Major automation conference in Qatar!

Qatar officials and ISA leaders officially commence the 2012 ISA Automation Conference in Doha

More than 300 corporate and government officials, manufacturing representatives and consultants across the world attended the International Society of Automation’s 2012 Automation Conference in Doha, Qatar, a major conference organised under the banner of the ISA District 12 covering Middle East-Europe-Africa.

The two-day event, held 9-10 December 2012  was conducted through the support of His Excellency Dr. Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry, and the Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum, which manages all phases of the oil and gas industry in Qatar.

The conference, which sold all available registrations, featured presentations on functional safety and cyber security in industrial control systems, enterprise and control systems integration, and advanced process technologies.

“ISA is an international association, and this conference gave us the opportunity to increase awareness of our core strengths among government and industry leaders in this part of the world,” says ISA’s Executive Director and CEO Patrick Gouhin, who attended the conference along with Jean Pierre Hauet, ISA’s District 12 Vice President and Chair of the organising committee , and Leo Staples, 2011 ISA President and Chairman of the Automation Federation, an ISA affiliate. “All facets of industry, from oil and gas and petrochemicals to power and instrumentation, are looking for ways to better capitalize on the value and potential of automated systems, obtain the skilled workforce needed to operate them, and ensure safe, reliable and efficient operations.”

The conference attracted attendees from within Qatar and across the world, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Great Britain, and the US.

Nilangshu Dey receiving his award from left Pino Zani, Leo Staples, Nilangshu Dey and Jean-Pierre Hauet

Nilangshu Dey, President of the Qatar section, hosts of the conference, received the award of Section Leader of the Year granted by ISA after an election by his peers held this summer. This was presented by Leo Staples, Jean-Pierre Hauet and Pino Zani (former ISA President and Italy delegate)

The local attendees represented a wide range of major companies, including QP, RasGas, Qatargas, Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco), Qatar Fuel Additives Company (Qafac), Qatar Chemical Company (Q-Chem), Oryx GTL, Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco), Qatar Vinyl Company (QVC), Dolphin Energy and Qatar Aluminium (Qatalum).

An article on the event published this week by the Gulf Times, the daily newspaper of Doha, Qatar, indicated that Qatar’s industry and government leaders recognise the importance of automation and control technologies, training and standards given the region’s rapidly developing industrial sector.

“In view of Qatar’s fast-growing economy and the ongoing major developments in the use of automation systems in the oil and gas, petrochemical and energy industries, it is certainly fitting that this regional event for automation professionals is being held for the first time here in Doha,” stated Ahmad Saif Ahmad al-Sulaiti, an operations manager at the Dukhan Field, a major oil field in Qatar.

While Qatar is projected to invest an estimated  €92 billion ($120b) in the energy sector over the next decade, it is committed to diversifying and developing its petrochemical industries in particular.

Conference sponsors included: ABB, Emerson Process Management, GE Oil & Gas, Honeywell, Black Cat Engineering & Construction WLL (BCEC), Doha Motors, Maersk Oil – AIMS, Fireye Inc., Forney Corporation, HIMA, ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute, OSIsoft, Pepperl + Fuchs, Petrotec, Rockwell Automation, Silvertech Middle East, Yokogawa and Jones Engineering Group.

Pictures Leo Staples, ISA

ISA Automation Conference 2013 will be hosted by the Saudi Arabia Section and held in Damman on 30 Nov – 4 Dec 2013.