Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry along with representatives of partner organisations during the inauguration of the new water laboratory at QSRTC, QSTP.
HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, inaugurated yesterday a new research and development water laboratory at Qatar Shell Research & Technology Centre (QSRTC) in Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) during the Innovation Open House organised by Qatar Shell.
The Shell Innovation Open House showcased innovative deployment of cutting-edge technologies that provide solutions to the world’s energy needs.
The event featured key members of the energy industry, academia and the R&D community, including Faisal al-Suwaidi, president of R&D at Qatar Foundation, and Wael Sawan, managing director and chairman of Qatar Shell.
The water laboratory will provide technical support to Shell and Qatar Petroleum, especially to the Pearl GTL plant to continuously improve the efficiency, robustness, reliability and potentially reduce the footprint of water treatment within the plant. In addition, it will contribute to human capacity development of young Qatari nationals through internships and technical training.
Inaugurating the laboratory, al-Sada, said: “This important landmark will help reduce the water foot-print, and will further enhance QP and Shell’s technical understanding of how to improve the efficiency of water treating technologies.”
He elaborated that the entire Middle East region is tackling one of the greatest emerging R&D challenges which is the efficient use and reuse of water.
“New approaches and advanced technologies are necessary to help us reduce the amount of water we need in industrial operations, and to find innovative ways to reuse and recycle water from industrial processes,” he added.
Wael Sawan, said: “Qatar plays a central role in Shell’s overall group technology strategy through our world-class R&D programme based at QSRTC. I am therefore extremely proud that we are holding the Innovation Open House in collaboration with our valued partners, Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Foundation.”
Faisal al-Suwaidi, said, “We all share a joint commitment to supporting research in energy and environment, a key theme in Qatar’s National Research Strategy, which Qatar Foundation is pioneering. We recognise that close collaboration between the R&D community, academia and industry partners is essential to remain steadfast in our support to the Qatar National Research Strategy and the Qatar National Vision 2030 ambition to foster a knowledge-based economy.”
QSRTC, the first tenant to open at QSTP, has a number of R&D programmes that contribute to enhancing water reuse. In partnership with the Ministry of Environment, QSRTC runs an experimental farm in Rawdat Al Faras in Qatar, evaluating the potential for industrial water to be used to sustain plant growth.
The two-day event also included the second Qatar Shell Dialogues, featuring interactive discussions and live polling among key members of the energy industry on how to foster open collaborations to accelerate new innovations.
The third dialogue will take place in January at the International Petroleum Technology Conference in Doha.
