This is the first announcement regarding the global joint initiative between Intel and IBM, empowering oil and gas companies with the means to develop and test new technology strategies to improve reservoir/facility management and production through distributed and collaborative environments. IBM and Intel expect to announce a number of similar facilities around the world this year.
The ECC was inaugurated this morning under the auspices of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Education and attended by a number of high profile delegates including HCT's Chancellor, Dr. Tayeb Kamali, IBM's EMEA head of the Petroleum industry, Bob Moore, Intel's VP and sales and marketing group director, solutions market development group, John E. Davies, IBM's WW VP for education, Sean Rush, IBM's general manager for its Middle East operations, Takreem El-Tohamy, as well as several other senior executives from oil and gas companies across the region.
"From the oil fields to the data centres, advanced technologies have been critical to the success of the oil and gas sector. High-performance computing clusters analyse terabytes of seismic processing and reservoir simulation data. Sophisticated 3D visualization algorithms provide insights and understanding. Wireless handheld computers and laptops enable access to important data and applications from exploration and drilling sites. These technologies and others have helped the industry find and extract deposits more quickly and efficiently, while controlling costs and reducing risks," said Dr. Tayeb Kamali, chancellor, HCT. "Today, we are extremely proud to announce that a new generation of advanced technologies will now be available through the ECC, the region's most sophisticated testing facility."
Originally established in 2002 as a joint initiative between IBM and Intel, the ECC is the Middle East's only centre of its kind. Over the past two years, it has been a valued resource for exploration and production companies and solution providers such as Schlumberger and Landmark, who have used the facility to further expand IT competency in the energy sector. The announcement today makes it easier for these companies to test, evaluate and take full advantage of key technology solutions that have not been available before, including deep computing visualisation, on-demand computing, grid computing, digital enablement of key assets to enable real time monitoring and alerts, and asset life cycle management.
"The solutions we have unveiled today offer new ways to solve old problems and deliver revolutionary business benefits for oil and gas companies in this region. It is important, however, that these technologies are understood alongside the industry's business and technical challenges. This is why we are collaborating with partners such as Intel to develop innovative strategies and solutions that can help these companies visualise, virtualise and integrate, allowing them to maximise the benefits of their IT investments and transform the way they carry out crucial activities," said Bob Moore, director, chemical and petroleum industries, IBM EMEA. "We believe that the Middle East will play a very important role in the adoption of these key technologies across the world."
The ECC lab is equipped with highly sophisticated and open hardware, software and middleware technologies, with a wide range of IBM xSeries servers and Linux-based* IntelliStation* graphics workstations that are based on several Intel-chip platforms, including the IntelŪ PentiumŪ 4 processor, the Intel Xeon™ processor and the Intel Itanium 2 processor.
"Business needs in the oil and gas sector are more demanding than ever. Aligning technology with business needs is more essential that ever. Through the Energy Competency Centre, Intel and IBM will readily demonstrate how energy companies in the region can unlock the business value of these vital technology advances. This spans from large databases and seismic calculations on Intel's Itanium2 processor to mobile connectivity with Intel Centrino™ Mobile Technology or Intel's Personal Internet Client Architecture on the oilfield," said John E. Davies, Vice President and sales and marketing group director, solutions market development group, Intel.
The new solutions unveiled today include Deep Computing Visualisation, Grid Computing, digital enablement of key assets to enable real time monitoring and alerts, as well as Asset Lifecycle Management. These technologies deliver business value by accelerating collaboration and communications across and throughout the entire exploration and production value chain, in addition to providing unparalleled education resources for the oil and gas sector.
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Intel and IBM kick off oil & gas initiative in Middle East
- United Arab Emirates: Sunday, February 20 - 2005 at 12:07
- PRESS RELEASE
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In a move that is likely to be the biggest technology announcement for the region's oil and gas sector, IBM Middle East and Intel today unveiled a range of pioneering new solutions at the Energy Competency Centre (ECC) located at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) Centre of Excellence for applied Research and Training (CERT) in the city of Abu Dhabi.
From left to right: Samir Al Schamma, General Manager, Intel GCC; John E. Davies, VP Sales & Marketing Group Director, Solutions Market Development Group, Intel; Vincent Garcia, Client Executive, Petroleum Industry Sales, IBM Middle East and Bob Moore, Director, Chemical & Petroleum Industries, IBM EMEA.
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Posted by Anne-Birte Stensgaard, Senior News EditorSunday, February 20 - 2005 at 12:07 UAE local time (GMT+4)
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This article was updated on Mon Jun 04 2007.
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About Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT)
Founded in 1988, the Higher Colleges of Technology address the unique educational requirements of a young, yet rapidly developing country, the United Arab Emirates. With 11 campuses throughout the country the HCT has expanded rapidly while consistently maintaining a commitment to excellence in teaching and learning. This commitment has made HCT a leader in education and training in the region. The graduates are prepared for the future, ready for the changing needs of the workplace, and trained for a life of ongoing learning and professional success. More information can be found at http://www.hct.ac.ae
About Intel
Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom
About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions ad technologies that enable telecommunications service providers and equipment suppliers to take full advantage of the new era of e-business. IBM Global Services is the world's largest information technology services provider and is the fastest growing part of IBM, with nearly 150,000 professionals serving customers in 160 countries.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Intel, Pentium, Xeon, Itanium and Intel Centrino are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
ECC Solutions Background Document
Innovative Solutions for Oil & Gas Industries:
Deep Computing Visualisation (DCV)
In an environment where enormous volumes of seismic, well log and other geophysical and geological data are essential to making sound business decisions, visualisation and collaboration are critical. DCV provides dramatically improved visualisation capabilities by combining innovative middleware with the capabilities of Intel's newest processor technologies and the latest generation of commodity graphics adapters. This produces an extraordinarily flexible and powerful visualisation solution that enables oil and gas companies to work with much larger models and enjoy much faster visualisation performance.
Grid Computing
The energy sector environment today requires fast, accurate decision-making to manage and optimise reservoir assets. Grid computing enables oil & gas companies to their seismic analysis and reservoir management decision-making and operations by unlocking untapped resources and increasing computational throughput. This will help them to considerably accelerate analytical processes, reaching end-results far more rapidly than within conventional computing environments. Grid computing also provides the necessary access, data and processing power to rapidly resolve complex reservoir and seismic problems, conduct compute-intensive research and data analysis, and engage in real-time business on demand.
Asset Life Cycle Management
Oil and gas companies must continually focus on managing large capital assets in a more efficient and cost-effective way. With asset management, these companies can reduce cycle time, accelerate production, increase quality, extend asset life and operate assets more safely. Operating expenses are lowered and assets produce more reserves over their lifetime. Using innovative technologies such as wireless to support mobile workforce collaboration, implementing collaborative knowledge-sharing environments and developing technical solutions, Intel and IBM can help these companies create significant value across the asset lifecycle.
Founded in 1988, the Higher Colleges of Technology address the unique educational requirements of a young, yet rapidly developing country, the United Arab Emirates. With 11 campuses throughout the country the HCT has expanded rapidly while consistently maintaining a commitment to excellence in teaching and learning. This commitment has made HCT a leader in education and training in the region. The graduates are prepared for the future, ready for the changing needs of the workplace, and trained for a life of ongoing learning and professional success. More information can be found at http://www.hct.ac.ae
About Intel
Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom
About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions ad technologies that enable telecommunications service providers and equipment suppliers to take full advantage of the new era of e-business. IBM Global Services is the world's largest information technology services provider and is the fastest growing part of IBM, with nearly 150,000 professionals serving customers in 160 countries.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Intel, Pentium, Xeon, Itanium and Intel Centrino are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
ECC Solutions Background Document
Innovative Solutions for Oil & Gas Industries:
Deep Computing Visualisation (DCV)
In an environment where enormous volumes of seismic, well log and other geophysical and geological data are essential to making sound business decisions, visualisation and collaboration are critical. DCV provides dramatically improved visualisation capabilities by combining innovative middleware with the capabilities of Intel's newest processor technologies and the latest generation of commodity graphics adapters. This produces an extraordinarily flexible and powerful visualisation solution that enables oil and gas companies to work with much larger models and enjoy much faster visualisation performance.
Grid Computing
The energy sector environment today requires fast, accurate decision-making to manage and optimise reservoir assets. Grid computing enables oil & gas companies to their seismic analysis and reservoir management decision-making and operations by unlocking untapped resources and increasing computational throughput. This will help them to considerably accelerate analytical processes, reaching end-results far more rapidly than within conventional computing environments. Grid computing also provides the necessary access, data and processing power to rapidly resolve complex reservoir and seismic problems, conduct compute-intensive research and data analysis, and engage in real-time business on demand.
Asset Life Cycle Management
Oil and gas companies must continually focus on managing large capital assets in a more efficient and cost-effective way. With asset management, these companies can reduce cycle time, accelerate production, increase quality, extend asset life and operate assets more safely. Operating expenses are lowered and assets produce more reserves over their lifetime. Using innovative technologies such as wireless to support mobile workforce collaboration, implementing collaborative knowledge-sharing environments and developing technical solutions, Intel and IBM can help these companies create significant value across the asset lifecycle.
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