By Santhosh V Perumal/Business Reporter

Strong winds have uprooted the banners and incessant rains dampened the tiny island but the morale of officials and employees of Halul Island were high as they celebrated the offshore day, marking 50 years of successful operation, production and export of hydrocarbons from Qatar’s offshore.
Offshore Day, organised periodically by Qatar Petroleum to highlight the achievements of offshore operations in its oil and gas production and export facilities, was kicked off by the Minister of Energy and Industry HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, also QP chairman, who announced a 30% hike in relocation and shift allowance for Qatari staff in order to attract more local youths into offshore development.
The event, which also saw a spate of inaugurations and stone laying ceremonies, provided an opportunity to introduce the range of offshore activities to the senior management of other QP departments and the flagship company’s joint
venture partners.
The event also dotted the presence of several QP directors and the top management of QP’s joint venture partners such as Total E&P Qatar, Occidental Petroleum of Qatar and Qatar Petroleum Development Company Japan.
In his welcome address, Mubarak A al-Hajri, operations manager of offshore fields, said offshore operations have consistently achieved its production and export targets without any major safety incident.
Following the arrival of the chief guest and other dignitaries on the morning of the event, a safety briefing was given to all the participants. A documentary film on the various facets of offshore operations’ history, activities and achievements was shown to the audience.
The event also saw the opening of an exhibition that showcased the operations and activities of the various departments of QP’s offshore operations. The minister distributed recognition awards for excellent safety and operational performance to deserving QP and contractor employees.
The projects that were inaugurated were the new crude oil import and export facilities (new EVSD pumps), Halul Harbor upgrades, new fire station buildings, new central maintenance workshops and new Al Maha Clubhouse in Halul.
During the inauguration of the crude oil import and export facilities upgrade project, Tanker No. 5393 was loaded with Qatar marine crude for export under the command of the minister.
“Our vision of long-term planning will be achieved through the development of a master plan for Halul, which will act as a blueprint, intending to provide the framework for the process and infrastructure development of the island for the next 15 years,” QP said.
The minister also laid the stone for an integrated facilities accommodation building project, a 600-bed accommodation building, among other facilities, and is expected to be completed in mid-2015.
Additional helipads and alternate mustering areas are expected to be
completed by 2016.