One year ago, the mining sector vouched for a fundamental change from within its core practices. That change came in the form of new legislative reforms and new opportunities that were sound enough to power through a pandemic. Throughout 2020, the sector retained its bold moves only to prove that Egypt’s mining potential is above any crisis. This one-year journey was full of exciting news that spearheaded the development of the sector.
What a year it has been for the global oil and gas industry and all its divisions! Unexpected as it was, it was not all downs, at least for Egypt. Despite the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt’s petroleum sector has had a strong year on so many levels and its refining division is no exception.
To begin with, the year had started with, what seemed like a temporary change in plans, as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In fact, experts had thought that the declining oil prices and excessive storage of oil and gas products were an unpredictable phenomenon. However, it took nearly 6 months after the impact of the global pandemic (Q3 2020) for experts to hypothesize that COVID-19 is here to stay for another couple of years. Not only that, but there is an expected 2nd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that is expected to hit between Q4 2020 and Q1 2021. The difference between the 2nd wave and the 1st wave of the pandemic is that this time, industry experts are ready for whatever comes their way.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced last July that all cars in Egypt will have to run on compressed natural gas (CNG), saying that new cars will not be licensed until they are converted. The president’s remarks were then followed by an array of amplifications to the government’s directives; all of which guarantee that CNG is optimum for all vehicles.
Crude and economy walk hand in hand and the 2020 economic turmoil is a proof of that. Despite the declared intention of energy transition and the pandemic-induced prices, it seems that the world will keep relying on crude for power for the near future. This may not be only good news for upstream oil companies but also for the petroleum trade sector, which may have another story to tell about the COVID-19 crisis.
As the world cast around for clean and efficient alternative sources of energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help combat global warming, the conversion to natural gas utilization has become a point of focus worldwide. It was no wonder to see the demand for natural gas increasing and so the demand for safe and cheap ways to transport and store.
To begin with, brownfield regeneration has been a very attractive topic in the oil and gas industry since the turn of the 21st century. With recent environmental regulations and frameworks pushing for land restoration and protection of contaminated sites, the oil and gas industry has faced tremendous pressure to comply with such requirements. However, before any brownfield site is redeveloped or regenerated for reuse, the brownfield must be effectively remediated from all potential hazards and toxins.
As we embark on the threshold of digital transformation, we are simultaneously gaining access to data more than ever before. However, are we making the most out of it to particularly understand the fluid flow in a reservoir? Here is where Rate Transient Analysis (RTA) shapes our datausageto unlock wellbore flow performance.
As the year comes to an end, taking a look back to how it was for the oil and gas industry, 2020 certainly was anything but calm. The tumultuous fluctuation of the oil prices has rocked the industry quite a bit; from narrowing and sometimes halting production, to layoffs. Combined with an unforeseeable pandemic, it was the perfect storm that altered the balance of norms, but that does not mean that the oil and gas industry will not pull through. In fact, it has opened new doors for the industry to explore; whether in energy transition or taking advantage of brownfields.
In the oil and gas industry, it is hard to produce barrels of oil without water as it exists in both onshore and offshore wells naturally. Due to this, sometimes oil companies have been referred to as water companies within the oil and gas sector. The ratio of produced water to oil varies from one well to another. CNBC reported, in 2017, that for each barrel of oil an average of three to five barrels of water is produced as well.
