The 2011 SPE/IADC Middle East Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition (MEDT) opened today in Al Bustan Palace Hotel, Muscat, Oman, attracting over 500 delegates on its first day. The event is held under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Mohammed Hamad Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas in Oman. H.E. Nasser bin Khamis Al Jashmi, Under Secretary, Ministry of Oil and Gas, Oman had officiated the event today. His Excellency gave a keynote speech at the opening ceremony about the importance of innovative technologies to the oil and gas industry, followed by a keynote speech from Mr. Niels Espeland, IADC Executive Committee Member. H.E. then officiated and visited the exhibition with an entourage of selected oil and gas figures in the region where they visited key exhibitors participating in the event.

MEDT, co-organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), provides a comprehensive arena for drilling and completions professionals of the oil and gas industry. This year the technical programme includes an executive plenary session to address the theme “Major Improvements: What Must We Do Differently”; a panel session deliberating “NOC, IOC, and Service Industry Collaboration”; a special keynote session covering “Learning from Other Industries” and a special report on “Post-Macondo Regulatory Trends”. There will also be over 50 technical presentations and more than 45 poster presentations to cover topics such as directional drilling, advanced bit applications, HSE, etc. Some of the papers presented include ‘Well Interventions to Comply with the Upgraded Safety Code in a Maturing Field’, ‘Two Years of Progress: Field Driven Rollercone Design Iterations Cut Conglomerate Formation Drilling Costs by 40% in Oman’, and ‘Application of Laser Technology for Oil and Gas Wells Perforation’. Waleed Refaay, Managing Director of SPE, said “As always, we pride in the quality of speakers and technical content of the conference. This is an opportune event for drilling professionals to network and learn from leaders of the industry especially of this discipline”.

Petroleum Development Oman has generously offered to raffle four Samsung Galaxy Tabs each day; two for conference delegates and two for students. All conference delegates attending will also enter a raffle draw to win an iPad 2 from SPE, the winner of which will be announced during the Closing Ceremony on 26 October 2011.

A parallel exhibition, with more than 30 exhibitors from renowned oil and gas companies takes place at the same venue, showcasing the latest in drilling equipments and technologies. Trade visitors are offered free entrance to the exhibition. Tesco, one of the main exhibitors at MEDT, has a long term strategic relationship with Petroleum Development Oman who has adopted the CASING DRILLING™ process to increase safety, operational efficiency, and reduce drilling costs. Tesco’s participation at MEDT was to display some of their leading products such as Casing Drive System™ (CDS™), an automated casing running tool invented by them to rotate, reciprocate, and circulate for casing running, and casing while drilling; XCD3™ Casing Drill Bit, used for casing while drilling the well (casing while drilling is the operation of simultaneously drilling and casing the wellbore), and Directional Casing Drilling System. TESCO set 3 world records with Petroleum Development Oman in August 2011 drilling 7 inch casing; steering from vertical to horizontal using a single drill bit; and the longest and deepest 7 inch casing while drilling operation.

Other exhibitors include Schlumberger who feature their new PowerDrive Archer, a high build rate rotary steerable system (RSS), which delivers well profiles, previously possible only with motors, and with the ROP and wellbore quality of a fully rotating RSS. FOS Energy exhibit a rig data acquisition system from Pason Corporation and have on display the Zero Spill and Rig Safe Systems from Katch Kan. Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies (KOGT) discuss their range of innovative software solutions for upstream applications, from reservoir to process plant. KOGT promote SiteCom® in particular, an industry leading independent WITSML-based drilling and evaluation data management package.

This event is sponsored by Petroleum Development Oman (Titanium Sponsor), Saudi Aramco (Gold and 24 October Luncheon Sponsor), Schlumberger (Gold Sponsor), Baker Hughes and Chevron (Silver Sponsors), GE (24 October Coffee Break Sponsor), and KCA Deutag (25 October Coffee Break Sponsor).

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