Murtaza Jariwala
Executive Director, Vanguard Engineering and Oilfield Services
Whenever there are high temperatures, the materials become more expensive and the costs go up. There was a project where we had to cool the oil temperature from when it came out of the well to a temperature that the facility could handle. That was a critical project. Our client was having an issue with well-case buckling. We came up with an expansion collar that can handle expansion in the event of high temperatures. The casing is the equipment that structures the whole well. We came up with an expansion collar that oil companies manufacture, and this is patented. It can handle expansion due to high temperatures. We started trying to see if we can expand this worldwide. We are talking to Oxy, PDO, and Shell.
Peter Hall
CEO, Al Hassan Engineering Company
We envision the continuation and growth of our EPC business and look to further build our reputation in delivering quality EPC project solutions. In early 2013, in line with its local initiative, PDO conducted, in cooperation with its nominated consultant, an evaluation and feedback on our current and developing EPC capability. It was a very constructive session, with the PDO/Consultant team being with us for four days during which it evaluated what we do and how we work. Al Hassan strives for collaboration and constructive feedback from its clients, because they are the people that we have to satisfy. Despite our current good reputation, we want to ensure that we continue to enhance and build on it so that we ensure that we are always heading in the right direction.
Christopher Bennett
CEO, Christopher Bennett
The focus is on engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) work, or any one of the three different areas. We see that there are a number of distinct advantages for our company because Oman’s EPC industry is relatively immature at this stage, with only a few local contractors and a number of international ones. There is a robust framework for operating in this country and that makes doing business here positive; if not necessarily the most lucrative in the region. Now that more large projects are coming, we have to push ourselves to be recognized for delivery assurance, capacity and capability. Our company must grow to compete for projects in the range of $200 million, many of which not suitable for tier-one contractors, as they simply don’t meet thresholds for their interest to bid. Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is actively encouraging Omani companies like ours to grow and bid in these areas with some excellent initiatives and we are trying to respond to that support positively.
Rod MacGregor
President & CEO, Glasspoint Solar Muscat
Gas-fired steam production requires an initial capital expense in the form of steam generators, pipes, and water tanks, followed by 30 years or more of operating expense mostly in the form of natural gas purchase, so the total cost of ownership is the sum of the initial capital expense and ongoing operating expense. With solar, there is a much larger capital expense up front to build the system, and then zero fuel use for 30 years, so it is difficult to directly compare the two approaches. The technique that most companies use is called gas breakeven (GBE), which compares the total cost of ownership over a fixed time period. In typical, large-scale deployments, the GBE for solar is $5 per MMBtu, which compares favorably with current prices for LNG, which can be as high as $18 per MMBtu.
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