Under the theme of “Driving Energy Transition, Security and Decarbonization,” the Egypt Energy Show’s Technical Conference this year featured a rich variety of sessions, showcasing the latest innovations, cutting-edge technologies, and a heavy dose of extreme engineering.
In a session which dealt with gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology and innovation, Mariano Mercadante, CEO of HubZeroNet SRL reviewed the objectives of HubZeroNet as a platform that facilitates developing non-traditional fuels for transport by promoting the connection between supply and demand.
In this same session, Petroleum Engineer Mennatullah Ali, from the American University in Cairo (AUC), discussed the challenges and opportunities in the field of carbon dioxide utilization and petroleum engineering.
“The most efficient way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is to reduce fossil fuel consumption or enhanced oil recovery,” said Ali.
In the same session, Abdallah Sayed El-Ghabawy, Lecturer at Alexandria University, reviewed the technology of absorbed natural gas (ANG) as a means of storage and to be used in vehicles and other energy uses.
“Over 1 trillion cubic feet of gas is being flared each year and regulations are being put in place to stop flaring,” said El Ghabawy. He added that ANG has the potential to replace CNG and LNG storage in vehicles.
In a session titled “Drilling Technologies and Solutions”, Ahmed Ismail, Drilling Engineering Team Leader at Dragon Oil introduced a case history in Egypt in which he explained the power of augmented reality (AR) and how it revolutionizes subsea installation in the Gulf of Suez.
As part of the same session, Abdul Mushawwir bin Mohamed Khalil, Business Support & Technical Manager at MIT Technologies, presented a paper titled “Intelligent Downhole Circulation Tool: A Versatile Approach for Risk Mitigation in Well Exploration and Development”.
In a session titled “Creating Diversity and Change Management”, Alla Levadnaya, Managing Director at Growth Associates UK Limited, focused on Coaching as an enabler of new leadership for a changing energy environment.
“Coaching is an accelerator of individual development as core competencies required are constantly evolving,” stated Levandnaya.
During the same session, Passant Elgheriany, Projects HSE Engineer at Petrojet, reviewed the health, safety, and environment (HSE) capacity-building program as an example for improving the process safety competency and enhancing calibers for change inside the Egyptian oil and gas sector.
“The primary objective is to identify individuals who have the potential to bring positive changes in their respective domains and become effective,” said Elgheriany.
Moreover, Nora Mashhour, Human Resources Department Head at ANOPC, talked about enhancing workplace learning through technology, e-learning, virtual development, and knowledge transfer.
In a session about unconventional resources development, Mohamed Adel Ibrahim Khalil of North Port Said District Department Manager, Belayim Petroleum Company (Petrobel), presented a study about “Declared Post-Messinian Low Resistivity Pay Zones Through Integrated Workflow to Evaluate Unrevealed Hydrocarbon Potential, Northeastern Nile Delta, Egypt”.
“This study is an attempt to prove that reviewing/revising geological and reservoir petrophysical interpretations is a process worth trying,” said Khalil.
Haochen Han, Senior Engineer Beijing Petroleum Machinery Co, Ltd, made a presentation about the development and application of multi-stage fracturing dissolvable frac plugs for horizontal wells in Mahu tight conglomerate reservoirs.
In a session titled “Gas Production and Processing”, Jeff Earl, Director of Business Development at Sapphire Technologies, talked about pressure energy recovery systems for the natural gas midstream sector.
During the same session, Nady Diab, Process Engineering Department Head at Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO), presented computational investigations about corrosion inhabitation of carbon steel in a wet acid gas environment using CORR 11631 A.
The second day of the EGYPES Technical Conference featured 20 sessions that covered a wide range of topics, including innovations in offshore and marine technology, alternative energy sources like hydrogen and renewables, as well as decarbonisation pathways and circular economy. There were also discussions on pipeline infrastructure and digitalisation.
In a session about hydrogen production infrastructure and development, Heba Bahaa Eldeen, Head of the Technical Office at Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO), discussed hydrogen supply-chain challenges and energy future in Egypt.
“To achieve the ambitions of COP21, the world needs to transform from non-renewable, carbon-based energy sources to low-carbon energy sources,” said Bahaa, referring to the important role of hydrogen in the energy transition and the need to overcome the challenges facing its deployment.
“The challenges for promoting green hydrogen projects in Egypt is a mandatory to set stimulation roadmap includes supporting projects which aim to produce electricity from renewable energy sources, deploying mechanisms to accelerate demand for green hydrogen, gradually eliminating industrial technologies based on fossil fuels and imposing carbon tax, and lastly, incorporating long-term planning for hydrogen electricity and gas infrastructure,” Bahaa concluded.
In the same session, Maha Zahran, Risk Management and Strategic Planning Manager at PETROJET reviewed a presentation about green hydrogen from theory to end.
She explained the green hydrogen value chain starting from its production to its distribution, storage, and liquefaction
“We need to accelerate and speed up the deployment of green hydrogen as one of the solutions to achieve net zero emissions,” stated Zahran.
A session titled “Embracing Circular Economy” was co-chaired by Benson Egbevurie, QHSE Director, Egyptian Liquefied Natural Gas, and Mohamed Fathy, Manager at EGPC.
During the session, a presentation was made by Ahmed Shoman, Head of Technical Support at ETHYDCO, who showcased the mechanical recycling of polyolefins (packaging recycling). Shoman also discussed the effect of additives in the mechanical recycling process and end product specifications.
“Only 29 million tons or 9% of the 353 million tons of plastic trash produced worldwide in 2021 are recycled. The present system for producing, consuming, and managing garbage is obviously unsustainable,” said Shoman.
“Consistent mechanical recycling will lead to improved recycling rates, increased recycled content in products, and minimise the plastic we export landfill, incinerate, and litter,” he added.
The challenge now is to develop the best technical and economical solutions for the desired property profile,” he concluded.
In a session that dealt with offshore and marine operations, Yasser Elshehabi, Assistant General Manager at Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO), showcased a case study about the optimization for oil production using ESP and HJP systems techniques.
During the same session, Hany Abd Elsattar, Marine Operations Manager at TAQA, talked about the development of a customized multi-purpose offshore vessel with dynamic positioning capabilities in large-scale well intervention operations.
In a session titled “The Power of Renewables,” Hossam Elbakry, Rotating Equipment Engineer at Suez Oil Company (SUCO), reviewed a case study about small wind turbines for power generation on unnamed offshore oil and gas platforms in Egypt.
Within the same session, Yasmin Saad, Production & Energy Efficiency Engineer at Eni, showcased the design and implementation of a six-megawatt photovoltaic power plant.
In the session, Hebatallah Khaled Abd El Badie, Senior Electrical Engineer at Engineering for Petroleum and Process (Enppi), discussed performance improvement of wind generators using hybrid particle swarm algorithms and grey wolf optimizer.
The session was concluded with, Maged M. ElFateh, General Manager Assistant at Alexandria Mineral Oil Company (AMOC), talked about optimizing the efficiency of PV modules.
