Shell in the Middle East | Contents

FIRST WORD
...from Ceri Powell, Vice President, Shell Exploration, Middle East...

EXPLORATION IS THE MAINSTAY OF SHELL EGYPT’S GROWTH STRATEGY...
...says Zainul Rahim, Chairman of Shell Companies in Egypt, at a time when Shell Egypt is starting a new offshore shallow water drilling campaign in its North West Damietta concession, using the jack-up rig ‘Sneferu’. ‘Shell in the Middle East’ flys out to the rig and then back to Cairo to hear more about Shell Egypt’s growing exploration activities, both offshore and onshore...

THE DRIVING FORCES BEHIND SRAK’S FIRST WELL
Preparations are hotting up to drill the first well of the South Rub Al-Khali Company (SRAK), deep in the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia. SRAK, a joint venture between Shell, Saudi Aramco and Total, was awarded a contract in 2004 to explore for gas in two Contract Areas totalling an area of 210,000 square kilometres. Preparations for the drilling of the company’s first well have been challenging, and the 2,000-kilometre journey for the drilling rig itself will involve some 200 loads in several convoys, starting in Dubai and arriving just a few kilometres north of Saudi Arabia’s border with Yemen. ‘Shell in the Middle East’ talks to some of the key people involved in driving the run-up to the historical spudding of SRAK’s first well…

SEISMIC & THE SIRTE BASIN
With seismic acquisition under way in Libya in Shell’s concession areas, awarded last year to explore and develop gas from five blocks in the Sirte Basin, ‘Shell in the Middle East’ finds out about Shell Libya’s high expectations and the challenges its teams are facing. We also visit the Bureau of Geophysical Prospecting base camp and talk to members of crew 8624 as they carry out seismic operations on behalf of Shell in one of the five blocks…

RAISING THE TEMPERATURE FOR OMAN’S LNG IN INDIA
‘Shell in the Middle East’ visits the Hazira LNG regasification terminal in India to witness first hand the process that turns LNG back into natural gas. Our visit coincided with the arrival of the LNG carrier ‘Muscat LNG’ at Hazira which was unloading a cargo from Oman LNG...

MEMORIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
Tony Campbell worked for Shell in the Sudan and in the Middle East from 1956 to 1961, at a time when Shell was starting operations to market its refined oil products in the region. ‘Shell in the Middle East’ visited Tony, now 77 and in retirement in Cologne in Germany, where he shared with us some of his memories of the region as a ‘diplomat of petroleum’…

SAFETY FIRST
'Shell in the Middle East' needs to get out to the rigs in the Mediterranean to obtain first-hand coverage of Shell Egypt's exploration activities, so reporter Bobby Schuck was also sent for training. He joined seven other people on the BOSIET (Basic Offshore Safety Induction Emergency Training) and HUET (Helicopter Underwater Escape Training) courses, six of whom were from Shell Egypt, and brings back their verdicts on the value of the training course...

PERSONALLY SPEAKING
Thamer Al-Sharhan, President of the Saudi Petrochemical Company (SADAF) - a 50-50 joint venture between the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and Shell - talks candidly to ‘Shell in the Middle East’ about his background, the driving forces behind his success, his career growth, and the goals and challenges of his current position...

SHELL PEOPLE
Khalfan Saif Salim Al Amry, Head of Liaison at Shell Oman Marketing, has been a loyal employee of Shell for 40 years. His father, too, was a Shell man, being one of the first employees of Shell Oman Marketing, joining in 1958 and serving 25 years. Khalfan talks about his roots, his family and his long career with Shell, which has spanned almost half a century…