CWC's Global Water: Oil and Gas Summit kicks off in Dubai

"Dubai is an ideal location to host this summit and we are honoured to receive the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum," said H. Frederic Ponton, CWC Group's Director of Government Relations - MENA.

"We are tackling two global issues particularly critical to this region - energy production and water conservation."

With the theme "Water Solutions for the Oil & Gas Industry," the summit opened with a session chaired by Dr Mohamed F Dahab, PhD, Professor of Engineering at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and featuring HE Dr Mariam Al-Shenasi, Undersecretary, UAE Ministry of Environment & Water along with Taher Diab, Director of Strategy & Planning, Supreme Council of Energy.

The session focused on creating strategic partnerships between entities in the energy and water sectors in order to ensure oil and gas companies consider environmental concerns throughout the course of their operations.

The summit continued with a discussion between key representatives from NASA, Saudi Aramco, AES Arabia and Water Standard exploring new treatment processes and strategies to ease costs and boost oil and gas production though effective water management.

"People outside the industry do not realise the massive impact energy production has on global water resources," said Shane White, Senior Producer of CWC Group.

"This is the first and only event to bring together leading stakeholders from both the water and energy sectors to analyse new water management solutions for the oil and gas industry. This issue is vitally important to us, both as good stewards of the planet and as a means to mitigate production costs and improve efficiency."

Afternoon sessions focused on proven water management techniques, such as the sustainable model used in the Nimr oil field in Oman, for boosting the efficiency of oil and gas production. Tuesday's programme concluded with a panel discussion chaired by Dr Adil Bushnak, Chairman and CEO of the Bushnak Group, and featured key representatives from ConocoPhillips, Global Water Intelligence, Water Standard and Abu Dhabi's Water, Regulation & Supervision Bureau. The discussion focused on the importance of reducing water usage footprints during oil and gas production while examining the long-term effects of efficient water management.

The Global Water: Oil & Gas Summit will continue on Wednesday with sessions examining the effectiveness of seawater desalination processes in operations throughout the Middle East and North Africa and analysing how particularly water-intensive procedures, such as extracting oil from mature fields, can be efficiently managed. The summit will conclude with a session hosted by DOW Water & Process highlighting their innovative solutions for managing limited water availability.

The CWC Group has partnered with UAE Ministry of Environment & Water, Dubai's Supreme Council of Energy and the Government of Dubai to organise the event and is receiving support from Global Water Intelligence, the International World Water Council, International Desalination Association and the Produced Water Society.