Saudi Arabia to Host IPTC Every 2 Years

A helmet with logo of Saudi Aramco is pictured at the oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
A helmet with logo of Saudi Aramco is pictured at the oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
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Saudi Arabia to Host IPTC Every 2 Years

A helmet with logo of Saudi Aramco is pictured at the oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
A helmet with logo of Saudi Aramco is pictured at the oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

Saudi Aramco started preparing for the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) 2022 that will be held in Saudi Arabia every two years.

The 12th edition of the IPTC, the largest international oil and gas conference, concluded in Dhahran on Wednesday. It was held under the patronage of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

The conference attracted a record 18,000 attendees and over 1,200 organizations from more than 70 countries, as well as over 250 exhibiting companies.

The Saudi cabinet, which on Wednesday held a meeting chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, welcomed the opening of the 12th International Petroleum Technology Conference in the Kingdom, stressing that it was in line with Saudi Vision 2030.

There were prominent speakers such as Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Aramco Chairman Yasir Rumayyan, Bahrain’s Minister of Oil Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer of Total Patrick Pouyanne, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ExxonMobil Darren W. Woods.

Aramco’s Senior Vice President of Upstream Mohammed Y. al-Qahtani affirmed that “the IPTC was the first international multi-disciplinary, inter-society oil and gas conference and exhibition held in Saudi Arabia.”

“The Kingdom, with some of the world’s largest oil reserves, occupies a unique position at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia, making it a fitting location for one of the largest and most prestigious international conferences for petroleum engineering,” he said.



World Bank to Finance Syria with $146 Million to Restore Electricity

Syrians walk in a dark street in Douma. Reuters file photo
Syrians walk in a dark street in Douma. Reuters file photo
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World Bank to Finance Syria with $146 Million to Restore Electricity

Syrians walk in a dark street in Douma. Reuters file photo
Syrians walk in a dark street in Douma. Reuters file photo

The World Bank approved a $146 million grant to help Syria restore reliable, affordable electricity and support the country's economic recovery, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The Syria Electricity Emergency Project (SEEP) will rehabilitate damaged transmission lines and transformer substations and provide technical assistance to support the development of the electricity sector and build the capacity of its institutions,” it said.

After 14 years of war, Syria's electricity sector has been suffering from severe damage to its grid and power stations, aging infrastructure, and persistent fuel shortages.

"Among Syria’s urgent reconstruction needs, rehabilitating the electricity sector has emerged as a critical, no-regret investment that can improve the living conditions of the Syrian people, support the return of refugees and the internally displaced, enable resumption of other services such as water services and healthcare for the population and help kickstart economic recovery," said World Bank Middle East Division Director Jean-Christophe Carret.

"This project represents the first step in a planned increase in World Bank support to Syria on its path to recovery and development,” he added.

According to the World Bank statement, the SEEP will finance the rehabilitation of high voltage transmission lines, including two critical 400 kV high-voltage interconnector transmission lines damaged during the conflict, restoring Syria’s regional connectivity to Jordan and Türkiye.

The project will also repair damaged high-voltage transformer substations near demand centers in the most impacted areas that host the highest number of returnee refugees and internally displaced people and provide necessary spare parts and maintenance equipment.

In addition, the SEEP will provide technical assistance to inform the country’s key electricity sector strategies, policy and regulatory reforms, and investment plans for medium to long term sustainability. It will also provide capacity building support to the electricity sector institutions to implement these strategies and reforms.