able to work on a
mega structure out there in the big blue sea
and produce the energy that power the nation’s
growth,” she said.
To Vivi, becoming a doctor was initially her first
choice. It was family before everything else as she
felt compelled to fulfill her filial responsibility to
cure her sick mother. She was already studying
science and biology in senior high school to
build her foundation for the eventual medical
studies but when her mother’s health improved
and became better, she finally chose engineering
as her personal career choice. “The Industry
business was booming in Indonesia so I chose
Industrial Engineering studies,” she said.
With her targets set to either own an engineering
firm or be employed by an engineering company,
in 1995 Vivi enrolled into two different colleges at
the same time i.e. University of North Sumatera
(UNS) and Medan Institute of Technology (MIT).
Both colleges were offering Industrial Engineering
Degree course but vary in terms of focus and
applications. UNS focused more on engineering
management, theories and principles whereas
MIT focused more on the technical aspect of the
discipline. To be accepted into UNS, a public
university was not easy as they impose strict
enrollment criteria that require students to score
first rank in pre-university studies covering six
different subjects i.e. biology, chemistry, physics,
mathematics, English and Indonesian language.
“I was determined to be an engineer. I told
myself back then that theories and management
principles were not enough. I needed a technical
background so I enrolled into two colleges. It
was madness come to think of it now. I had to
juggle between lectures, tuitions and assignments
from two colleges. I made a conscious choice
of studying the same discipline so I was able to
apply the knowledge from one college to another.
I’m glad I pulled that through.” Vivi successfully
completed her bachelor’s degrees by end of 1999
and graduated from UNS and MIT in 2000.
Even as a fresh graduate in the employment
market, Vivi didn’t want to settle for the norm.
Unlike her peers that sought employment closer
to home, she chose to start her career in Batam
Island, some 800km from Medan. She knew back
then that if she wanted to work in the oil and gas
industry, Batam is the right place to start. Batam
back then was an upcoming industry estate with
multinational oil and gas firms such as Kvaerner
and McDermott already operating there.
Vivi utilized the balance of her education
scholarship while searching for jobs in Batam.
She did not rely on any financial support from her
parents.
What were the challenges that she
encountered during her engineering
career?
There were many ups and downs in Vivi’s career.
One of the most memorable lessons that she
learnt was never to proceed with work until it is
absolutely confirmed. She recalls an incident
where her boss requested that she proceed
with the purchase of construction materials.
Unfortunately when the materials were purchased
the design drawing was revised, rendering the
materials unusable that resulted in increased
production cost.
The other challenge was managing up.
Throughout her career, Vivi has come across 12
different supervisors, all with different styles and
temperaments. “Even though we have people
under our supervision, working in a company is
not always about managing your downline. It is
equally important to manage your supervisors as
well,” she said.

Being the first female production engineer was
also not easy, especially when she first took
on the job back in 2001. “When I first made my
rounds at the fabrication yard, people stopped
their work and looked at me in a weird way as if
the workshop is not a place for women. Some
even had a problem having a woman as their
supervisor. I proved them wrong by going down
to their level to understand their jobs, telling them
we can learn from each other. I also did my job
as a production engineer to prove my capability
and that earned their trust. I review, approve and
simplify the design drawings into shop drawings
for production line, ensure that the construction
materials are procured correctly, issue to shop
floor as per schedule, monitor and collect
progress updates, report completion status and
interface with clients and workers on fabrication
problems based on the project and construction
specification and standard.”
Did the double degrees (theories and
technical) prove useful in handling the
initial challenges? Which one was more
useful at the beginning? What about now?
“The theories that I learnt in university was not
entirely useful in the beginning as there were gaps
between the education system in Indonesia and
the industry in general. Willingness to learn and
staying motivated played a big part in helping me
to adapt into the working world.
Based on my studies in Industrial Engineering, I
also noticed plenty of room for improvements at
the yard such as how the plates are stored, cut
till finish to avoid double handling etc. I provided
input to help make improvements to the working
processes at the yard.
Certain subjects such as psychology that I learnt
does help a lot in meeting and connecting with
people of different backgrounds. This has made it
easier to get the job done. Now that I have moved
up the career ladder with greater responsibilities,
the theories and technical knowledge are
beginning to be more useful such as planning and
ensuring optimization of resources, interacting with
people, coaching my subordinates and improving
the engineering team.”
What are her achievements, successes
and accomplishments so far?
Vivi was in-charge of Gorgon Upstream project
from 2010-2014. It was the first subsea project
for McDermott’s Batam yard. She worked with
a client to establish new fabrication methods
for various subsea structures and assisted the
team in delivering the project with zero Lost Time
Incident record, on schedule and within budget.
The other mega project that Vivi was involved
in was the Ichthys project, where Batam yard
successfully delivered its biggest lifted structures,
i.e. MEG Distribution Manifold, Production Riser
Base and Gas Export Riser Base (at 1000 tones)
on Feb 2016.
What are her current duties and
responsibilities in McDermott?
Vivi’s current responsibilities as the head of
engineering for Batam yard include managing
five departments i.e. Construction Engineering,
Detailing Office, Production Engineering,
Document Control and Completion Engineering.
Other roles include bidding, safety and quality
commitment, presentation for bid proposal, and
staff development.
Batam yard, which was established back in 1970,
is the largest yard by size within McDermott,
measuring at 110 hectares. The facility serves
both traditional and floating offshore construction,
the growing onshore LNG module market and
subsea structure fabrication markets.
The yard is equipped with more than 20 facilities,
including a craft training center, carbon steel and
alloy workshops, pipe rolling mills, fabrication
shop, tubing shop, painting and blasting shops,
thermal spray aluminum shop, sub-assembly
deck building shop, assembly areas, NDT testing
etc.
McDermott is a leading provider of integrated
engineering, procurement, construction and
installation (EPCI) services for upstream field
developments worldwide. The Company
delivers fixed and floating production facilities,
pipelines and subsea systems from concept to

commissioning for complex Offshore and Subsea
oil and gas projects to help oil companies safely
produce and transport hydrocarbons.
What are the misconceptions of being a
female engineer?
a) Women can’t stand the heat and pressure of
field work, and that their commitment to work
will be affected once they get married and start
a family life.
“I had no issue going about my routine work.
I climbed ladders, travelled in a four wheeleddrive
(the yard is 110 hectares, equivalent to 177
soccer fields, thus site visits require a vehicle to
move about), and managed my family and career
without any issue,” she said.
b) Women cannot lead.
I overcame this misconception by speaking with
the co-workers, understanding their background
and was not hesitant to learn from them on
things that I did not know. Speaking confidently
among the male colleagues also helped exert the
point that I am on top of things, which helped
gain respect from the team.
c) Women are emotionally weak
Vivi is highly independent. She travelled and
stayed in Batam all by herself fresh out of
university. In 2014, she was dealt with a difficult
blow – an impending divorce and the demise
of her father – all happened almost at the same
time while still remaining 100% committed to her
work and caring for her two children.
Advice to the young female engineering
students who are thinking of pursuing
engineering
Don’t ever give up on your dream simply because
someone says you can’t do it. Learning by
experience is the best lesson. Don’t be afraid to
make mistakes. They make you a better person.
Lastly, stand up for what you think is right.
Family support was vitally important. “My parents were very supportive of my choice of career.
They did not stop me from leaving my hometown after graduation to seek employment in Batam
even though they were like helicopter parents and did not allow me to leave Medan to attend a
more famous university/institute in other islands. I would also like to thank the previous
supervisors who hired and rehired me for having the trust in a female to take on the job as a
production engineer in a great company like McDermott.
48 Oil & Gas Leaders • July 2017