Egypt Oil & Gas (EOG) and the EOG Technical Committee held the 2nd Upstream Operational Excellence Convention from December 2-4 at the Sky Executive Resort in Cairo. The event was held under the High Patronage of H.E. Eng. Tarek El Molla, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

The annual convention comes in line with the ministry’s Modernization Project and paves the way for professionals from public and private entities to meet together and share best practices for optimizing operations and increasing oil and gas production.

In his opening speech, El Molla thanked EOG for promoting such event and bringing together a diverse group of oil and gas experts. “I would like to assure [attendees] that during this three-day convention you will gain more insights and be exposed to discussions around a number of important strategic issues that hold key priorities in our sector,” said the minister.

El Molla expressed his excitement for the inaugural Young Professionals Day – a full day dedicated to discussing the development of young professionals in the sector, which took place in the last day of the convention – and stressed that building highly-skilled human capital remains a cornerstone for the sector’s success.

“The future of any industry is highly dependable on its youth; and to guarantee a sustainable, fruitful future, the development of our sector’s youth is crucial. I am personally interested in the development of our youth and in providing specialized development programs to build a pool of qualified calibers capable of leading the future of our sector,” he added.

Mohamed Fouad, EOG CEO and Technical Committee Co-chairman, also noted that, although the industry has witnessed many achievements throughout 2018, there are many other challenges in the process of making a change.

“That is why EOG takes the responsibility of promoting this yearly event, aiming to provide national and international partners with the opportunity to discuss relevant topics and enhance the efficiency of the sector,” he said.

On behalf of the EOG Technical Committee, Thomas Maher, the committee’s Chairman, and President and COO of Apex Egypt, welcomed attendees and congratulated the committee members for their great effort in organizing the event.

“Our committee’s objective in designing this convention, in cooperation with the technical office of the Ministry of Petroleum, is to advance the realization and how important the Modernization Program, and particularly the upstream and people development pillars, is to our industry,” said Maher.

The convention’s panels were designed in a way that allowed industry leaders to review topics that shape the oil and gas sector and to answer crucial questions in the process. Topics discussed included the upstream investment climate, the modernization of joint ventures (JVs), and service agreements for mature fields.

The technical workshops were run by respected players in the industry and brought important updates on unconventional production enhancement; field best practices; new technologies; asset integrity; and health, safety, security, environmental and social awareness (HSSES).

The third day was dedicated to empowering young professionals and fostering the talent needed to secure the industry’s future. The Young Professionals Day, as it was named, held a live coaching session and a panel discussion about retaining talent.

Platinum sponsors included Apache, Apex, Cheiron, Shell, and Transglobe Energy. DEA was the Gold sponsor, while Maridive, Shawcor, and Subsea 7 were Silver sponsors. Bronze sponsors included Sapesco and Schulumberger. The Technical Workshops sponsor was Kuwait Energy; and the Delegate Bag & Name Tag sponsor was Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE). Wood Mackenzie was also present at the event as EOG official research partner.

Before initiating the event’s agenda, Fouad and Maher presented minister Tarek El Molla with an appreciation award for his efforts in the Modernization Project and in encouraging and guiding the youth in the sector.

EOG has also offered the Operational Excellence Awards for nominees of very insightful projects developed by joint venture companies in the Egyptian fields. The awards had one winner in the Individual category, and two winners in the Project category.

Ahmed Sultan, Petrophysics Department Manager at Tharwa Petroleum Company, received the Operation Excellence Award on the Individual Category. On the Projects category, winners were Petrodara and Petrobel.

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