Gulf energy firms launch federation

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MANAMA - The Gulf Refining Union (GRU), a federation comprising Bapco, Saudi Aramco, Kuwait Petroleum International, Kuwaiti National Petroleum Company and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) as founder members, has been established in Bahrain to boost inter-GCC co-operation in crude oil refining and expanding co-ordination with sector stakeholders abroad.

A ceremony marking its establishment was held yesterday at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay under the patronage of Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and in the presence of Kuwait’s Petroleum Electricity and Water Minister Bakheet Al Rashidi.

Expressing his appreciation to the leadership and the government for approving the union in July 2016, Shaikh Mohammed said the union constitutes a platform comprising representatives of oil refineries, gas plants, distribution installations and petrochemical complexes of the oil and gas companies in the GCC countries.

The minister congratulated the founders on the achievement and praised the efforts of national oil companies for the establishment of the union, adding that Gulf countries must work together to improve the skills of the next generation of workers in the industry by setting the right and sound basis for transferring expertise and information to the next generation.

Under the union, eight specialised technical teams have been formed in each of the refineries focusing on health, safety and environment, operations, reliability, integrity, technology, energy and manpower development.

These teams include members from the refineries of the founding companies as well as from global consulting companies and will meet periodically every three months.

The meetings will include visits to the refineries or facilities belonging to the oil companies forming the union.

In addition, co-operation agreements have been concluded with some of the world’s leading consulting firms in the provision of technologies for the purpose of providing specialised courses and technical workshops to be provided to engineers of the established companies and members of the federation.

The union aims to upgrade refining industries to contribute to sustainable development in GCC countries.

According to the Kuwaiti minister, the union will strengthen GCC co-operation in refining and facilitate the process of communication, exchange of knowledge between industries and institutions and investment bodies and raise the efficiency of employees in this vital sector, as well as contribute to the economic and social development of GCC countries and enhance the position of oil in the growth of the global economy.