Warm greetings from warm Abu Dhabi!

When two years ago the SCA Board voted unanimously for Abu Dhabi to host the 2008 SCA International Symposium, the news was received with great pleasure by the Petroleum Industry community in the Middle East, and particularly in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and its Group extended to the SCA their thanks and appreciation for the trust the SCA Board has in the Abu Dhabi Oil/Gas industry community.

The Year 2008 SCA Symposium will be the third time the SCA Int’l holds its annual Symposium outside Europe and North America; and this time it’s again in Abu Dhabi!

In order to reflect the special nature of Middle East reservoirs, the 2008 SCA Symposium Theme will be “Challenges in Carbonates and Solutions for Field Development”, while the Workshop Theme will be “Closing the Loop for Carbonates: From SCAL Project Design to Field Development”.

Through their Themes, the 2008 SCA Symposium and Workshop will indeed provide an important opportunity for the SCA professionals, and for the professionals of the Gulf Region in particular, to review and discuss SCAL study results, exchange knowledge and experience, and to address the complex and subtle sub-surface issues that are distinctive and unique to Carbonate reservoirs.

Arrangements for the 2008 SCA Symposium are steadily on course. The Local Organizing Committee is packing the 2008 SCA Symposium with many events and activities:

• A one-day Workshop on October 29; under a meaningful Theme: “Closing the Loop for Carbonates: From SCAL Project Design to Field Development”.
• A one-day SCAL Course for beginners titled “SCAL For Modelling Carbonates” will run concurrently with the Workshop on October 29.
• Several trips and social programs will be offered to the participants and their families
• A social program for the spouses and families that includes visits to folkloric and shopping venues in Abu Dhabi
• The Symposium venue (Rotana Beach Hotel & Towers) itself offers unique luxury and leisure features; such as:

  • Member of the Leading Hotels of the World
  • Ideally located in the heart of both business and shopping districts
  • Connected to the Abu Dhabi Mall and Abu Dhabi Trade Center
  • Elegant rooms and suites with a choice of 10 specialty restaurants
  • Extensive conference and banquet facilities with the largest ballroom in Abu Dhabi.

• The 2008 SCA Symposium is scheduled intentionally back-to-back with the Wettability Conference (October 27-28) and with the 13th ADIPEC (November 3-6). This arrangement should offer overseas Symposium participants the opportunity to attend the Wettability Conference and stay longer in Abu Dhabi to attend ADIPEC.

Generous sponsorship of the Symposium events and activities has come from ADNOC and its Operating Companies (ADCO, ADMA, ZADCO), and from several international and local organizations. We are all thankful to the splendid cooperation the LOC has received from all these sponsors.

We all hope that the 2008 SCA Symposium, like the 2000 and 2004 SCA Symposia, will help draw the much-needed attention of researchers and laboratories to the many challenges existing in characterizing, quantifying and predicting Carbonate reservoirs, which host more than 60% of the World’s oil reserves, and which lie preponderantly in the giant fields of our Gulf Region.

On behalf of the SCA and the LOC, I welcome you all to the 2008 SCA Symposium and extend to you our best wishes for a pleasant stay in Abu Dhabi.

Mohamed Juma
Assistant General Manager, ADCO
Honorary Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee,
2008 Wettability Conference & SCA Symposium