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Shell VP underlines case for natural gas

'Global reserves to last 250 yrs'
KUWAIT CITY, April 4: Speaking at the Kuwait Oil and Gas Summit & Exhibition, Mark Carne, Shell 's Executive Vice President - Middle East and North Africa today outlined the company's view of natural gas as a current and future source of energy for Kuwait and the region. The Kuwait Oil and Gas Summit & Exhibition, which is taking place in Kuwait between 4 and 6 April is being hosted by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation ( KPC ), a major partner of Shell in the Middle East.

In a keynote speech, Carne highlighted that the case for gas is compelling overall, but the specific way in which gas interacts with a country's economy varies enormously from one country to another. The first is that energy demand will grow some 40 % by 2030, and likely double by 2050. Shell believes that natural gas should become a key source of energy for two main reasons. Firstly, gas is abundant as recent estimates by the IEA assure that at current demand levels there are over 250 years of global reserves available. Secondly, Gas is economically affordable compared to burning fuel oil in power stations and thirdly it emits less CO2 and is environmentally more acceptable.

Referring to Shell 's long standing commitment to the region, Carne said:
" Shell has a proud history in the region over the last 100 years. By focusing on integrated gas, technology, and partnerships, Shell intends to be a vital part of the energy future that lies ahead. Shell has been working closely with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation ( KPC ) to provide imports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from a diverse, secure portfolio. In partnership with Kuwait Oil Company ( KOC ) Shell are also working to develop the Jurassic gas fields which will enhance domestic gas supplies and reduce the need for LNG imports.

Transfer
Carne added, "We don't just bring technology. We bring skills transfer and we bring people development. But we are also proud that KOC has developed a new way of working with Shell that will allow us to bring our technology and ways of working to support their gas growth plans."

Since 1948, Kuwait has been a major customer of Shell , whose technical expertise has helped the country tap into its oil and gas resources and bring those to market.

After more than 60 years of partnership, Shell and Kuwait's took their long-standing partnership a step further. On February 2011, Shell signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation ( KPC ) with the aim of jointly investigating new business opportunities.

Working relations with Kuwait is cemented across the oil and gas value chain. Shell is working with Kuwait Oil Company ( KOC ) on the development of the Jurassic Gas fields since early 2010.

Shell technical experts are working with Kuwait through Shell Kuwait Exploration and Production Company to support KOC in managing the ongoing development of the Jurassic Gas fields. In addition, Shell 's operational excellent and diverse LNG portfolio, supported signing an LNG supply contract to cover peak summer periods between April-October for the years 2010 until 2013.

Shell has a number of international joint ventures with Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) and, in 2005, extended collaboration with Kuwait through an MOU with Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) to develop projects in global markets.

Shell Lubricants' distributor, Al-Hafez Trading, supplies the local lubricants market and has more than 15% of the market share. In Kuwait's refineries much has been achieved over the past few years by Shell Global Solutions, in partnership with Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC).

Kuwait Shell community initiatives have helped build and cement the trust and confidence of partners and the people of Kuwait in the areas of capacity development, environment and road safety.

Collaboration
Shell run the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3R) workshops programme, in collaboration with Mad Science, at various public and private schools within Kuwait.

Runs defensive Driving Sessions to workers and drivers annually, provide Road Safety Lectures at schools/universities/partners with our regional Formula 3 driver & speaker Basil Shabaan. In addition, Shell support local non-profit organizations in Kuwait, such as Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamaia.

Shell is present in annual events working with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation , Kuwait University and Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), bringing Shell technical experts to Kuwait to share their global experience with Engineering students and KISR employees.

Most recently, Shell launched jointly with local partners the Kuwait Annual Pre-Engineering Design Annual Competition for high school students.

Shell is currently in talks with college of Engineering to establish long term cooperation in the area of educating engineering students about Gas Operations Management.

© Arab Times 2011