Oman said it will host on Monday the World Heavy Oil Congress, a pretigious global energy summit.
The three-day event, scheduled run from Sept. 3-5, is supported by Oman's Ministry of Oil and Gas, Ministry of Tourism and the country's top energy producer Petroleum Development Oman.
A three-day exhibition will be held in parallel with the summit, where businesses will showcase their latest products, technologies and services in the heavy oil industry.
"The World Heavy Oil Congress, which Oman is hosting for the first time, will shine a spotlight on a full spectrum of topics across the heavy oil value chain, from development and production of this resource to transport and refining," said Saleh Ali al-Anboori, director general of Planning and Studies Ministry.
"The era of easy oil is on the wane. Producing heavy oil is relatively expensive and complex. The share of heavy oil is projected to rise in the future and we need to equip ourselves to face that challenge," Anboori noted.
The summit is important for a country like Oman which depends on heavy oil to achieve crude production targets in the future, he added.
According to the World Petroleum Congress, around a third of the world's heavy oil resources are located in Venezuela and Canada, followed by the Middle East, the United States and Russia.
Heavy oil, along with extra-heavy oil, oil sands and bitumen, accounts for 70 percent of the world's oil resources, among which heavy oil alone takes up 15 percent.
Editor:Cherie
