1 OPAL NEWSLETTER August 2020 EDITORIAL TEAM RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ADAPT THE TEXTS TO SPECIFY THE COORDINATE FORMAT AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF PUBLICATION. NEWSLETTER August 2020 Issue 62 A PRODUCTION OF MEMBERS NETWORKING MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT Editor: Nenad Valentik ([email protected]) Content Editor: Shafa Al Hinai ([email protected]) General Supervison: Abdularahman Al Yahyaei ([email protected]) USE OUR CHANNELS: • Magazine • Newsletter • Events • Direct e-mails • Social Media ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES MESSAGE FROM THE CEO Dear OPAL Members, We live in challenging and uncer- tain times. While it is impossible to predict how events will unfold in the coming months, we want you to know that you can count on OPAL. In the last eight months OPAL con- tinued to deliver on what we prom- ised in our business plan and on top of that we have supported all our members in the fight against COVID-19. We are living the core values of OPAL with our dedication to en- hancing Safety, Health and Wel- fare of all employees working with our members. In the past few months, we have been active on many fronts and I would like to highlight some of the major achievements. We have continued to organize special flights to many destinations with Oman Air and Salam Air and other airlines whenever need- ed. To date, we have organized 102 flights repatriating more than 16,086 employees and secured approval for more than 8420 em- ployees to return to Oman. We will continue serving our member companies until the commercial flights resume operation. On Health, Safety and Envi- ronment, we conducted several meetings with the Leaders in HSE specific on COVID-19 to share experiences and best practices across the Industry. We have also launched the OPAL unified Road- worthiness Assurance Standard (RAS) inspection to help ensure the safety of all vehicles used in all concession areas. This long-await- ed milestone will significantly re- duce the fleet management costs for our members and streamline to process of moving vehicles from one concession area to another. We currently have 419 registered member companies. OPAL ser- vices to the industry and the value of OPAL membership has attracted more than 85 companies to join OPAL despite the economic impact of the pandemic. On July 1st, the Sector Skills Unit board held its first meeting. This will pave the way forward to get the SSU fully operational. You are welcome to get in touch with us, if you want to know more about the SSU and the long-term benefits for your organization as an OPAL member. Regarding the Human Resources consultancy services, our team of experts spent more than 200 hours providing guidance, ad- vice and further explanation on the Supreme Committee decisions pertaining to COVID-19 and the application of the Labor Law. We held numerous workshops in the recent months addressing key industry issues, for example a workshop on Omanisation op- portunities of Welding Engineers, 3 workshops on managing labour issues posed by COVID-19, a workshop on National Occupa- tional Standards (NOS) develop- ment and Occupational Mapping, as well as a workshop for the Ministry of Labour on OPAL STAR audits. All workshops were held under the “new” way of communi- cation in order to keep everybody safe from harm. We managed to issue more than 280 various announcements on our social media reaching more than 28,000 followers in order to constantly keep you updated, provide guidance on measures re- garding the pandemic and other issues important for the sector. Let me use this occasion to en- courage you to utilize our media channels of communication and interact with OPAL. Additional we surely will support our members to re-post their publications, as long as they are in alignment with our values. This is another benefit of the OPAL membership. Please vis- it our website or call us for more information about this opportunity. Looking ahead, OPAL will cele- brate its 20th Anniversary on 27th October online with all our mem- ber companies during our AGM event. Also, we are exploring to organize our Best Practice Award event before end of this year and we are currently checking all options to give the Best Practice Award the audience and publicity it deserves. Thanks to all our combined com- mitment, dedication and mutual collaboration, I am very optimistic we shall achieve our targets for the rest of the year. Best wishes, Abdul Rahman Al Yahyaei OPAL CEO On10 th of August, H.E. Eng. Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas visited OPAL offices. In his addressing to OPAL employees he expressed his gratitude towards OPAL’s efforts in managing and mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on the sector, and the wide range of services offered by OPAL to its members and non members during this challenging time.
Transcript
1OPAL NEWSLETTER August 2020
EDITORIAL TEAM RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ADAPT THE TEXTS TO SPECIFY THE COORDINATE FORMAT AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF PUBLICATION.
NEWSLETTERAugust 2020
Issue62A P R O D U C T I O N O F M E M B E R S N E T W O R K I N G M A N A G E M E N T D E P A R T M E N T
USE OUR CHANNELS:• Magazine• Newsletter• Events• Direct e-mails• Social Media
ADVERTISEYOUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES
MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
Dear OPAL Members,
We live in challenging and uncer-tain times. While it is impossible to predict how events will unfold in the coming months, we want you to know that you can count on OPAL.In the last eight months OPAL con-tinued to deliver on what we prom-ised in our business plan and on top of that we have supported all our members in the fight against COVID-19. We are living the core values of OPAL with our dedication to en-hancing Safety, Health and Wel-fare of all employees working with our members. In the past few months, we have been active on many fronts and I would like to highlight some of the major achievements.We have continued to organize special flights to many destinations with Oman Air and Salam Air and other airlines whenever need-ed. To date, we have organized 102 flights repatriating more than 16,086 employees and secured approval for more than 8420 em-ployees to return to Oman. We will continue serving our member companies until the commercial flights resume operation. On Health, Safety and Envi-ronment, we conducted several
meetings with the Leaders in HSE specific on COVID-19 to share experiences and best practices across the Industry. We have also launched the OPAL unified Road-worthiness Assurance Standard (RAS) inspection to help ensure the safety of all vehicles used in all concession areas. This long-await-ed milestone will significantly re-duce the fleet management costs for our members and streamline to process of moving vehicles from one concession area to another.We currently have 419 registered member companies. OPAL ser-vices to the industry and the value of OPAL membership has attracted more than 85 companies to join OPAL despite the economic impact of the pandemic.On July 1st, the Sector Skills Unit board held its first meeting. This will pave the way forward to get the SSU fully operational. You are welcome to get in touch with us, if you want to know more about the SSU and the long-term benefits for your organization as an OPAL member. Regarding the Human Resources consultancy services, our team of experts spent more than 200 hours providing guidance, ad-vice and further explanation on the Supreme Committee decisions pertaining to COVID-19 and the application of the Labor Law.We held numerous workshops in the recent months addressing key industry issues, for example a workshop on Omanisation op-portunities of Welding Engineers, 3 workshops on managing labour issues posed by COVID-19, a workshop on National Occupa-tional Standards (NOS) develop-ment and Occupational Mapping, as well as a workshop for the Ministry of Labour on OPAL STAR audits. All workshops were held under the “new” way of communi-cation in order to keep everybody safe from harm.We managed to issue more than 280 various announcements on our social media reaching more
than 28,000 followers in order to constantly keep you updated, provide guidance on measures re-garding the pandemic and other issues important for the sector.Let me use this occasion to en-courage you to utilize our media channels of communication and interact with OPAL. Additional we surely will support our members to re-post their publications, as long as they are in alignment with our values. This is another benefit of the OPAL membership. Please vis-it our website or call us for more information about this opportunity.Looking ahead, OPAL will cele-brate its 20th Anniversary on 27th
October online with all our mem-ber companies during our AGM event. Also, we are exploring to organize our Best Practice Award event before end of this year and we are currently checking all options to give the Best Practice Award the audience and publicity it deserves. Thanks to all our combined com-mitment, dedication and mutual collaboration, I am very optimistic we shall achieve our targets for the rest of the year. Best wishes,
Abdul Rahman Al YahyaeiOPAL CEO
On10th of August, H.E. Eng. Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas visited OPAL offices. In his addressing to OPAL employees he expressed his gratitude towards OPAL’s efforts in managing and mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on the sector, and the wide range of services offered by OPAL to its members and non members during this challenging time.
Oman Society for Petroleum Services (OPAL), the Sultanate's first and only oil and gas/energy society have have signed an Memorandum of Understanding with Tabreed Oman for funding the COVID-19 testing. This came as an answer on call to support Ministry of Health (MOH) efforts in combating COVID19. OPAL and its member company joined hands in order to mitigate the effects and reduce the spread of coronavirus by funding the supply of necessary tests. This initiative represent a series of ongoing social responsibility initiatives which OPAL members took as contribution to limiting the effects of the epidem-ic spread. The agreement was signed by Mr. Abdul Rahman bin Humaid Al Yahyaei, OPAL CEO and by Mr. Salem bin Mohammed Al Farsi, CEO – Tebreed Oman.Commenting on the signing of the agreement, Mr. Al Yahyai said that this is the second MoU Society is signing with one of its members in order to support the Ministry of Health's efforts with regard to the procedures of Covid-19 tests. “As part of OPAL's DNA, we will continue emphasizing the social responsibility of our members in supporting health initiatives with financial donations, which help in the fight of COVID-19. The important role of OPAL and its members is social responsibility and having that on mind we will continue supporting the sector and society at large not only through financial aspects but also on the advisory and consultancy services role by raising the awareness of good health practices in spreading the coronavirus infection”, Mr. Al Yahyai said.On this occasion Mr. Salem bin Mohamed Al Farsi, Tabreed Oman CEO assured the company’s willingness for contribution in uplifting national efforts to reduce the spread of the corona virus. He added: “We are proud to be part of this OPAL’s initiative which unifies the whole sector as a single body by providing a unique platform to contribute and also influence in the develop-ment of the national agenda. Our contribution for a good cause is within the framework of social responsibility. Providing the necessary tests for community members will help identifying the infection and thus reducing the speed of transmission of the virus to new individuals.OPAL’s high aspiration is to encourage best behavior and best practice fo-cusing on the sustainability of the safeguard of our members employees, the wonderful and precious Environment of the Sultanate of Oman, throughout all levels of the industry, at all times.
OQ, Oman’s globally in-tegrated energy company, via its commercial arm OQ Trading, has announced the signing of a three-year agreement with OMIFCO to offtake and trade one million metric tonnes per annum of granular urea. OQ’s Supply & Trading business will be lift-ing the urea from OMIFCO’s
captive terminal in Sur, Oman in bulk carriers and delivering it to end-users in international markets such as India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the United States, Brazil, Vietnam, Thailand and China. The new agreement between the two companies commenced on August 1, 2020, and the first vessel with 49,500 metric tonnes departed to Brazil on August 2, 2020.“OMIFCO has positioned itself strategically in the urea and ammonia market globally, and we are quite proud of that. Now we have a great opportunity ahead of us; targeting new markets for the Omani urea,” said Talal al Aufi, Chief Executive, Commercial, OQ. This agreement will expand OQ’s Supply & Trading portfolio into the nitrogen fertiliser market, complementing its existing dry bulk portfolio, whilst leveraging its mature logistics and risk management capability as well as its strong industry network. An additional agreement also saw the debut of Urea Oman in the local market, being marketed under the OQ brand, once again expanding OQ’s robust portfolio of energy and petchems products.Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, OMIFCO is a joint venture between (50 per cent) OQ, (25 per cent) Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) and (25 per cent) by Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO).It was established as a strategic initiative between the Omani and Indian Gov-ernments to construct, own and operate a modern, world scale ammonia-urea fertiliser manufacturing plant in Sur, Oman.OMIFCO plays a critical role in strengthening the relationship between the two countries, and meeting Oman’s vision to diversify the Omani economy.
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), says it is exploring the potential use of ‘reject water’ from its re-verse osmosis desalination plants to grow vegetables in its concession.The initiative is being pilot-ed at the Harweel desali-nation plant in the south of its license, the majority state-owned company re-
vealed in a recent edition of Al Fahal, its in-house newsletter.Under an agreement reached with local Omani contractor Wabas Enterprise and Investments, around 500 cubic metres per day of reject water from the Har-weel plant will be used to grow food crops destined for accommodation camps operated in the concession area.Around 30 per cent of water produced from PDO’s desalination plants, which depend on supplies from underground aquifers, is termed as reject water be-cause of high concentrations of dissolved solids estimated as high as 5,000 parts per million (ppm). Such water must be disposed of in open ponds. How-ever, reject water from the Harweel, as well as Marmul, desalination plants has dissolved solids of less than 2,000 ppm, making it suitable for agricultural use, according to PDO.Around 1,200 m3/day of reject water from the Harweel and Marmul desalina-tion plants is being earmarked for use in the cultivation of vegetables for camps in the concession area – part of an effort by PDO to optimise water use from its reverse osmosis plants.
OPAL SIGNS MOU WITH TABREED OMAN FOR FUNDING THE COVID-19 TESTING
OQ AND OMIFCO SIGN MAJOR GRANULAR UREA OFFTAKE AGREEMENT
PDO TO TRIAL USE OF ‘REJECT WATER’ FOR DESERT CROP CULTIVATION
OPAL NEWS
DID YOU KNOW?OPAL SERVICES & BENEFITSBusiness Promotion and Marketing
OPAL members have access to the OPAL Community, Events and Publications to network with other members and players from the Sultanate’s Energy sector.
MEMBERS NEWS
3OPAL NEWSLETTER August 2020
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MEMBER NEWS
Where buildings or industrial facilities collapse in the aftermath of a fire, ex-plosion or natural disaster or where accidents happen in mountainous areas, salvage of victims requires an emergency rescue team with special skills. These skills allow rescue personnel to attempt safe recovery by means of so called “rope rescue” operations. Recently, the International College of Engineering and Management secured the accreditation for rope rescue courses to train personnel to the Awareness, Operation or Technician level. Each course meets the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) criteria and certificates are issued by the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC).The 80-hour training program for emergency responders follows the NFPA 1006 (2017 Edition) and meet the Rope Rescue Awareness, Operation and Technician levels. Course modules will teach critical skills such as:• How to determine applicable anchor systems, effective knots and expect-
ed loads;• System safety checks and inspections for compromised integrity;• Directing the operation of a compound rope mechanical advantage sys-
tem in a high-angle• Environment;• Analyzing the efficiency of a rope system and managing the movement
of a load.
PrerequisitesCandidates must: • have the IFSAC/NFPA 1072 awareness level award;• be physically fit to undertake strenuous,
physical activities. Training will normally take place at ICEM's campus. Courses can delivered at a customer location following a satisfactory site inspec-tion. Languages Courses are offered in English, Arabic or En-glish with Arabic support.Further enquiry could be forwarded to ICEM's Marketing Department:[email protected]
SIEMENS ENERGY OBTAINS $3.55BN REVOLVING CREDIT LINE
Siemens Gas and Power (Siemens Energy) has closed a three billion euros ($3.55 billion) sustainability linked syndicated multi-currency revolving credit fa-cility with an international consortium of banks.The loan amounts, whose interest rate is also linked to sustainability criteria, can be drawn in various currencies. The deal also incorporates a Swingline option of one billion euros for funds that can be drawn at very short notice.A key component of the credit line is the link to sustainability: the financing costs are linked to the fulfilment of defined key performance indicators (KPI) referring to environmental, social and corporate governance criteria (Environmental, Social and Governance, ESG), which help to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases (CO2 Equivalent) and Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR)."We are already very well financed for our planned listing at the end of Septem-ber. The new credit line will provide Siemens Energy with additional financing that can be drawn on at short notice, thus ensuring additional flexibility”, said Maria Ferraro, CFO of Siemens Energy.The agreement has a term of three years with two one-year extension options and serves general corporate purposes.Having raised more than 4.5 billion euros commitments from the banks, the transaction has proven highly popular in the market. Due to this huge oversub-scription commitments were significantly scaled back, a Siemens statement said.
SKILLS TO THROW SOMEONE A LIFELINE – ICEM CERTIFIED ROPE RESCUE COURSES
Launching New SAS website: http://www.seehalsarya.com/ Please visit SAS social media at below links:
seehalsarya seeh.sarya.33
Seeh Al Sarya Engineering L.L.C. is pleased to announce the New SAS Logo effective from 15th June, 2020. Whilst the logo upholds the company name in English:• The letter ‘S’ stands for Seeh• The letter ‘A’ stands for Al• The letter ‘S’ stands for Sarya The colour represents Sultanate of Oman Flag that contains Red, Green & White. A Camel photo is on the top of the symbol which represents the histo-ry of Seeh Al Sarya; where the owner Sheikh Mohammed Al Darai, camel participated in a camel race it won therefore it was sold and the profit received was invested into the start of the company.
4OPAL NEWSLETTER August 2020
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BUREAU VERITAS OPENS SEVEN REMOTE SERVICE CENTRES
Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspection and certification ser-vices, has opened seven remote service centres in key locations around the world.The company aims to convert 50% of physical surveys offshore to remote surveys by the end of 2021.The latest centre opened in Singapore recently, joining others in Shang-hai, Miami, Rotterdam, Piraeus, Istanbul and Dubai. A centre is proposed for Aberdeen in autumn 2020with others planned to enhance the global network.By increasing connectivity in this way, Bureau Veritas is able to maximise cost efficiency for operators while maintaining service quality and firmly reducing carbon footprint.Earlier this year, the company reported a 900% increase in demand for remote inspections following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and they have conducted over 400 remote surveys since March for Class.Bureau Veritas will be the first independent verification body to have its UK-based remote inspection services accredited by the United Kingdom Ac-creditation Service (UKAS). This provides duty holders with the assurance that regulatory compliance is being maintained for the asset, all compo-nents and mobile equipment that can impact safety performance.At the beginning of 2020, Bureau Veritas introduced a number of pilot projects with leading energy companies and industry bodies to define good practice in verification services. The pilots are expected to support the introduction of new regulatory guidance towards the end of this year.
The joint venture Duqm Refinery and Petrochemicals Industries Company LLC (DRPIC) has tapped a leading Dutch engineering firm to provide the technology for a pair of world-scale polyolefin plants planned as part of a mammoth petro-chemicals complex envisaged for implementation downstream of the grassroots Duqm Refinery project currently under construction at the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Duqm on Oman’s Al Wusta coast.Rotterdam-based LyondellBasell, billed as the world’s biggest licensor of poly-olefin technologies, announced at the weekend that it has been selected by Muscat-headquartered DRPIC to provide its proprietary technologies for two plants dedicated to the production of polypropylene and polyethylene as part of the petrochemicals complex.Total investment in the petrochemicals complex, featuring an array of units that seek to maximise value generation from crude and other feedstocks flowing downstream from Duqm Refinery as well as other sources, is estimated at over $10 billion. DRPIC’s principal shareholders are OQ, the wholly Omani gov-ernment-owned integrated energy group, and Kuwait Petroleum International.In a statement, Lyon-dellBasell said it would provide its Spheripol PP process technology for a proposed 280,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) capacity polypropylene plant planned by DRPIC as part of the petro-chemicals complex. En-visioned alongside this plant is a significantly larger high-density poly-ethylene scheme sized at a world-leading 480,000 TPA. For the latter venture, LyondellBasell has earmarked its licensed Hostalen ACP process technology, it noted.DRPIC’s CEO Dr Salim al Huthaili (pictured) was quoted as stating that the tech-nology selections were among a dozen technology licence packages awarded by the company to help advance the delivery of Oman’s biggest petrochemicals project.“The Spheripol and Hostalen technology licences forms part of 12 technolo-gy licence packages awarded by DRPIC to international technology providers, advancing the Front End Engineering and Design progress towards achieving shareholders’ Final Investment Decision in 2021,” said the CEO.“Due to the increasing global demand for petrochemical products, the DRPIC Petrochemical Project will become a significant player in the region, benefiting from its strategic location on the Oman eastern seaboard with direct access to international markets. Working with long established technology licensors en-ables us to develop a world class project empowering the future development of downstream petrochemical industries in the Special Economic Zone of Duqm,” he further added.FEED work for the giant petrochemicals complex is being undertaken by UK-based international energy services specialist Wood Group. The FEED package covers not only the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) extraction facility, to be located in Central Oman, but also a 230-km pipeline connecting the facility with Duqm.The centrepiece of the complex in Duqm is a mega mixed-feed 1.6 million TPA capacity Steam Cracker that will process select product streams from Duqm Refinery, as well as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Full Range Naphtha (FRN), off gases and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) extracted from natural gas available in central Oman.Significantly, the complex plans to produce a string of new products for the first time in Oman, notably Ethylene Glycols, Oxo Chemicals and Butadiene, there-by adding to the portfolio of petrochemicals already produced in the Sultanate. New grades of polyethylene and polypropylene proposed to be produced at the Duqm complex will also complement the existing product portfolio. Addition-ally, these product streams will serve as feedstock for value-adding downstream investments, thus driving the growth of a vibrant chemicals and petrochemi-cals-based industry in Duqm and beyond.
THE JOINT VENTURE DUQM REFINERY AND PETROCHEMICALS INDUSTRIES
COMPANY LLC
MEMBER NEWS
5OPAL NEWSLETTER August 2020
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OQ Company, the Ministry of Edu-cation (MoE) and Jusoor Foundation signed a Memorandum of Coopera-tion (MoC) to manage and operate Liwa Science and Innovation Centre, which is one of the community in-vestment projects executed through Jusoor Foundation, non-profit Social Responsibility arm of Sohar Alumini-um, Vale and OQ.As per the signed MoC, the Minis-try of Education, represented by the Directorate General of Education in North Al Batinah Governorate, will be responsible for the operation and management of the facilities of Liwa Science and Innovation Centre.The MoC terms include the formation of the supervisory committee of the centre that will supervise the manage-ment and operation of the centre’s facilities. This committee, which will be chaired by the Director-General of Education in North Al Batinah Gover-norate, will also handle the approval of work plans and maintenance for the centre and its various facilities and will provide administrative and technical staff for the operation of the centre's facilities, including the Inno-vation Hall, Planetarium and Learn-ing Resource Center.
“OQ is keen to strengthen capabili-ties and develop competencies in the science and innovation areas, and equipping the educational field and the local community with the latest relevant scientific developments, to align with the aspirations of Oman Vision 2040 that has been stressed upon by the Royal Speech of His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik. As a translation of the HM’s directives to place research and innovation on the top national priorities, we are execut-ing a number of centres for science and innovation in Liwa, as well as Al Buraimi and Al Dhahirah Governor-ates, within the Corporate Social Re-sponsibility program through Jusoor Foundation,” said Dr Hilal bin Ab-dullah al-Hinai, Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Refin-eries and Petrochemicals at OQ.
“Liwa Center for Science and Inno-vation is one of the most important centres, in terms of implementation, readiness and space. Signing the Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ministry of Education today is the actu-al launch of the services of the Center to activate the activities of its facilities and objectives for the benefit of the lo-cal community, in a bid to activate the integration between the government and private sectors in supporting sus-tainable social development projects,” Dr Hilal Al-Hinai added.According to Dr Ali bin Nasser Al Harrasi, Director-General of Education at North Al Batinah, Liwa Center for Science and Innovation will reflect the recommendations of the Fourth Indus-trial Revolution Conference, held by the North Al Batinah Governorate last year.
“It will be an educational destination and practice laboratory, through which students can hands-on-ex-perience to apply what they learn theoretically at schools. It will also be a place to experience science and arouse passion among students and the local community to modern knowledge and technologies. In ad-dition, the centre is expected to play a pivotal role for the support and en-couragement of scientific and knowl-edge activities, and it will enhance the national identity through the workshops and cultural forums that the centre will be implementing, as it contains a learning resource centre and an equipped multi-purpose hall that can accommodate up to around 500 people,” Al Harrasi said.The MoC was signed by Al Harra-si, Director General of Education at North Al Batinah, the Wali of Sohar, Sheikh Ali bin Ahmed bin Al-Shamsi, Acting Governor of North Al Batinah, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jusoor, and Dr Hilal bin Abdullah Al Hinai, Adviser to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Refineries and Petrochemicals at OQ.
OQ, MINISTRY SIGN PACT TO MANAGE, OPERATE LIWA SCIENCE & INNOVATION CENTRE
MEMBERS NEWS
ISO 29001 A GAME CHANGER FOR OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
The petroleum, petrochem-ical and natural gas indus-tries can now all benefit from management leader-ship in the form of the ISO 29001 standard, which is ready to be implemented by any organisation operating with a management system standard (MSS). ISO 29001 has been designed to work well together with another of the ISO staples; ISO 9001, one that is likely familiar with many oil and gas businesses already, writes Karl Ahlgren, Marketing Manager at Pervidi, a technology innovator and provider of solutions for organisations.Replacing the previous technical specification ISO/TS 29001, ISO 29001 is a game changer in the way it can work together with other standards to create safe and smart best business practice. As the leading authority globally for publishing standards, the publication of ISO 29001 represents yet another big moment for an industry. For oil and gas organisations, there are several challenges in the form of supply chains and operations, not least in the current economic climate and the onset of a global pandemic. Luckily for the petroleum industry, the International Organization for Stan-dards (ISO), has not stopped working on ISO 29001 -- the flagship man-agement standard for oil and gas organisations.ISO 29001, the newest standard for oil and gas organisations outlines the quality management system requirements in the form of products and service supply for all actors and stakeholders in the field. What is required for ISO 29001 to work at its optimum, is the integration of paperless solutions with a powerful and adaptable computerised main-tenance management system (CMMS).
6OPAL NEWSLETTER August 2020
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SOLAR, WIND ENERGY ARE BEST ALTERNATIVES TO FOSSIL FUEL
IN OMAN: STUDY
SECTOR NEWS
A study conducted by researchers of the Department of Geography, Col-lege of Arts and Social Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) has found that both solar radiation and wind are promising and substantial renewable energy alternatives to fos-sil fuel resources in Oman.The study entitled, ‘Exploring the potential of solar, tidal, and wind energy resources in Oman using an integrated climatic-socioeconomic approach’, was published recently by ScienceDirect, a leading plat-form of peer-reviewed literature and a website which provides subscrip-tion-based access to a large database of scientific and medical research.According to the authors, , Mohamed Hereher and Ahmed M el Kenawy, the study presents for the first time, a comprehensive assessment of the po-tential renewable energy resources in Oman, with a particular focus on so-lar, wind and tidal energy resources. The study adopts a novel approach to assess the potential of these energy resources, in which information from multiple climatic indicators is coupled
with socioeconomic drivers of ener-gy development. Specifically, based on a daily dataset of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System Re-analysis (CFSR), three climate indica-tors were employed to characterize the frequency, intensity, and duration of solar radiation and wind speed.The authors introduced a new over-all assessment index (OAI) based on these three climatic indicators to ex-plore the best localities – from a cli-matic perspective-for generating solar and wind energies. The validity of the recommended sites was discussed in the context of important physiograph-ic, environmental, and socioeconom-ic constraints (e.g. population density, urban settlements, distance to water bodies, transportation network, and so on).The results demonstrate that both so-lar radiation and wind can be seen as promising and substantial alterna-tive sources of fossil fuel resources in Oman, with almost 3.2 per cent and 4.4 per cent of the Omani territory being valid for sustainable use of
wind and solar radiation, respective-ly, the authors stated.The most recommended sites for wind generation are located mainly along Al-Jazir and Duqm coasts of south-eastern Oman, where a promising wind energy center can be construct-ed. The best localities for the develop-ment of hybrid solar radiation gener-ation centres are likely to be placed in Suhar and Thamrait, where solar intensity approaches 8.1 kWh/m2, with a high frequency of occurrence throughout the year.Last year, the Oman Power and Water and Procurement Company (OPWP) — the country’s sole buy-er of electricity — unveiled its re-newable energy development plan which envisions the procurement of 3,050 megawatts (MW) of renew-ables-based capacity by 2025. The
first 500 MW of this capacity will come into operation in 2021 when the Ibri II Solar Independent Power Project (IPP) is completed. By 2023, an extra 1,000 MW will be added to the portfolio when Manah Solar 1 and Manah Solar II are brought into operation. OPWP’s plan also envisions private-driven investments in wind-based projectsThe study provides a solid base for national and local decisionmakers in Oman for a reliable assessment, monitoring, and sustainable exploita-tion of clean and renewable energy resources, especially with high pop-ulation growth, accelerated urban-ization, and rapid economic growth over the past few decades, which can pose more challenges to future ener-gy demand in this country, the authors added.
OPAL 2020 ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE It is already September and we can say that 2020 has been an exceptional year already. Throughout new challenges and uncertain-ty, we've been through a time of great learnings and opportunities. Many achievements were made and we would like to present you some of major milestones from OPAL.
234hours of HR consultancy
mostly around SC decisions.
102Organized
Flights to date (with 16,086 outbound,
8,420 incoming).
17
Introduced OPAL STAR remote
Audits.
OPAL STAR audits.
Conducted
Issued OPAL Brochure 2020.
Issued more than
posts & videos.274+
DigitalizedOPAL
magazine.
Signed 2 agreements to raise fund with Total and Tabreed Oman to support
Ajyal HR Solutions & Services LLC is a local firm, established in 2006 to support the Omani & GCC market through providing Human Resources Solutions and Management Consultancy through its global experience and international Partners. We provide companies solutions to help their business grow and prosper through development of their Human Capital potential.
Overview of Ajyal’s Services
Talent Sourcing/Recruitment
Our talent sourcing process has been proven very e�cient, cost e�ective, and involves quick mobilisation; we would like organizations to consider our services for the following reasons:• Existing large database of Omani candidates• Quick search and initial screening of suitable candidates• Pre-screening and shortlisting of qualified candidates• Only candidates who fit the profile will be selected• Client interviews only the shortlisted candidates • No external pressure on selection of candidates• Lower total cost of hiring/recruitment• HR sta� better utilized for value added activities or saving in position(s)
Assessment and Development Centres
• Selection & Development Assessments (Graduate to CEO Level)• Leadership/Executive Assessments• High Potential Identification• Succession Management• 360 Degree Feedback • Executive Coaching• Career Counselling• Sta� Engagement & Satisfaction Surveys
HR Consulting
• Development of HR Policies & Procedures • Compensation and Benefits Review • Job Descriptions/Evaluation• Organization Development• Performance Management• Salary Benchmarking• Enterprise Risk Management• Recruitment Software
Learning & Development
• CIPD – Human Resource Certification• CIPS – Procurement and Supply Certification• CILT- Certificate in Logistics and Transport• CMI – Chartered Management Institute• Competency-Based Management Systems • Soft Skills Training Courses • E-Learning Solutions
