October 9, 2019 Vol. LXXIV, No. 39 a weekly Saudi Aramco publication for employees unlock your creative genius ready to play? more than 230 events, 160 workshops, 30 speakers, three unique dining experiences, 12 exhibits, and 18 shows planned for the second edition of Tanween This Gravity Demo, using cutting-edge technology to propel individuals skyward, is just one of scores of activities, programs, and demonstrations that will be part of this year’s Tanween celebration in the Eastern Province. The see back page Demo is scheduled from 4-5:30 p.m. on Oct. 15 and 16. October 9, 2019 the arabian sun 2 company news Al Saggaf touts ‘Efficiency, Resiliency, and Sustainability’ at HSE conference by Jeff McCoshen balancing economic and Manama, Bahrain — Attendees of the environmental concerns Seventh Global HSE Conference and Exhibi- tion in Bahrain last week were told that “a Al Saggaf said a collective strategy toward strong foundation of health, safety, and en- achieving the right balance between contin- vironmental (HSE) protection” is a must for ued economic developments and protecting companies such as Saudi Aramco to main- the planet must be based on several factors, tain its social license to operate. including: While finding the right balance of those • Developing rational, well-rounded poli- factors can appear at times to be “elusive,” cies Muhammad M. Al Saggaf, senior vice pres- • Investing in the appropriate technolo- ident of Operations and Business Services gies with Saudi Aramco, said a committed ef- • The proper education of all stakeholders fort throughout the oil and gas industry is “And we must do all of this with a high achievable. degree of transparency and openness, be- “I believe anything is within our reach if cause the world is watching.” we fully commit ourselves, with dedication Technology, said Al Saggaf, is the key to and resilience,” Al Saggaf said in delivering solving most challenging problems faced the keynote address at the event. with regard to HSE. And the resilience that is required, said “But we must be the drivers — the adap- Al Saggaf, was never more evident than on Muhammad M. Al Saggaf speaks about developing strategies toward achieving the right balance tors and the adopters — of the technologies Sept. 14 when the company’s facilities in between continued economic developments and protecting the planet during his keynote best suited for our businesses. Abqaiq and Khurais came under attack. address at the Seventh Global HSE Conference and Exhibition in Bahrain last week. (Photo: Hatim “The breakthroughs of the Fourth Indus- Oweida/MPD) “Ultimately, fires that were intended to trial Revolution are redefining, in real time, break us revealed a company far more re- what is possible. But these breakthroughs silient than anyone could have imagined,” said is key to the sustainability of business fordability … but smart companies must ex- require vision, and they require investment.” he noted. success. plore and innovate solutions, and we must Al Saggaf told attendees of the confer- Al Saggaf said Saudi Aramco’s resilience is “We must begin with safety, because this be drivers of that change within our orga- ence that sharing experiences, knowledge, built upon three cornerstones — “our ded- is the field of the most direct impact on our nizations.” and best practices is important to finding icated and committed people … our vast employees,” said Al Saggaf. Turning his attention to the environment, the right balance on all matters pertaining hydrocarbon resources, and our world-class “But safety is more than an investment. Al Saggaf said, “This tests our social respon- to HSE. infrastructure.” I believe that the safety of our employees sibility toward our families, our people, and Saudi Aramco served as a co-sponsor of The profound challenges that major oil is a contract with them — whether it is ex- our ecosystem.” the four-day event, which brought together and gas companies face each day demand plicit or implicit — that we keep the work- He cited Saudi Aramco examples of where more than 5,000 professionals represent- “Efficiency, Resilience, and Sustainability,” Al place safe, not only because it is good for that commitment is paying off. ing over 150 companies from more than 30 Saggaf noted in highlighting the theme of business, but because it is our moral obli- “Decades of investment in our well man- countries. the conference. gation.” agement capabilities and technologies have Aali M. Al Zahrani, Saudi Aramco execu- Another component of that moral obliga- resulted in Saudi Aramco having the low- tive director of Safety and Industrial Security, sustainability built on safety, tion, he said, is the well-being of employees est upstream carbon intensity of any of the served as co-chairman of the conference, moral obligation and their dependents. world’s major producers. At the same time, which featured several subject matter ex- Al Saggaf talked about three co-centric “The challenges are complex to achieve our methane intensity is also one of the low- perts from the company throughout the circles of HSE, starting with safety, which he the right balance between quality and af- est in the industry.” week. Geophysicists look to artificial intelligence in digital transformation era by Susan V. Gonzalez understanding and interpretation, he added. San Antonio, Texas — The future of geo- With significant industry contributions to physics and how the world’s surface and land seismic acquisition and processing from subsurface is viewed increasingly depends our Advanced Research Center (EXPEC ARC) on the speed of technology to gather, pro- Geology and Geophysics Technology teams cess, and interpret data to make energy ex- and researchers throughout the company’s ploration business decisions. global R&D network, this year’s SEG accept- More than 7,000 geoscientists gathered ed more than 20 Aramco technical papers at the Society of Exploration Geophysicists’ and posters as well as a post-conference (SEG) International Exposition and 89th annu- workshop “Deep Learning-based 3-D EM al meeting in San Antonio in mid-September Inversion for Reservoir Monitoring.” for an overview of the latest technological Along with a titanium level sponsorship, innovations in geophysics, highlighting the Aramco sponsored SEG’s Evolve — a pro- application of artificial intelligence through gram designed to transition recent gradu- machine learning and data analytics. ates through learning and collaboration with Other sessions were devoted to novel ac- a real-world data exercise. quisition methodologies such as distributed On the exhibition floor, visitors were treat- acoustic sensing and advances in passive ed to in-booth presentations and a look at and electromagnetic methods used in gath- science, technology, engineering, and math ering seismic data. (STEM) community involvement with a vid- The conference, featuring 90 sessions Preparing for the conference are (left to right) Abdulrahman Alqarni from Data Management, eo featuring the Aramco sponsored Geol- Sulaiman Alotmy, who is with the Southern Area Reservoir Characterization Department, and and 20 post-convention workshops, struck Najoud Alotaibi, from the Geophysical Imaging Department. ogy Camp — a 17-day field experience for a balance between land and marine seismic science teachers conducted by Texas A&M topics, addressing both conventional and University. unconventional, as well as shale reservoir sense of the huge amounts of data we col- Maghlouth, manager of the Geophysical Im- Recruiting staff were on-site for poten- characterization challenges. lect, how we write meaningful algorithms aging Department in Exploration with Saudi tial career candidates in addition to Hous- Keynote speaker Walter Guidroz, coordi- to simulate the complex factors in predict- Aramco. While data becomes available fast- ton-based Aramco personnel from Upstream nator of the Energy Resources Program with ing reservoir properties,” said Saleh A. Al er than ever before, its usage still relies on and Public Affairs. the U.S. Geological Survey, noted how play assessments have changed given the ad- vent of unconventionals. The federal science KFUPM SEG’s “Challenge Bowl” is a was the two-person team from teams. They came in second place agency maintains a multidisciplinary staff popular annual event pitting King Fahd University of Petroleum — or runner-up — in a tough field with an expanded scope of geophysical con- team university teams from around the and Minerals (KFUPM). This earned of competitors. tributions to renewables, including geother- places world in a contest testing their Septriandi Chan and Ayman Chan will soon be working at the mal, hydro, solar, and wind. second in knowledge in geology, geophysics, Al-Lehyani a spot at the interna- Aramco Research Center-Houston "Challenge and SEG trivia. tional level, where they competed with an internship within the tackling Big Data challenges Coming in first in the SEG against 10 teams. The duo quali- Geology Technology Team assigned in Exploration Bowl" Regional Middle East Competition fied to the final round of three to a project examining well data. “Most challenging now is how we make the arabian sun October 9, 2019 company news 3 South Ghawar Producing Department wins gold with Green World Award Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — Saudi Ar- amco’s South Ghawar Producing Depart- ment (SGPD) was recently recognized at the Green World Global Awards ceremony, with a first place “Gold” showing for its in- novative “Flare Gas Recovery System.” Installed at the Gas-Oil Separation Plant (GOSP)-4 in ‘Uthmaniyah, the system uti- lizes existing GOSP infrastructure and avail- able resources to recover continuous flared gas during normal operations. how the ‘Flare Gas Recovery System’ works The innovative approach uses high-pres- sure disposal water as a motivating source Ali A. Al Hamed receives the Green World Award from HE Saud F. Al Suwailem, Saudi ambassador Hussain J. Ghamdi Hesham D. Wadie to Vietnam. The award, which recognizes remarkable work in the field of environmental to suck the gas from the flare header and protection, recognized the South Ghawar Producing Department’s Flare Gas Recovery System.