Ministry of Petroleum Research Week: Focus on digital transformation and new technologies

According to Energy Press, research and technology, as the main driver of sustainable development, play a decisive role in the future of the oil industry; a strategic industry whose continued production, increased productivity, resource conservation and improved competitiveness depend more than ever on knowledge, innovation and new technologies. In the complex and changing conditions of energy markets and given environmental and economic requirements, the development of targeted research and the use of transformative technologies provide the oil industry with the opportunity to respond to technical and operational challenges, reduce costs and create added value, and pave the way for the transition from traditional approaches to a smart, knowledge-based and forward-looking industry.
Therefore, in a message on the occasion of Research and Technology Week, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad emphasized that in order to maintain its position in the national and international arena and ensure the sustainability and growth of this strategic industry, the Iranian oil industry needs to transition from traditional approaches to development based on targeted research, innovation, and transformative technologies. In this regard, the signing ceremony of selected research and technological contracts of the National Iranian Oil Company was held with the presence of Hamid Borde, CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company, Omid Shakeri, Deputy Minister of Oil for Engineering, Research, and Technology, a group of CEOs of companies affiliated with the oil industry, and managers and representatives of scientific and academic centers and knowledge-based companies. In this ceremony, a series of research and technological contracts were signed with the focus on the development of new technologies, especially artificial intelligence, digital transformation, data management and optimization of upstream processes in the oil industry, between the Research and Technology Management of the National Iranian Oil Company and the national companies of the Southern Oil Regions, Central Iranian Oil and Iranian Offshore Oil as employers and a number of universities, scientific centers and technology companies.
Also, in the ceremony to commemorate the Research Week at the Central Iranian Oil Company, the “Petro Wrench” database software was officially unveiled; a software that has been designed, completed and operationalized by the company’s technical management reservoir engineering systems specialists. This software aims to integrate and intelligently manage technical data, support specialized decision-making and improve productivity in engineering and exploitation processes, and is an effective step towards the development of digital infrastructure and the use of new technologies in the oil industry.
Research achievements of the Ministry of Oil
Deputy Minister of Oil for Engineering, Research and Technology Affairs, explaining part of the performance of this ministry in the field of research and technology, announced: 843 technological needs have been registered so far on the special portal of the Ministry of Oil in the Ideas and Needs System (NAN).
Shakeri also announced the signing of 312 research contracts with universities and research centers in the country from the beginning of 1403 until the end of the first 6 months of this year, and announced the value of these contracts at more than 1,700 billion Tomans; a statistic that indicates the expansion of the Ministry of Oil’s structured interaction with the country’s scientific community.