"These days the oil industry is overwhelmed, to say the least, with issues such as prices, cost, peak oil, safety, environment, and security of supply and demand," Abd Allah S. Al Saif, Saudi Aramco's senior vice-president, said in his keynote address to the first drilling symposium organised by the state-owned oil company in Al Khobar, Eastern Province, recently.

More than 500 representatives from drilling contractors, service companies, universities, research and development centres, and national and international oil companies participated in the symposium under the theme 'Drilling Technology, Pushing the Envelope.'

Al-Saif said that rising demand, along with a decreasing supply from other producers, geopolitical tension, misconceptions about resources, and environmental concerns have led Saudi Aramco to intensify its activities to meet the global demand.

In the longer term, Saudi Aramco's goal is to increase the discovered resources and increase the recoverable portion of those resources.    "The role of drilling and service companies is essential to accomplish these objectives," he said, and added "our rig count has grown from less than 50 rigs in 2003 to about 130 rigs in 2007."

Al Saif said that collaboration with academia, and drilling and service companies was an important part of the plan. Under a new approach the company is "identifying current needs and then collaborating with the service companies to develop appropriate tools to address these needs."

"Drilling is a profession that requires men and women of strong character. They demand clear instruction and clear communication. They are often called upon to make difficult and dangerous decisions with insufficient data in rapid time frames," said Andrew Gould, chairman and CEO of Schlumberger

Zuhair A. Hussain, executive director of drilling and workover, said the drilling industry has overcome many challenges in the past and will continue to "push the envelope," especially in the use of new technologies to save time and money.

According to symposium chairman Saud S. Al Otaibi, in the last few years, the drilling industry has made quantum leaps in the use of new technologies on many fronts, in the drilling rigs and in the types of wells drilled. "What makes it more exciting is not only has the quality of work improved but also the quantity," he said.

He added that the world's rig count has increased by more than 60 percent in the past five years and that Saudi Aramco's rig activities have increased almost three-fold in three years.

Meanwhile, following the success of the first symposium, another technical symposium on energy will be held in Dhahran on May 10-12, 2008, under the chairmanship of Hamoud A. Al Anazi of Saudi Aramco.

It is sponsored by SPE Saudi Arabia. Under the theme 'The Ultimate Challenge: Unlocking Hydrocarbons Through Optimum Exploitation Strategies.'

Discussion will focus on sharing expertise, experience, knowledge and promote applied research and technology advancements in E&P among oil and gas industry researchers, practitioners, scientists, geology professionals, and engineers in related disciplines.

The symposium is designed to provide a forum for a broad range of topics relevant to E&P practices including, but not limited to, drilling, production operations, formation evaluation, reservoir engineering, reservoir characterisation, gas technology, energy management and environmental issues, and petroleum information technology.

"We particularly encourage the presentation of field cases, innovative ideas, challenges, and new technologies as this is an excellent way to share actual experiences and providing new solutions," the organiser explained.

The best technical paper will be selected according to SPE standard criteria by professionals from the industry.