MEALF’s 7^th EDITION WITNESSESS WIDESPREAD SUCCESS DURING ITS 3-DAY EVENT IN ABU DHABI

Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, 16 February 2013 – The Steering and Technical Committee of the 7^th edition of The Middle East Artificial Lift Forum (MEALF) has announced that the biennial energy forum was a vast regional success with over 518 speakers, delegates, exhibitors and committee members. MEALF was held from February 5 to 7 at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Inaugurated under the patronage of His Excellency Khalfan Saeed Al Kaabi, 1^st VP of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the three-day knowledge sharing event witnessed the attendance of some of the world’s leading energy professionals from both the public and private sectors.

Speaking on the success of MEALF 2013, MEALF Chairman Saeed Al Shaheen stated, “We are very pleased and proud with the outcome of the pre-forum workshops, main Forum and Exhibition as we witnessed a very large number of delegates, speakers and exhibitors come together to proactively contribute to the thriving artificial lift industry and the regional energy sector, at large.”

Al Shaheen also mentioned that the “Going Green” concept which MEALF embraced during its 7^th edition through the exclusive use of iPads was met with immense support from all parties, as it served the Forum’s objectives of working towards sustainable socio -economic development on a regional level. This was achieved by using iPads for communication, information and participant certificates throughout all presentations, sessions and meetings.

The main Forum kicked off through three pre-forum training workshops, which were conducted by Weatherford International, General Electric Company and Baker Hughes and aimed at targeting participants with intermediate to advanced levels of understanding of artificial lift technologies through a number of practical and interactive exercises.

Speakers who presented 20 technical presentations were from Kuwait Oil Company, Petroleum Development Oman, PCM, Weatherford International, Zenith Oil Field Technology, Schlumberger, Novomet Group of Companies, Kuwait University, Senergy International, Occidental Oman and Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company.

Among the key topics that were covered during the presentations were artificial lift management systems, technical challenges faced by the oil industry in relation to the application of artificial lift technologies, performance management and evaluation of key areas such as oil fields and wells, improvement in the monitoring and production optimization processes and a great emphasis on the new and innovative technologies and methods that can assist in reduced costs, power consumption levels, maximizing energy efficiency and strengthening Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) capacities.

The Forum also included a vibrant Exhibition which was held in parallel with the Forum and aimed at displaying the latest artificial lift equipment, operations, products and related services. In total, 26 corporations took part in the Exhibition and included Petroleum Development Oman, Kuwait Oil Company, vMonitor, Al Khorayef, Advanced Protection Technologies, Artificial Lift Company, Artrans S.A, BIW, Canadian Advanced ESP Inc, Delta Doha, Norris production Solutions, ESP Completion Technologies, LLC,  GE Oil and Gas, Kudu Industries Inc, NOV Mono Group, Novomet Group of Companies, PCM, PFT Systems & Connectors LLC, RMSpumptools, Quick Connectors Inc, Schlumberger, Sercel GRC, Taurus Engineering, Weatherford Oil Tool ME, ZEITECS and Zenith Oilfield Technology.

The Forum commenced officially with a welcome speech by MEALF’s chairman, Saeed Al Shaheen who welcomed participants and touched on the Forum’s theme ‘Uplifting Society’, as well as its objectives and aspirations for popularizing and encouraging the artificial lift technology as a fundamental component for boosting oil production in the MENA region. He explained that these objectives will be achieved by addressing, debating and tackling the current and future needs of the business. Al Shaheen also touched on the Forum’s string of successes since its establishment 10 years ago.

The welcome speech was followed by a speech by Sami Suheil, Chief Operating Officer of vMonitor, the recognized global leader of wireless solutions in the oil and gas industry and the Forum’s Main Sponsor, followed by an innovative and first-of-its kind keynote address by Dr. Ibrahim Al Rashdan, MD/Kuwait Ministry of Health entitled “Hydrocarbon Production Systems vs. Human Cardio System Similarities and Opportunities for Across Discipline Collaboration”, which demonstrated and established a number of interesting correlations between the human cardiovascular system and one of the key technologies and methods used within the artificial lift industry. The Guest of Honor, His Excellency Khalfan Saeed Al Kaabi, also gave a brief speech thanking all participants and expressing his support of the Forum and his admiration of the keynote presentation by Dr. Ibrahim Al Rashdan due its unique and original concept. He also commended MEALF for introducing the “Going Green” concept in efforts to conserve the environment through such eco-friendly initiatives.

Al Shaheen added, “The pre-forum workshops were very insightful and beneficial for participants and they paved the way for the main Forum by serving as platform for practical execution. All 20 papers presented by our esteemed speakers provided updated and essential information and data as regards to the best practices, issues and concerns facing the industry, and the feedback we received to date underlines that they were both comprehensive and value-adding.”

Al Shaheen thanked all participants for making the 7^th edition a regional and international success including the Guest of Honor; His Excellency Khalfan Saeed Al Kaabi, sponsors, speakers, delegates and exhibitors, and expressed that MEALF and its Steering and Technical Committees are looking forward to another successful MEALF event in 2015, as the industry would have progressed and evolved further by then, which will enable the exchange of new ideas and insights.

The 7th edition of MEALF concluded with a special recognition ceremony where all participating parties were acknowledged for their efforts and contributions throughout the event. During the ceremony, two honorary awards were given out to the Best Speaker which went to. Nora Al Maqseed from Kuwait Oil Company, as well as the Best Exhibition Stand which went to Kuwait Oil Company.

MEALF 2013 was supported by leading regional and international sponsors that included the Main Forum sponsor, vMonitor, Kuwait Oil Company, Alkhorayef Petroleum, and Schlumberger as Platinum sponsors,  General Electric, Qatar Petroleum and Kudu as Gold sponsors, Weatherford as Silver Sponsor, and Monoflo as Day Sponsor.