After a long hiatus due to the global pandemic, the third edition of the Egyptian Petroleum Energy Efficiency Conference and Exhibition (EPEEC) kicked off to a vibrant start in the presence of the industry’s most important notables on both the corporate and government levels. The conference was held on 17-18 May at Triumph hotel – 5th settlement.
In the presence of heads of organizations, holding companies and representatives from Egyptian and foreign petroleum companies, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla, inaugurated the conference and exhibition, that was organized under his patronage, stating that “the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum has been working consciously for many years on combating climate change and reducing emissions on many levels.”
The minister highlighted the sector’s intention to continue investing in energy efficiency opportunities in a way that enhances the sector’s readiness to deal with any challenges and to step towards a sustainable future on the environmental side. The sector should adopt energy and resource efficiency in light of the global trend towards a low-carbon future, El Molla added.
Outlining the importance of this occasion, Founder and CEO of Egypt Oil & Gas Group Mohamed Fouad said “improving energy efficiency is a key element factor in achieving the target of sustainable development goals not only on a global scale but also on a national one too.” Egypt Oil & Gas was the Media Sponsor of the event.
In the meantime, Christian Berger, the European Union (EU) Ambassador to Egypt, also reiterated the importance of this conference, which sheds light on how to improve energy efficiency in light of the global interest in tackling climate change. “With the Ministry, we have enjoyed long-lasting and fruitful cooperation. It is a signal and symbol of the very strong cooperation between the European Union and Egypt. This close cooperation is the fruit of the strong vision by the Ministry of Petroleum to modernize the oil and gas sector, thus paving the way for Egypt to become a main regional player in energy and also to ensure the sustainability of the sector at the national level.”
Sustainable Energy Transition
The conference started with a panel discussion that witnessed the participation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region Heike Harmgart, Chairman of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) Saad Helal as well as Ahmed ElBeltagui, Energy & Transport Sector Manager for the EU Delegation in Egypt, and a high-level representative from KBC Advanced Technologies (Yokogawa). According to the panelists, efficiency refers to the use of less energy to accomplish the same task or produce the same results. Homes and buildings with efficient energy use less energy to heat, cool, and run appliances and electronics, and manufacturing facilities with efficient energy use less energy to produce goods.
Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and its partners have a future vision to make a green transition happen.
During the panel, participants indicated that green transition is not only a challenge but also an opportunity; an opportunity to find new transition energy sources for the future. The sector’s experts should focus on energy efficiency, which can be considered as the first green transition fuel, to help Egypt become a green energy superpower.
Reshaping the future through the energy transition
The session “Reshaping the future through energy transition” discussed how to secure a sustainable energy transition through energy efficiency technologies with an emphasis on financing solutions.
It was explained, during the session, that funding obstacles are no longer a challenge to people who are interested in green projects, pointing out the availability of financing from four different banks.
In addition, each of those four banks got somewhere between EUR 20-30 million to source into the green market. The borrower that fits the eligibility criteria will get a 10-15% discount on the loan. The challenges, in this case, are: Do the banks understand the green criteria? Do they have the technical expertise to determine these criteria? Can the bank explain to the borrower what green criteria is?
Modernizing Energy Efficiency through Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence
The first day of the conference ended with a discussion about the role that digitalization can play in energy efficiency. Speakers in this session included KBC’s Senior Energy Consultant Alvaro Bolíbar de Rivera, Enppi’s Instruments and Control Engineering Specialist Heba Kadry, Emerson Automation Solutions’ Middle East Director of Business Development Andras Feher, and EPROM Energy Management (EnMS) Specialist Emad Darweesh.
The discussions revolved around the idea that digitalization in business helps to improve the efficiency of its operations, enables businesses to modernize production processes, accelerate efficient work, strengthen security, and increase profitability. Energy companies need to realize the promise of digital innovation at scale, on a global scale, digitalization within the energy specifically sector presents a significant opportunity to transform end-use and systems efficiency. Adding that in terms of how the world produces and consumes energy, digitalization has a significant impact.
By integrating AI (artificial intelligence) into energy efficiency strategies, energy management, energy forecasting, and renewable energy storage can all be improved. Machine learning not only helps to understand why certain operator makes a certain mistake but also helps to understand how to fix it and how to avoid the same mistakes in others operators. Participants also noted that machine learning could help to predict or forecast the future situation depending on the historical and current data.
Based on presentations from industry representatives, digital technologies have the potential to optimize the energy used in many energy-using activities. In the Energy management system, optimization is based on reducing energy costs or emissions.
Whether a company seeks to enhance energy efficiency to reduce costs or cut down on emissions, companies will need to look for an optimal way to supply their energy demands to carry out their field operations in the cheapest and cleanest way possible, participants indicated.
Innovative Solutions for Improving Energy Efficiency
During the conference’s second day, the first session discussed the various innovative ideas and solutions that companies are using to enhance energy efficiency. Ryan Evans, Spirax-Sarco’s Global Strategic Account Manager for Oil, Gas and Chemicals, delivered an interesting presentation on how his company contributes to making the petroleum sector more efficient, highlighting its cutting-edge steam trap management services. His presentation placed emphasis on the technological solutions that the company has to offer the sector.
In the next presentation, Khaled Elbedwehy, a Senior Business Development-Renewable Energy at TotalEnergies Egypt, outlined his company’s success story in improving energy efficiency. Elbedwehy first mentioned TotalEnergies firm commitment to reducing carbon emissions and investing in carbon capture systems all over the world, while also taking measures to boost renewable energies.
As part of a swiftly expanding multinational Indian giant Forbes Marshall, Yogesh Apshankar, the company’s Country Manager in Egypt, also presented their success story in Egypt, particularly in the areas of steam trapping, condensate recovery, and presenting other solutions to contribute to country’s quickly evolving energy sector.
Being a Principal Machinery Engineer from Enppi, Waleed Sabe’s presentation placed emphasis on the significant technological role that Enppi plays in Egypt’s energy sector, discussing various technological solutions that the company has introduced in Egypt for the first time as well as explaining a project where these new technologies were applied.
Concluding the first session, Wissam Moubarak, the Business Development Director from Voith Group, also gave a brief presentation shedding more light on the more mechanical aspects of this field with emphasis on topics such as gearboxes and other types of essential equipment.
Energy Transition Pathway Towards Low-Carbon Fuels
As global temperatures increase, it has become essential for the corporate world to work together and collectively agree on a commitment to reduce carbon emissions while ensuring a prosperous industry. The second session was an ideal platform for professionals from around the world to discuss both ideas and accomplishments revolving around the theme of this session which was “Energy Transition Pathway Towards Low-Carbon Fuels”. The session featured presentations by Axens Business Development Manager Jordi Pinent Armengol, KBC Advanced Technologies Senior Staff Consultant Azhari Dafaalla, Worley Director of Engineering and Technology Nathan Smith, as well as Hatem Shokry, VP of Business Development-MENA at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Many of the presentations talked about measures that have been taken or are being discussed to reduce, capture, and store carbon to achieve the objectives of climate action.
Representing Apache Corporation, Siew Kheong (SK) Wong, Gas Operations General Manager at Khalda Petroleum (Apache), talked about the company’s journey in working together with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporate (EGPC) and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to modernize operations, enhance sustainability, and increase energy efficiency.
Success Stories in the Egypt Petroleum Sector
The third session involved an inspirational group of presenters and experienced professionals who come from various petroleum companies in Egypt. Their presentations spoke about specific case studies where they were able to effectively enhance their operations and optimize the energy efficiency of their activities in the field. This part of the conference featured Ahmed Zahran who is the Energy Efficiency Assistant General Manager at Abu Qir Petroleum, Saied Mashaal as the Vice Chairman of Plant Operations at Misr Fertilizers Production Company (MOPCO), Elsayed Maamoun who is the Turbo Machinery Department Head from Rashid Petroleum (RASHPETCO), and Ahmed Hassan, the Energy Optimization Assistant General Manager from Badr Petroleum Company (BAPETCO).
Enhancing Energy Efficiency in Oil & Gas and Petrochemicals
Throughout the conference, the relationship between digitalization and energy efficiency was constantly emphasized as two elements that must work in parallel and, once again, this idea was reiterated in the conference’s fourth session. It began with a presentation by Spirax-Sarco’s Country Manager for Egypt, Libya and Sudan Amir Wahba, who offered insight into how his company’s technological solutions can be used for steam trap management, which can help companies working in the petroleum sector save both energy resources and money.
Moving to themes relating to reducing carbon in the atmosphere, Amgad Abdelrahim, a D&I Solutions Delivery Manager from Schlumberger, also talked about his company’s role in reducing carbon emissions all over the world. He specifically focused on the carbon capture and storage workflows that Schlumberger uses in the energy sector to ensure that the industry is heading in the right direction towards achieving its emissions goals.
The session was concluded with two stimulating presentations, one by Amira Badran, a Process Engineer from the Egyptian Maintenance Company (EMC), which talked about EMC’s integrated energy efficiency services as well as zero-to-flare, flare-to-power, recovering waste heat, static equipment revamping, and other renewable energy solutions. The other presentation, which was by Gas Cool’s Engineering General Manager Mervat Mohamed, discussed her company’s services as the first to adopt district heating and cooling in Egypt with the use of energy-efficient solutions. She also mentioned her company’s involvement in various projects, including some in the New Administrative Capital.
