Abu Dhabi, UAE, 26 January 2016

The 10th Edition of the SPE/IADC Middle East Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition opened today at the Jumeirah at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi, with more than 460 attendees from 150 companies and 38 countries..

The Opening Ceremony included keynote speeches from Ali Al-Muhairy, Senior Vice President, Drilling and Logistics in ADMA-OPCO, Adib Al Muimen, Conference Programme Co-Chair and Manager, Workover Engineering Department (WOED), Saudi Aramco, Janeen Judah, 2017 SPE President and General Manager, Chevron, and Mike DuBose, Vice President--International Development, IADC.

In his speech Ali Al Muhairy emphasized the need of collaboration in this challenging time that the industry is facing". Furthermore, Adib Al Muimen said, "There is a very famous quote in the oil industry, "the only thing consistent is change". This is extremely relevant with the current low oil price and the effect this has had since 2014. However, as an industry we have to look forward and plan for the future. This event will bring together industry experts to share their best practices and successes, allowing the drilling community at large to leverage and benefit from their experiences".

Janeen Judah expressed her appreciation for the effort of setting up this comprehensive conference programme, Also, while taking a tour around the exhibition, she expressed her appreciation for the presence of many national and international companies who demonstrated their products and services.

Mike DuBose added "to deal with these current change in the oil and gas industry IADC is operating in specific ways by giving leadership in core functions, providing reliable stewardship, influencing political thinking, and advocating better regulation to secure more constructive oversight".

The Executive Plenary Session, discussing the conference theme 'Leveraging Knowledge and Technology to Manage Growth' provided a valuable platform for major drilling experts from around the globe to share the latest technologies, techniques, and expand on their current knowledge base. Keynote speeches were delivered by industry experts such as Saif Al-Hebsi, Drilling Specialist, ADNOC, Omar Al-Husaini, General Manager, D&WO Operations, Saudi Aramco, James Blaine, Middle East JV Drilling Manager, ExxonMobil, David Reid, Chief Marketing Officer, NOV, and A. Salim David Khemakhem, Vice President Well Operations, ZADCO.

Additionally, the three-day comprehensive agenda includes 2 panel sessions that will form a platform for further exchange of thoughts, ideas, and perspectives by industry leaders. The panel sessions are titled 'Automating the Drilling Process' and 'Importing and Integrating Best Practices and Knowledge'. Also, 19 technical sessions with over 55 presentations and a number of ePoster sessions.

30 national and international exhibitors participated in the free-to-attend exhibition, taking place alongside the conference, showcasing the latest in drilling technologies, equipment, and services.

Exhibitors include Aberdeen Drilling International, Alert Disaster Control, Burintekh, Cansco Well Control, Churchill Drilling Tools, Derrick Equipment Company, Drilling Systems, Drillmec, DrillScan, e-Drilling, Encapso, Frank's International, GustoMSC, Halliburton, International Association of Drilling Contractors, MTU, NDC, NOV, Pegasus Vertex, Peloton, ProNova by TDE, Sakson Drilling & Oil Services, Schlumberger, Shear Bits, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Tesco Canada International, The Well Academy, Weatherford, Woodhouse International, and ZADCO 

Sponsors for this event: ADNOC, (Titanium Sponsor), Saudi Aramco (Platinum Sponsor), Halliburton, Schlumberger and ZADCO (Gold Sponsors), ExxonMobil and MTU (Silver Sponsors), Shelf Drilling (Exclusive Delegate Bags Sponsor), Welltec, (Conference Programme Sponsor), National Drilling Company (Exclusive Lanyards Sponsor), NOV (Exclusive Coffee Break Sponsor), Weatherford (26 January Topical Luncheon Sponsor), Alert Disaster Control (Author Gifts Sponsor), Frank's International (Exclusive Stationary Sponsor).

-Ends-

ABOUT THE SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 143,000 members in 147 countries worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.             

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DRILLING CONTRACTORS
The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) is dedicated to enhancing the interests of oil-and-gas and geothermal drilling contractors worldwide. Founded in 1940, IADC's mission is to improve industry health, safety and environmental practices; advance drilling and completion technology; and champion responsible standards, practices, legislation and regulations that provide for safe, efficient and environmentally sound drilling operations worldwide. IADC is headquartered in Houston and has offices in Washington D.C., the Netherlands, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as chapters in the UK, Brazil, Australasia, South Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and across the United States. For more information, visit the IADC websites www.iadc.org and www.drillingcontractor.org.

MEDIA CONTACT                                                                               
Miyadeh Al Ramathany
Tel: +971.4.457.5800
Email: mramathany@spe.org

© Press Release 2016