Minister of Energy His Excellency Dr. Abdul Hussain bin Ali Mirza opened the 3^rd annual Middle East Operational Excellence Summit 2015 on October 19 at the Gulf Hotel conference hall. The event was attended by dignitaries and senior oil sector officials from all over Gulf and also international petroleum engineering and petrochemical companies; technical services providers and management consultants. A number of researchers, engineers as well as international and other local oil industry professionals participated. The event was organized by World Refining Association, Energy Exchange, Clarion Events and supported by Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) and the American Society for Operation Excellence in cooperation with NOGA

H.E. Dr. Mirza patronised the event and gave the opening speech, which included an audio-visual presentation on the oil and gas sector developments. The Minister expressed his pleasure about Bahrain hosting the series and praised the good organization of the conference since it was first held in the Kingdom. He said government was keen to attract specialized oil sector events to the country and play a prominent role in knowledge sharing among oil industry professionals.

The Minister pointed out that many rapid changes were taking place in the world, particularly in the oil and gas industry, with fluctuating prices threatening to change the scene significantly in a matter of months, which could affect the long-term capital investments.

H.E. Dr. Mirza said that the industry was aware of the need to focus on operational excellence, to consider ways to exercise it bearing in mind its importance and popularity among industry people world over. He said businesses and professionals in all walks of life are serious about applying business management principles so as to run companies safely and more efficiently and expressed delight that the conference papers cover such an important aspect.

The Minister pointed out that the oil and gas industry was currently facing many complex challenges, which had to be overcome with a strong operating methodology. He said that in a recent survey nearly 1,000 CEOs around the world confirmed that operational excellence was the fourth top challenge in developed nations, while some emerging nations in Asia and Latin America considered it the second most challenging.

The Minister discussed the progress of some of the petrochemical industry projects in the Kingdom of Bahrain which were unique, among them offshore oil exploration. Bahrain recently awarded contracts to build a new oil pipeline to connect to the Kingdom to Saudi Arabia. The Minister said he was proud of the fact that regional companies won the $ 300 million bid after tough competition with international companies, which is expected to be ready in 2018.

H.E. Dr. Mirza said that the Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) was named the GCC’s best-performing industrial organisation and received an award for manufacturing excellence. On the other hand, the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) Refinery Lab received a Certificate of Merit in a worldwide crosscheck testing programme and global appreciation for its conformity with international standards, which was another example of the adoption of operational excellence in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Minister praised the outstanding case-sheets presented during the conference, as well as the technical sessions and workshops organised to help oil industry technicians and engineers understand the key characteristics of operating in various work environments to run the industry in a sustainable way. He said that the technical papers presented at the event by researchers would help focus on the present and future challenges in the oil and gas sector in the Middle East and find innovative solutions.