An improved method of directly detecting oil and gas accumulations under thousands of feet of water and rock and an innovative and successful campaign to increase the use of mosquito bed nets in malaria-endemic parts of Africa earned Exxon Mobil Corporation two excellence awards at the World Petroleum Congress in Doha, Qatar.
Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, deputy prime minister and chairman of the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority, presented the awards.
The Technological Development award was presented for the Remote Reservoir Resistivity Mapping (R3M) technology developed by ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company.
Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil, received the award.
Unlike seismic detection technology that uses sound waves, R3M technology utilizes controlled-source electromagnetic energy to detect differences in the resistivity of various layers below the seabed.
This allows R3M to use smaller electromagnetic sources while maintaining optimum performance.
R3M was developed to improve success rates of offshore exploration activities in deepwater where a single wildcat well can cost more than $100 million. In the past 10 years, ExxonMobil has acquired more than 70 marine surveys using R3M technology, which has accurately confirmed the predicted geological setting more than 70 percent of the time.
Detailed safety studies have been conducted and no effects on marine life have been observed.
The award in Social Responsibility was presented for the NightWatch program, which was developed by Malaria No More in collaboration with ExxonMobil and the Lalela Project.
The Excellence Award is one of the most prestigious recognitions in the oil and gas industry.
They are awarded every three years by the World Petroleum Council during the World Petroleum Congress.
The World Petroleum Congress received over 100 submissions this year for Excellence Award recognition.
"ExxonMobil invests more than $1 billion a year on research and development to help find more energy resources and to find the most beneficial use of that energy to support economic growth and the environment," said Sara Ortwein, President of ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company.
© Arab News 2011
