Advisian and WorleyParsons sponsor the 2019 Middle East Refining Technology Conference

22 January 2019

Advisian and WorleyParsons are proud to be a sponsor of the MERTC in Manama, Bahrain on 22-23 January 2019. 

Organized by the World Refining Association (WRA), with high levels of interactivity and insight, the Middle East Refining Technology Conference (MERTC) is where leaders and engineers from BAPCO, KNPC, Sabic, Oman, Orpic, and Aramco connect with the best technologies and the brightest minds.

One of the themes for this year’s conference is  'Shaping and driving 2019 with the connections, technologies, and strategies that matter', to which Odette Eng - Hydrocarbon Global Refining Sector Lead, Advisian, will be presenting:

Protect your business – Brace for changes!  | 10:50AM - 11:10AM | 22 JAN   

In this presentation, Odette will discuss:

  • The threat refiners face due to a forecasted drop in demand for crude-based transportation fuels

  • The ongoing integration of petchem in grass-roots new build  

  • Criterion for existing refinery/petchem integration 

 Presentation Abstract

Refiners operate in a constantly changing environment which includes crude price fluctuations and new regulatory demands, but the biggest threat of them all comes from the forecasting of crude-based transportation fuels demand drop, in favor of cleaner burning fuels and growing popularity of electric cars.  For diversification purposes, many new grass-roots refineries in the GCC have included various degrees of Integration with petchem.  These mega projects, while necessary, are highly complex, consuming years of planning and generating great challenges during the execution phase. Several have been broken up in stages to allow the integration to petchem to be tackled at a later stage, after long years of delay.

On the other hand, what can be said about to the existing GCC refinery system? These are less complex and therefore could lack competitiveness in today’s standard.  Is petchem integration not the right solution for these less complex, existing refineries which are better geared towards production of petchem feedstock, and which have the inherent benefit of producing quicker results for cash flow purposes?   Advisian will present the overall view on this topic.


Advisian is proud to sponsor this event in Bahrain, and we look forward to the many discussions with colleagues and friends.  It is through the collective learning and experience that our industry can create a more synergistic approach to challenging, yet common, problems across the world.

Learn more about MERTC.