Sharjah National Oil Company and Eni's partnership reveals the 'Mahani' natural gas well in the emirate

Sharjah said it discovered a new well of natural gas and condensate onshore in the emirate, its first in more than three decades.

State-owned Sharjah National Oil Corporation (Snoc) and Italy's oil company Eni discovered the "Mahani" exploration well within the first year of their partnership, Snoc said in a statement on Monday. Mahani-1 was drilled to a total measured depth of 14,597 ft and the well has tested gas at flow rates of up to 50 million standard cubic feet per day, together with associated condensate. The size of the discovery will be further evaluated in "due course" with additional drilling expected, Snoc said.

"This discovery is a promising development for Snoc and meets our commitment to make reliable gas supplies available throughout the United Arab Emirates,” Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, President of Snoc, said. “Sharjah provides strategic energy infrastructure to help the nation meet the growing demand for energy by residential, industrial and utility consumers.”

The Italian oil and gas company had won three concessions in Sharjah’s first-ever competitive bid in January 2019. Snoc, which launched the bidding round in 2018, awarded Eni areas A, B and C onshore exploration concessions. Mahani-1, located in the area B concession, is the first exploration well drilled by Snoc following a 3-D seismic survey of the territory.

“I am delighted that the first exploration well to be drilled in Sharjah by Snoc, is a gas discovery. This is the first onshore Sharjah discovery in 37 years and marks the beginning of an exciting time for Snoc and for Sharjah’s energy sector," Hatem Al Mosa, chief executive of Snoc, said. "We look forward to further collaboration in the future."

Snoc, the operator of area B, and Eni hold a 50 per cent stake each in the concession.

The two companies are also partners in concession areas A and C, which are both located onshore Sharjah.

"Mahani-1 represents the first exploration success for Eni in the UAE," the Italian oil major said in a statement on its website.

The joint venture has started studies to "fast track the exploitation of these new resources, leveraging on the synergies with the existing facilities and infrastructures, while finalizing the evaluation of the discovery," Eni said.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi said the discovery is set to bolster the emirate's economy and contribute to its energy reserves, according to a separate statement from the Sharjah Government Media Bureau.

The discovery will bring about a "major transformation" in Sharjah's industrial and commercial sectors by providing energy resources and attracting top global companies to invest in various sectors in the emirate, Sheikh Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi said.

Sheikh Khalid bin Abdullah bin Sultan Al Qasimi, chairman of the Department of Seaports and Customs in Sharjah, said the natural gas discovery will stimulate various sectors by generating more commercial and industrial projects.

Source: www.thenational.ae

In case you were wondering, this is what an $8.4 million wedding looks like

As we all know, it’s not hard for wedding budgets to spiral out of control.

It starts with a longer-than-anticipated guest list. Then there’s accommodation for out-of-town relatives. The perfect but over budget wedding dress, an exorbitantly priced cake, wanting flowers that are out of season… the list goes on.

But a wedding that comes in at US$8.4 million as Folarin Alakija and Nazanin Jafarian Ghaissarifar’s did last weekend? Now that’s one hell of a commitment ceremony.

Held at Blenheim Palace (the birthplace of Winston Churchill, no less), the reception reportedly included approximately $1 million in flower arrangements created by celebrity stylist Jeff Leatham, a 3.56-metre wedding cake, a five-course sit-down menu, a performance by Robin Thicke, and naturally, a fireworks display to round out the evening.

Oh, and did we mention guests included Australian model Shanina Shaik and her partner DJ Ruckus?

Discussing the wedding with Harper’s Bazaar earlier this week, Bridebook.co.uk founder, Hamish Shephard, said, “Venue hire would likely be up to $190,000 with the bespoke marquee with marble floor and production around $250,000 on top. The spectacular endless flowers by Jeff Leatham are likely to have cost at least $256,000. With food and drink, Robin Thicke (at $190,000) and all the other items for the big day, including the dress, on top, the wedding will have no doubt cost more than $1.3 million and potentially several million more.”

But it seems Shephard’s estimation was incredibly conservative, with the final cost now being estimated at a much, much higher price tag.

According to the Daily Mail, Alakija, who is a UK-based entrepreneur and the son of a Nigerian oil tycoon, and Ghaissarifar, an Iranian-born model and bioengineer, became engaged last year.

In addition to their incredible weekend festivities, the pair also celebrated their love with a traditional Nigerian ceremony in November.

Source: www.msn.com

Lotte World Tower opens in Seoul setting world records

After six years of construction, the 555-meter-tall (1,820 ft) Lotte World Tower opened in April, setting three world records and redefining the Seoul skyline.

Not only is it the tallest tower in South Korea and fifth highest in the world -- dwarfing the Korean capital's next highest building, Three IFC Office Tower, by nearly 300 meters -- it's also home to the highest glass-bottom observatory at 478 meters (1,568 ft).

But its most impressive feat?

The Lotte World Tower features the world's tallest and fastest double-decker elevator, the Sky Shuttle, which whisks passengers from the basement to the 121st-floor observation deck in one minute, or at 10 meters per second.

From the top of the half kilometer-tall tower, visitors can survey the edges of Seoul's vast urban sprawl and the mountainous terrain beyond -- only a handful of other skyscrapers in sight.

Lotte hired American elevator manufacturer the Otis Elevator Company to bring its double-deck Sky Shuttle to life.

Consisting of two attached cabins stacked on top of each other, it simultaneously carries passengers to separate floors. Other famous structures featuring this type of technology include the Canton Tower, in Guangzhou; the Petronas Towers, in Kuala Lumpur; the Eiffel Tower, in Paris; and the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai.

Boasting twice the capacity of a conventional elevator -- each cabin holds 52 passengers -- the tower's lift directly connects the basement and the observation deck, skipping the floors in between which are full of shopping complexes, offices, and even a "seven star" hotel.

"A double-deck elevator was used because the observatory would be crowded at certain times of day," Wonixuk Choi, manager of Lotte Corporation, tells CNN.

Inside the lift cabins, it feels like a video game -- 15 OLED displays offer a virtual tour of Seoul during the 60-second ride.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com

World's oldest person Emma Morano dies at 117

The world's oldest person has died in Italy at the age of 117, reports say.

Emma Morano was born on 29 November 1899 in the Piedmont region of Italy. She was officially the last person born in the 1800s still living.

She had attributed her longevity to her genetics and a diet of three eggs a day, two of them raw.

Ms Morano looks at a picture depicting her when she was young

Ms Morano was the oldest of eight siblings, all of whom she has outlived. She died at her home in the northern city of Verbania.

Her life not only spanned three centuries but also survived an abusive marriage, the loss of her only son, two World Wars and more than 90 Italian governments.

Ms Morano had admitted that her longevity was partly down to genetics: her mother reached 91 and several sisters reached their centenary.

But it was also down to a rather unusual diet of three eggs - two raw - each day for more than 90 years.

It was a regime she took up as a young woman, after the doctor diagnosed her with anaemia shortly after World War One.

She had cut down to just two eggs a day, and a few biscuits recently.

Her doctor of 27 years, Carlo Bava, had told AFP news agency that she rarely ate vegetables or fruit.

"When I met her, she ate three eggs per day, two raw in the morning and then an omelette at noon, and chicken at dinner."

Ms Morano also credited her longevity to her decision, in 1938, to kick out her husband - a year after her baby boy died at just six months old.

The marriage had never been healthy, she said. She had been in love with a boy who was killed during World War One, and had no interest in marrying someone else.

But, she told La Stampa newspaper in an interview when she was a spritely 112 that she was left with little choice.

"He told me: 'If you're lucky you marry me, or I'll kill you'. I was 26 years old. I got married."

Eventually, it became too much. Though they separated in 1938, they remained married until he died in 1978. Ms Morano, who worked until she was 75, chose never to marry again.

"I didn't want to be dominated by anyone," she told the New York Times.

She had only taken on a full-time carer a couple of years ago - but had not left her small two-room apartment for 20 years.

According to the US-based Gerontology Research Group (GRG), the world's oldest human being is now Jamaican Violet Brown, who was born on March 10, 1900.

Source: http://www.bbc.com

Gold Mine Wells vs Oil Wells

Gold mine well in Russia. This gold well has a depth of 4 km. The width of the well is 0.8 m. Despite the impressive size of the well, gold mining there is limited by the person's physical capabilities. If lowered further, it can be dangerous for a person because of the high load on the body associated with high temperature, humidity, logistics and the possibility of seismic activity. Fortunately for the oil industry, it does not have such limitations associated with the physical condition of a person, so oil companies can drill deeper. We represent the deepest wells in the world.

1. Chayvo Z-44 (Russia, 13 km) The world's deepest oil well, known as the Chayvo Z-44, goes to a depth of about 13 km, equivalent to 15 heights of Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world. This depth is also twice the record altitude in a balloon. A total of 2.3 billion barrels of oil is expected to be produced in the wells on this shelf. Before Chayvo well Z-44 well and other similar wells were drilled, the leading position was occupied by the famous Kola superdeep borehole located in the western part of Russia.

2. OP-11 (Russia, 12 345 m) January 2011 was marked by a message from the company Exxon Neftegas that the drilling of the longest well with a large departure from the vertical is nearing completion. OR-11, located on the Odoptu field, also set a record for the length of the horizontal trunk - 11,475 meters.

The perpetrators were able to complete work in just 60 days. The total length of the OP-11 well at the Odoptu field was 12345 meters (7.67 miles), thereby setting a new world record for drilling wells with a large vertical bottom hole (BOV). OR-11 also took first place in the world by the distance between the face and the point of drilling horizontally - 11,475 meters (7.13 miles). ENL Company performed drilling of a record well in just 60 days using the technology of high-speed drilling and integrated drilling quality control developed by ExxonMobil, achieving the highest drilling performance in every foot of the OR-11 well. Drilling_russia3. BD-04A (Qatar, 12 289 m)

In May 2008, a geological exploration well with a length of 12,289 m was drilled by Maersk in Qatar at the Al-Shaheen oil field. The length of the horizontal barrel was 10,902 m. The BD-04A was drilled in just 36 days and used the GSO Rig 127 drilling rig of Transocean for this purpose. Transocean got even more notoriety in April 2010 after the Deepwater Horizon oil platform disaster in the Gulf of Mexico: the company was the operator of this well under a contract with BP.

1. The Kola Superdeep (USSR, 12 262 m) It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as "the deepest human invasion of the earth's crust." When, in May 1970, a lake with a difficult-to-pronounce name, Vilgiskodeoivainjärvi, began drilling, it was assumed that the well would reach a depth of 15 kilometers. But because of high (up to 230 ° C) temperatures had to collapse.

The well allowed to obtain a number of unique scientific data. In particular, with its help, a two-layer model of the structure of the earth's crust was questioned. At the moment, the Kola well is mothballed.

1. Bertha Rogers (United States, 9583 m) Another ultra-deep well created in the area of ​​the Anadarko oil and gas basin in Oklahoma in 1974. Thanks to the use of the newest equipment and the rejection of core sampling, drilling took only 502 days from Lone Star company and was stopped when sinkers came across a deposit of molten sulfur. Work cost $ 15 million.

2. Baden Unit (United States, 9159 m) Well drilled by Lone Star near Anadarko. Its development began in 1970 and lasted for 545 days. The wellhead was equipped with a blowout preventer, designed for a pressure of 105.5 mPa. In total, 1,700 tons of cement and 150 diamond bits were used for this well. And its full cost cost the company $ 6 million.

3. Hauptbourung (Germany, 9101 m) The famous Kola well made an indelible impression on the European public. Many countries have started to prepare their projects of superdeep wells, but separately it is worth noting the Hauptborgung well, developed from 1990 to 1994 in Germany. Drilling_russiaThe ultra-deep KTB Hauptbourung well was drilled from 1990 to 1994, it was supposed to reach a depth of 12 km, but due to unpredictably high temperatures it was possible to reach only 9.1 km. Due to the openness of drilling and scientific data, good technology and documentation, the super deep KTV well remains one of the most famous in the world.

4. Zistersdorf UT2A (Austria, 8553 m) In 1977, in the area of ​​the Vienna oil and gas basin, where several small oil fields were hidden, a Zistersdorf UT1A well was drilled. When at the depth of 7544 m non-recoverable gas reserves were discovered, the first. 

Source: http://oilpro.com