Middle East Technology Centers

The Middle East is considered a region that sits on huge, low-cost, easily extract-able reserves of oil and gas and where countries enjoy cash windfalls without thinking about adding value to exploration and production.

But companies and governments in the Middle East are increasingly looking into developments that require investment in technology, managing fields, expanding the resource base, increasing recovery, and even exploring unconventional resources. In addition, local governments see significant upside in building the region’s knowledge-based economy. “We want to leverage our R&D success into new business opportunities in the kingdom” of Saudi Arabia, said Amin Nasser, senior vice president for upstream at Saudi Aramco.

Major companies in the Middle East have started addressing these ambitions through innovation and collaboration, investing in educational infrastructure universities, and hosting firms willing to invest in technology-related businesses. The major centers for research and development (R&D) in the region are the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and Dhahran Techno Valley (DTV) in Saudi Arabia, and the Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP).

Several foreign firms, primarily service companies, have recently begun establishing technology centers in the region to better serve their clients and to more effectively address challenges related to their operations.

Oil and gas research activity is flourishing at DTV located in Dhahran, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, which sup-ports local and international companies working to develop their products and services.  Ten technology companies, 10 research centers, and 10 incubated businesses are now operating at DTV, said Amjad Shaikh, a technology transfer executive at DTV and an assistant professor at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Department of Chemical Engineering. Companies operating at DTV have been issued 20 product patents, while 121 more patents await approval, he said.

DTV consists of several entities, such as the King Abdullah Science Park, the Innovation Center, Consultancy and Liaison Office, and Business Incubation. These entities work to protect knowledge creation, facilitate industry collaboration, encourage entrepreneurship, support innovation, and enhance knowledge transfer to and from King Fahd University.

“The science park has one of the world’s largest concentrations of top oilfield service companies,” Shaikh said. This is further strengthened by the fact that DTV and its affiliates are located close to Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, and King Fahd, generally regarded as the Middle East’s top university for its engineering programs.

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