CHALLENGING
YEAR AHEAD, PREDICTS ADNOC ADVISER
The Year 1998 should be "an exciting and challenging year" for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, Roy Jordan, an adviser to the company's Marketing Directorate, was quoted as saying.
In an article entitled '1998 Oil and Gas Marketing Forecast' in the latest edition of the monthly 'ADNOC News', Jordan said that "there will be more crude oil to sell, the construction of two new Condensate Splitters will be underway at Ruwais and the design plans for a lubricant base oil refinery, the Petrochemical Project, Aromatics Plant and EDC unit will be finalised.
The basis for a large expansion in ADNOC's marketing activities at the beginning of the century will be under active development," he added. He said that growth in world gross domestic product, GDP, this year will probably be lower than in 1997, while there will be an increase in world oil supply.
If the economic problems in parts of Asia and Eastern Europe remain localised, world oil demand in 1998 is projected to increase by around 1.5 million barrels per day, bpd, to over 75 million bpd, he said. There were, he noted, a number of factors which could support oil prices during the year.
Among these, he cited the possibility that the current economic turmoil affecting the East Asian economies might be shorter-lived than expected or that the world oil demand might increase more than anticipated, or both. Weaker prices in the short term could also stimulate demand while leading to a reduction in supply as high cost ventures become uneconomical, he explained.
"Iraqi exports may be delayed again, as may some new fields projected to come on stream in 1998, leading to a lower-than-expected supply. There could also be abnormal weather which could affect oil supply and demand," the adviser added. (The Emirates News)
Meanwhile, as part of its project to set up a petrochemicals complex in Ruwais (in western Abu Dhabi Emirate) ADNOC is to complete work on its new condensator units and a basic lubricants refinery, 'ADNOC News' said.
The company is also executing a project to expand its fertiliser plant, FERTIL. A record of 9,450.0 metric tonnes of bulk urea was loaded in a single day at FERTIL on November 28, 1997.
Another milestone was achieved when 1,284.0 metric tonnes of ammonia was produced on December 2 and 4, while on December 5, some 1,886.0 metric tonnes of urea was produced. These represented 128.4% and 125.7% of design capacity respectively. ADNOC has also completed maintenance works at its salt and chlorine plants in Umm al Nar.
ADNOC affiliate the Zakum Development Company, ZADCO, one of the leading companies in horizontal drilling technologies in the Middle East, drilled its 100th horizontal well in 1997. Another subsidiary, the Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Company, ADGAS, saw total output reach nearly 8.0 million tonnes in 1997, while revenues are expected to exceed $ 1.5 billion.
The Year 1997 also saw the first loading of 'Umm al Ashtan', the eighth vessel in the ADGAS liquified natural gas, LNG, fleet, as well as the first overhaul of Train III. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM)
Professor Dr Farouk al Baz, Director of the Space Research Centre at the US university of Boston, called on the Arab states to expedite the establishment of strategic research centres and to co-operate with each other in order to face the ongoing changes and developments.
Dr al Baz yesterday made a visit to the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research, ECSSR, where he was briefed on the objectives and activities of the centre.
Dr al Baz delivered a lecture at the Centre on the Arab world and space research, during which he said that the rapid developments in space research have positively affected the telecommunications field which, in turn, reflected on our daily life.
However, he said space technology is still confined to some advanced countries which had the capabilities to conduct space programmes and research and he made a number of recommendations for the Arab world to keep pace with, and contribute to, that space research which may help the Arab world to explore the wide desert areas.
He affirmed the importance of strategic thinking for drawing up a clear strategic vision of the future. Dr al Baz expressed his admiration of the activities of the ESSRC in the preparation of strategic studies. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM)
UMM
AL QAIWAIN SHORES FREE OF DEAD FISH
Meanwhile, the Umm al Qaiwain Municipality said on Monday that the emirate's shores were completely free of dead fish that were washed ashore due to the oil slick. Municipality Director Ahmed Ali Rabea said that no dead fish had been spotted over the last couple of days.
Also yesterday, a delegation from the General Secretariat of Municipalities toured the mangrove areas and was briefed on the measures taken to counter the marine pollution on Sanaiya Island and the adjacent islands. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM)
KUSH
SITE UNRAVELS RICH HISTORY
Archaeologists are much closer to completing the picture of life at the Kush Islamic site in Ras al Khaimah, UAE, as the third season of the SHELL-sponsored excavations of the ancient city is coming to a close.
A clear pattern is emerging from the deep sequence of economic and environmental information flowing from the site, said Derek Kennet, leader of the team and an Oxford University archaeologist. Known to local inhabitants as Kush, the current archaeological site is one of the most important and largest Islamic locations in the UAE.
It has surrendered new evidence of the city's importance and developments which may have changed the fortune of the its inhabitants. The remains of a thick mud-brick wall was the traditional material used for constructing buildings a that time.
Derek Kennet explained, "It seems that the fortress was abandoned soon after Islam came to the people of Ras al Khaimah. After a period of abandonment, the ruins of the large fort were re-occupied by the Muslims who built themselves houses within the shelter of the already ancient walls." The site then began to flourish.
Trade and prosperity increased, as is demonstrated by the growing proportion of Chinese pottery which was in use at the time. The diet began to change too, with more wheat and less barley being eaten. Kennet added, "This is interesting because we may be able to relate the archaeological evidence to the very scanty historical references we have from to this period."
>From the historical evidence it seems that in the years before Islam, the Sassanians - an Iranian dynasty of Zoroastrians or fire-worshippers - had colonised many of the wealthier locations on the coast of Arabia.
"They probably had to build fortresses to defend themselves against the local Arabs who inhabited the interior of the country. "The arrival of Islam in the 7th Century AD encouraged the Arab Muslims to rise up against the invaders and throw them out of the territory," said Kennet.
Arab kings at the time were of a dynasty called Julanda and the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him) wrote a letter to encourage them to embrace Islam, which they did. The letter is supposed to have been delivered by one of the Prophet's generals, Amer Ibn al 'As.
"If these historical accounts are correct it might be possible to suggest that Kush was the site of a Sassanian fortress controlling the fertile area of Shimal in Ras al Khaimah. When Muslims rose up and ejected the Sassanians from their lands the fortress would have been damaged and abandoned." (The The Gulf Today, further stories in the Emirates News and other papers)
The UAE is actively seeking to both maximise 'Emiratisation' (the placing of UAE nationals in the workforce, replacing the currently-predominant expatriates) and minimise unemployment amongst UAE nationals. An item (see below) published in the Dubai-based English-language daily newspaper the 'Gulf News' yesterday prompted this editorial in today's edition.
"Some private companies in the UAE will not employ nationals, saying that their command of English is unacceptable. We suggest such an excuse is unacceptable as a general case. Through the courtesy of the UAE people, the lingua franca of the country is English.
"UAE nationals learn it in school from an early age and this has been so for many years. Therefore, English comprehension is generally good. If there is difficulty in understanding, then on-the-job training and daily usage of English will ensure improvements.
"Perhaps the greatest hurdle is employers' reluctance to employ nationals. It could be the fear of paying higher salaries to nationals (which need not prove so in reality) or just having them among an expatriate work force. Many nationals want to work in the private sector.
"To do so needs courage from the individual, since it could be the person's first job, which is always strange, using a language that is not his or her own, and working among expatriates. To the nationals, it can be like going to work in a foreign land, while still in the UAE.
"Companies must go more than half way to accommodate nationals in their labour force and make them feel welcome. Employers should not offer excuses like a general inability to speak English to rate them unfit for employment." (The 'Gulf News')
EMIRATISATION
OF PRIVATE SECTOR PROCEEDING APACE
Lack of knowledge of the English language is a major obstacle to the employment of nationals in the private sector, a top official told the 'Gulf News' on Monday. However, Zain al Sharif, Director of the Employment Department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, said companies should not see this as an excuse to stop employing nationals.
Citing this as a problem that could be solved, he said not all candidates knew English, communication levels differing from one person to another. He said companies should not be negative on this issue whenever the Ministry sent national candidates to them.
The Ministry is aware that the English language is the medium of communication in most private sector dealings "but, at the same time, companies should co-operate, this being an Arab country. Nationals should be given the opportunity to contribute to the private sector." He said companies should organise training sessions in English whenever a national employee needed this, in order to solve the problem.
The official also pointed out that many nationals had refused jobs when they discovered they would have to work a split shift but the Ministry had solved this problem and made it clear to applicants for jobs in the private sector that they would have to accept the split shift system.
Nationals have now become aware of these working hours and this has not reduced the number of applicants, he said. Nevertheless, some nationals wanted to wait until a company accepted them into a straight shift instead and several companies had co-operated in this regard, al Sharif added.
He said companies claimed that national candidates did not have the necessary experience and skills. This excuse was not acceptable, especially since the Ministry nominated a number of candidates, and not just one, so companies could choose the best, he pointed out.
At present, the Ministry was focusing on administrative posts and the skills required in these areas could easily be acquired in short-term training sessions.
Companies could select an applicant according to his or her skill, offer him or her a job and them promote him or her to a senior post after he or she had learned the required skills, he explained. There are now 1,800 nationals registered with the Ministry which hoped to find jobs in the private sector, al Sharif said.
Around 800 nationals were also in the process of being interviewed by various companies, he added. While a few hundred nationals had got jobs, thanks to the Ministry, their numbers were expected to go up to the thousands during February and March, when an employment project will be implemented.
Many of those employed by private companies had been offered training sessions to develop appropriate skills, he said. "All Companies have now become aware of the Ministry's project to employ nationals in the private sector and so more co-operation is required as are fewer lame excuses," said the Ministry official. (The Gulf News)
