Bapco manager wins Emirates Energy Award

He was a runner-up in the Energy Engineer category of the prestigious Emirates Energy Award 2008, an annual competition under the patronage of H.H. Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the U.A.E. and Ruler of Dubai.

He received his award from H.H. Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman of Dubai Airports, at a ceremony held in January at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Dubai. Other award categories were Public Corporation, Private Corporation, Major Energy Project, Minor Energy Project, and Education & Research. The Emirates Energy Award is an initiative in line with Dubai Strategy 2015, which decrees the sustainable development of the emirate through green standards.

This award, and the recent commissioning of the $151m Refinery Gas Desulphurisation Project (RGDP) - one of Bahrain's most important environmental projects - show Bapco's ongoing commitment to effective environment, health and safety management.

The RGDP and a number of projects already completed, such as the Kerosene-Merox project and the introduction of unleaded gasoline, are part of a comprehensive environmental compliance plan. Bapco's absolute commitment to excellence in environmental protection was recently recognised with the award of ISO 14001:2004 certification. ISO 14001:2004 is an internationally recognised standard for environmental management system.

Faisal Ahmed embraced energy conservation long before being appointed chairman of the Refinery Energy Team in 2002, and before the phrase became a frequently heard buzzword. Banking on motivated staff, he accepted the challenge of improving Bapco's energy efficiency and formed a dynamic team, establishing performance baselines, associated goals, and a long-term mission to achieve a corporate energy vision.

The dedication and passion of him and his team paid off and made the first energy audit, conducted by Chevron in 2003, an optimistic starting-point.

Leading the team to implement the recommendations, he worked hard to ensure timely completion of energy projects. He contributed actively to the Chevron Energy Best Practice workshop and led an initiative to maximise the best practice that made Bapco a Top 5 energy performer, resulting in an unprecedented improvement in Energy Intensity Index (EII) of 23 units in five years.

Urged on by Faisal Ahmed's unending quest for excellence, the team established Bapco's Energy Conservation policy to ensure sustainable development alongside energy optimisation. His commitment to environmental compliance led him to take the lead in the recent Clean Development Mechanism projects.

He also shares his years of experience and exposure to energy management through involvement in energy workshops as a guest speaker, and is committed to sharing best practice with the community, to inculcate energy culture change in the younger generations.