Oil exploration in Yemen
“It is melancholy to find this interesting coast, which in former times was probably fertile and prosperous, now almost entirely desolate and the few inhabitants that remain nearly always at…
Middle East
Once Upon a Red Line – the Iraq Petroleum Company Story
A consortium of four oil majors (today’s BP, Shell, Total and ExxonMobil) and oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian, the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) was designed to explore and extract oil in…
Thriving on Challenges
When Intisaar Al Kindy was growing up in Oman, scholarships to universities and colleges of further education were awarded according to the needs of the country at the time, rather…
Bahrain: 80 Years and Still Producing
For such a small country, Bahrain certainly knows how to make an impression on the world. It is currently celebrating the 80th anniversary of the first discovery of oil in…
The Arab Spring and the Oil Industry
What has been the impact of recent political developments in North Africa on the oil and gas industry? The challenges facing the oil and gas industry in North Africa in…
The search for oil in Oman
The Beginning In the Omani desert, a few miles inland from Nafun, lies a groundwater seepage in the Wadi Jurf. On approaching this spring, you can see streams of glistening…
The Great Burgan field, Kuwait
In 1991, the US-led Operation Desert Storm drew the occupying Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. The retreating Iraqis set fire to over 700 Kuwaiti oil wells, half of which were…
From Pirates to Prada
As the United Arab Emirates celebrates its 40th anniversary, we take a look at the making of modern Dubai. With its glittering seven-star hotels, gravity-defying architecture and shopping malls complete…
All Eyes on the Middle East
The Middle east has been a cornerstone of the oil and gas industry for over a hundred years. Oil was first found in the area in Iran in 1908, while…
Shaping the Future of Geoscience in the Middle East
The Middle East plays a pivotal role in the oil industry, and so GEO 2012, the 10th Middle East Geosciences Conference and Exhibition, promises to be an exciting event, with…
The Abu Dhabi Oil Discoveries
In the 1930s Abu Dhabi was a poor fishing village on the edge of the desert, but the discovery of oil has revolutionised the Emirate. It is thought to possess…
The King of Giant Fields
Since the petroleum industry began in the mid-nineteenth century, numerous oil fields have been discovered and over 70,000 oil fields are still in use. Nonetheless, not all fields were created…