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Employment & NRI Times

Friday
November 28 - December 4
2014

Oil & Gas / National Careers

Saudi wont seek Opec changes

VIENNA: Opec leader
Saudi Arabia and fellow
member UAE signalled
they were unlikely to push
for a major change in oil
output at the groups meeting to prop up prices that
have sunk by a third since
June.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali
Al Naimi said he expected
the oil market to stabilise
itself eventually after talks
with non- Opec member
Russia yielded no pledge
from Moscow to tackle a
global oil glut jointly.
Opecs meeting will be
one of its most crucial in
recent years, with oil havCommerce Secretary Rajeev Kher and the Deputy United States Trade Representative ing tumbled to below $78 a
Robert Holleyman in a bilateral meeting in New Delhi.
barrel due to the US shale

boom and slower economic

growth in China and Europe. Core Gulf oil producer the UAE sided with
Al Naimi, saying oil prices
would soon stabilise, while
ramping up pressure on
non-OPEC producers.
This is not a crisis that
requires us to panic ... we
have seen (prices) way
lower, UAE Oil Minister
Suhail bin Mohammed Al
Mazroui said.
I think everyone needs
to play a role in balancing
the market, not Opec unilaterally.
Iranian Oil Minister
Bijan Zangeneh said some
Opec members, although
not Iran, were now gearing

up for a battle over market

share and he insisted that
producers outside the
group needed to participate in any Opec-led output cut.
Some Opec members
believe that this is the time
where we need to defend
market share ... All the experts in the market believe
we have oversupply in the
market and next year we
will have more oversupply,
he added.
Cutting output unilaterally would effectively mean
for Opec, which accounts
for a third of global oil output, a further loss of market share to North American shale oil producers.

If Opec decided against

cutting and rolled over existing output levels today,
that would effectively
mean a price war that the
Saudis and other Gulf producers could withstand
due to their large foreignexchange reserves.
Other members, such as
Venezuela, would find it
much more difficult.
Among the 12 Opec
members, Venezuela and
Iraq have called for output
cuts.
Opecs traditional price
hawk Iran said its views
were now close to those of
Saudi Arabia as Zangeneh
said he had an excellent
meeting with Al Naimi.

world is energy, and in this

world of fossil fuels, there
is no guarantee that this will
be used to its full advantage.
Yes, the Middle East
will still export hydrocarbons, but more and more
people in the region are beginning to understand the
potential of hydrocarbons to
create jobs and to add value
to the economies. This is
why the future will be defined by young men and
women who can run this industry.
Liveris said the plans
behind Sadara, the Saudi
Aramco-Dow Chemical
joint venture, illustrate an
ideal scenario for the petrochemicals industry. The
multibillion dollar integrated facility is notable for
being the largest petrochemicals plant built in a
single phase, and is expected to be a hub for manufacturing, research and job
opportunities.

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait National Petroleum Company

(KNPC) plans to spend $40
billion on projects including
a new refinery and a clean
fuels project, its chief executive said. Mohammed Ghazi
Al Mutairi said at a conference in Kuwait City that the
clean fuels project would
also include the expansion
and modernisation of the
Mina Al Ahmadi and Mina
Abdullah refineries, with a
focus on producing highgrade products such as diesel fuel and kerosene for exports. The new refinery, Al
Zour, which is due to be
completed in 2019, will be
the largest in the Middle East
with a capacity of 615,000
barrels per day (bpd).
Kuwait currently has
three refineries with a combined capacity of 930,000
bpd. The oldest, Shuaiba,
with a capacity of 200,000
bpd will be closed after Al
Zour goes on stream.
Under the project, the

capacity of the Mina Al

Ahmadi refinery will drop to
347,000 bpd from 466,000,
while Mina Abdullahs will
rise to 454,000 bpd from
270,000.
Al Mutairi said these
projects would be completed
between 2018 and 2022.
National Bank of Kuwait
said in September that
KNPC had chosen its investment banking arm to advise
it on financing options for its
multi-billion-dollar clean
fuels project.
Contracts worth around
$12bn were awarded in February to international companies including Japans JGC
Corporation,
Britains
Petrofac Limited and USbased Fluor Corporation for
construction work on the
project. A 30bn dinar
($104.7bn) four-year Kuwait
economic development plan
expired in March. That plan
had provided for upgrading
and expanding two of the
countrys largest refineries.

Petchem investments help GCC economies grow KNPC plans to invest $40b
DUBAI: GCC investments in
petrochemicals have a strategic importance as they
help grow economies and
satisfy the increasing demand for petrochemical
products, HE the Minister of
Energy and Industry Dr
Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada
has said.
In his plenary address at
the the 9th Annual Forum
of the Gulf Petrochemicals
and Chemicals Association
(GPCA) in Dubai recently,
he said, Qapcos birth in
Qatar some 40 years ago
marked the start of the
GCCs petrochemical industry, creating a new set of
opportunities.
Al-Sada said three developments would influence
the regions petrochemicals
industry. As oil prices reach
their lowest levels in four
years, downstream economists have to re-evaluate
their strategies. The impact
of US shale gas on the com-

petitiveness of our regions

industry is putting downward pressure on gas prices
in the region and the emergence of coal based polyethylene in China shows that
the country is looking at alternative feedstock to develop their downstream sector, he said.
UAE Minister of Energy
Suhail Mohamed Faraj alMazrouei also spoke.
The GCC petrochemicals
sector is entering a promising phase in its development and has to leverage
opportunities in order to
overcome challenges from
global competition, GPCA
said in a release.
According to GPCA,
GCCs petrochemicals capacity reached 140.5mn
tonnes in 2013, an 8.7pc
increase from 2012. The
sector is also profitable: revenues figures from the region hit $89.4bn in the same
year, a 7.3% growth from

the previous period.

Al-Falih said that regional development in petrochemicals has focused on
manufacturing commodities, however, developments in other markets may
prove to be significant.
North American chemicals
will double in the next decade, giving them capabilities to be in markets that we
thought were traditionally
ours, said al- Falih. European markets are closing
down their inefficient
plants. And China is changing as well it is growing
relatively slower, however
Chinese companies are
looking at coal to chemical
opportunities.
Khalid al-Falih, President and CEO, Saudi
Aramco spoke about a coherent strategy to overcome
competition from different
markets, including mixed
feedstock crackers, upgrading existing facilities, re-

gional integration and multiplying the number of industry participants.

As the region sees an
increase in the population
of young people, we will see
an entirely new generation
of men and women. About
60% of the workforce at
Saudi Aramco will be 35
years or less by the end of
the decade. Young people
today are simultaneously
more sceptical and hopeful
than my generation ever
was.
Ultimately, the Gulf is
well on its way journey towards a period of prosperity and progress. We are in
the golden decade for the
Gulf region and for the petrochemicals industry and
its a once in a generation
opportunity, al- Falih
added.
Andrew Liveris, Chairman and CEO, Dow Chemical Company said, One of
the few certainties in this

Umrah visa goes online Sustainable energy unit for Bahrain Employees honoured
(Contd. from page 1)
this huge number of Muslims would not have been
possible but for the huge expansion projects undertaken
on the orders of Custodian
of the Two Holy Mosques
King Abdullah, Hajjar remarked. He said that new
regulations would be implemented this year aimed at
improving services for
Umrah pilgrims. The services covered include the issuing of visas, duties of agencies operating abroad, training of service staff and dealing with countries that do
not have Umrah operators.
Hajjar said the ministry
has a web-based portal, set
up in collaboration with the
foreign ministry to serve foreign pilgrims, including
helping those traveling from
countries where there are

no licensed Umrah companies. He said the new regulations were drafted by the
Umrah section at the Haj
Ministry, in collaboration
with other departments, to
ensure adequate advanced
preparation for the season.
He claimed that preparations for this year started before the end of the last Umrah
season, with officials taking
care to rectify previous mistakes and build on successes.
Hajjar said all Umrah-related
activities are taking place electronically, which has reduced
processing time to a few
hours. The acceptance or rejection of a visa application
online does not require more
than a few hours, without
compromising security or service specifications. Previously
these procedures took several
days or weeks, he said.

MANAMA: The Electricity

and Water Authority and the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
have come together to establish the Bahrain Unit for
Sustainable Energy.
Minister of State for Electricity and Water Affairs Dr
Abdulhussain Mirza and
UNDP resident representative Peter Grohmann signed
the project agreement.
The unit will be responsible for establishing strategies, policies and legislation
and for promoting initiatives
and investment projects that
boost energy efficiency.
It will also widen the
share of the production of
energy from renewable
sources.
There is a considerable
potential for undertaking

Vadodara hosts VCCI exhibition

(Contd. from page 1)
products and services and to
explore possibilities of export
imports and business tieups. It will also enable Indian
and international participants to finalise business alliances aimed at mutual
growth.
The event will have a oneday conclave of various industrial organisations working in the country. Param
Shah, Director, FICCI, said:
More than 300 industrial
organisations in the country
are being invited to attend
this conclave. Representatives of these organisations
will discuss in detail various
issues related to industry and
also the best practices being
adopted in business. Other
important feature of the event
are a special display on HR
development aimed at helping SMEs. In this section, na

tional level HR agencies will

provide guidance to the
SMEs on issues related to HR.
Last year during the VCCI exhibition, 2,200 candidates
were given jobs.
The exhibition is divided
into five major segments
engineering, machinery, machine tools, material han-

dling, plastic and rubber;

electrical, electronics, instrumentation and automation;
banking and insurance, education, IT and telecom infrastructure, building construction; green and clean environment technology. There
will also be an international
participants pavilion.

Vibrant Gujarat ...

(Contd. from page 1)

the Vibrant Summit events, we are proactively dealing with
the accommodation challenge. Patel said since the number
of hotel rooms available in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar
was insufficient, all possible options were being considered.
Apart from establishing a tent city, we are organising accommodation at bungalows and service apartments and also
booking home-stay facilities, he said. Hotels are packed to
capacity a month before the start of Vibrant Gujarat and related events. The government expects over 5,000 guests for
the PBD (Jan 7-9, 2015); over 10,000 for the Vibrant Summit
(Jan 11-13, 2015); and 70,000 for Plast India (Feb 5-10, 2015).
The total room inventory across all categories - budget, midscale and upscale in Ahmedabad is about 2,500 rooms,
so severe shortage looms during the events.

MUSCAT: RasGas has honoured 198 employees at its second annual long-service award ceremony of the year for their
loyalty, commitment, dedication and hard work, which had
a direct hand in placing the company at the forefront of the
energy industry in the world. The honoured employees included those who completed five, 10, 15 and 20 years of
service in RasGas. A total of 498 employees were recognised
by the company for long services in 2014. Speaking at the
ceremony, Hamad Rashid al-Mohannadi, RasGas CEO, highlighted some of the remarkable corporate accomplishments
these employees have helped to achieve over the years.
Today, RasGas is one of the most successful energy
suppliers in the world. Apart from the seven liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains, we oversee and manage two sales gas
production facilities, two helium production facilities and
the construction of the Barzan Gas Project, which will support Qatars rising domestic gas demand, explained alMohannadi. The CEO also took the opportunity to remind
the employees that their future with RasGas was promising and full of opportunities.
In 2015, our first Barzan Gas Train will come on stream,
and when the second Barzan train too is completed, RasGas
will be one of the largest gas processors in the world. Work
has already begun on developing our Helium 3 and Flow
Assurance Projects and we are successfully continuing to
expand our market reach, he said.

energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives in

Bahrain which will extend
the lifetime of oil and gas reserves and enable long-term
sustainable development,
Dr Mirza said.
The project is based on a
study carried out with the
UNDP that analysed gaps in
the energy sector and the feasibility of establishing an
entity that unifies and consolidates efforts on energy
efficiency and renewable
energy.
Grohmann said the unit
is also Bahrains contribution to the Millennium Development Goals and the
new international Sustainable Development Goals that
will be declared next year.
It will contribute to the
worldwide reduction of

greenhouse gas emissions

and help to slow down climate change, which is particularly important for
Bahrain, he said.
The project fits in the
framework of the UN secretary-generals Sustainable Energy for All initiative that supports universal
access to modern energy
services, acceleration in
improving energy efficiency and the increased
use of renewable energy in
the energy mix.
The project puts Bahrain
on par with similar initiatives in other GCC countries
and will help to promote the
exchange of successful international experiences for
the benefit of Bahrains ambitious development agenda.

Bapco achieves
milestone

Adani Power buys Avanthas

600 MW Chhattisgarh unit

MANAMA: Bapco and its

contractor employees have
achieved a record safety figure by completing five million hours without a lost
time injury (LTI).
This is the third milestone
achieved this year and is
equivalent of approximately
179 safe working days.
We are committed to
firmly establishing a zeroincident and zero-injury
work
environment,
Bapcos deputy chief executive (refining and marketing) and environment,
health and safety committee
chairman
Ebrahim
Abdullah Talib said.
Our next milestone is
8m employee-hours which
is due in March next year,
and which can be achieved
by completing 111 days
without an LTI, he said.

AHMEDABAD Adani Power

said it has entered into a
binding agreement with the
Avantha Group to purchase
its 600 MW Korba West unit
in Chhattisgarh for over Rs
4,200 crore. Korba West
Power owns the 600 MW
thermal power plant at
Raigarh in the state, where an
expansion project is underway. The deal makes Adani
Power the largest private sector power utility in the country with an installed capacity of 11,040 MW, it said in a
stock exchange filing.
The acquisition follows
its purchase in August of the
1,200 MW coal-based Udupi
plant from Lanco Infra for
Rs.6,000 crore.
The Gautam Thapar-led
Avantha Group confirmed in

CII delegation for

Bahrain summit
MANAMA: A high-powered
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) delegation will
participate in the Arab Asia
Business Partnership Summit
in Bahrain next month, it was
announced. The delegation
will be led by CII president
Ajay S Shriram, said summit
chairwoman Shaikha Noora
bint Isa Al Khalifa. Indian industry sees Bahrain as one of
the Gulfs most progressive
and fastest growing financial
centres, said Shriram.
It has opened up compelling investment opportunities for Indian companies in
diverse streams like metallurgical industries, physical
infrastructure development,
tourism promotion and infrastructure development,
agro-processing among others, he added.

a statement that the deal is

valued over Rs 4,200 crore.
With the Korba buy, the installed capacity of Adani
Power will increase to 11,040
MW. Commenting on the
deal, Adani Group chairman
Gautam Adani said: This is
the time for consolidation in
the power sector. This acquisition consolidates our panIndia presence and further reaffirms our belief in the reforms processes underway in
the power and coal mining
sectors.
This Korba acquisition
expands our footprint particularly in the coal mining
belt and we are bullish of expanding our presence further.
We are committed towards
achieving our target of 20,000
MW by 2020, he added.