Local Operations Personnel And Global Sour Gas Community Meet At Fifth Annual Middle East Sour Plant Operations Network (MESPON) Forum To Share Knowledge And Promote Collaborative Innovation

Organized by UniverSUL Consulting and supported by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the Fifth Annual Middle East Sour Plant Operations Network (MESPON) Forum is bringing together over 450 operations personnel from sour gas and refining facilities in the Middle East, as well as numerous experts from the international sour gas industry, for four days of knowledge-sharing and collaborative innovation.

Since its inauguration in 2014, the MESPON Forum has become one of the industry's premiere networking events and has built a community representing all groups along the sour gas value chain. This year, the event has rebranded the 'S' in its name from 'Sulphur' to 'Sour', to reflect its evolution from a primary focus on sulphur recovery to its latest programme, which addresses everything from sour gas drilling, production, and sweetening to sulphur recovery and sulphur handling.

In the opening address, Angie Slavens, Managing Director of UniverSUL Consulting, welcomed delegates from the Middle East, Europe, and North America, who have gathered here "to share knowledge and resources in support of continual improvements in HSE, reliability, efficiency and general best practices for our industry," and "to find synergies and opportunities...beyond that which could be achieved with segregated upstream and downstream gatherings."

MESPON 2018 features over 15 technical presentations and multiple panel sessions addressing challenges and considerations for the design and operation of upstream processes, gas sweetening units, sulphur recovery units, tail gas treating units, and sulphur handling facilities.   This year's conference also kicks off with a new Innovation/Technology Day, which showcases presentations and interactive exhibitions dedicated to R&D and other advancements and breakthroughs in the sour gas industry.

Ms. Slavens stated that, "While MESPON has always focused on maximizing efficiency and ensuring adoption of best practices in existing facilities, innovation is also vital for long-term success and growth." As the Middle Eastbecame the world's largest sulphur producing region in 2015, it is now positioned to transform the future of the sour gas industry. She noted that, "Abu Dhabi is becoming an environment for effective industry stewardship, ensuring collaboration and information-sharing in established subject matter areas, while also promoting development of new innovations that will drive the industry forward for decades to come."    

MESPON 2018 takes place from October 14-17 at the Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche in Abu Dhabi, UAE.