SAS to host key players from Middle East oil and gas industry at 'Energy Conference 2009'

The event, which is being held on January 19, 2009 at the Hilton Abu Dhabi, will focus on integrated operations and analytical intelligence as a means to increase efficiency, productivity and control costs, with the conference speakers expected to tackle how oil and gas companies can have an integrated asset management approach and thus improve asset use.

In addition, the conference will also highlight SAS' solutions for the oil and gas industry, which provide a detailed view of digital / smart fields, integrated operations, subsurface and overall performance, and have the data management and predictive capabilities to fuel proactive decision making.

Amidst society's ever-increasing need for energy, SAS leverages its extensive knowledge on integrated operations and analytical intelligence to aid companies manage new and existing reservoirs, maximise production capacity and prepare for talent shortfalls in the industry.

By giving decision-makers an unbiased picture of their organisation's past performance, current systems and common practices combined with a realistic, data-driven prediction of future scenarios, both major and new players can transform masses of data about their subsurface, operations, reservoirs, fields, other assets, suppliers, contractors, risks, costs and profitability into strategic operational intelligence to fuel their competitive advantage.

"The global economic downturn has made the carbon-based energy economy more unpredictable than ever before. The staging of an event such as 'Energy Conference 2009' could not have come at a better time, as its primary aim is to help oil and gas companies enhance their operational performance. In addition to overcoming the challenges of the global financial turmoil, we are also focused on providing the right solutions to help oil and gas customers face the industry's current pitfalls, including uncertainty, the rapidly aging workforce and the looming skills gap, calls to lessen their environmental impact, and dealing with huge volumes of data. We believe that our 20 years of collaboration with leading energy players has made us a credible partner to help them maximise efficiency and investment returns."

Frank Mollerop, Vice President, SAS Global Oil and Gas Business Unit.

'Energy Conference 2009' is expected to draw in the participation of leading corporations within upstream, midstream and downstream operations in the region, including Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO), Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA OPCO), Zakum Development Company (ZADCO), Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd (GASCO) and Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Company Ltd (ADGAS).

Among the most anticipated topics in the conference include specific target-driven discussion on how oil and gas companies can increase production by 2 to 5%, reduce unplanned downtime by up to 80% and planned downtime by as much as 20%, and lower operational cost by up to 10% and budget inaccuracy by 15%, and the vital role SAS solutions can play in achieving these goals.

"The Middle East is a key focus region for SAS, with analysts and investors closely monitoring performance and evaluating future growth claims against a company's apparent capacity to adopt performance improvements in the face of major challenges. We believe that our solutions can bring enormous benefits to the region, especially to National Oil Companies, and we are looking forward to meeting oil and gas customers who are eager to enhance their performance by adopting a structured and future based approach to their operations through advanced analytics technology," concluded Peter Venn, Regional Director - Oil & Gas, SAS - Middle East & Africa.

The SAS Global Oil and Gas Business Unit comprises domain-savvy staff members from around the world who specialise in optimising performance for upstream and downstream customers. At present, its list of high profile customers from the region includes a number of the NOCs. In addition, SAS also serves as a strategic partner for ConocoPhillips Norway, with integrated operations helping the company make better decisions and control costs; and Petrobras, a Brazilian energy giant who has adopted SAS' solutions to effectively manage its large volumes of data to make more profitable decisions.