Dubai, UAE – Enthusiasts of popular culture and comic fans of top publishers such as Marvel, Valiant, Boom! Studios, Archie Comics, Titan Comics, Kodansha, Viz Media, and more recently convened at COMICAVE™, the world’s largest comics and collectibles superstore at Dubai Outlet Mall for the Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) and Vol. 3 of Sandbox Swapmeet, UAE’s premier community meetup.

The global event in Dubai helped promote pop culture and encouraged reading in line with UAE’s drive towards literature advocacy. Attendees received free comic books, met international comic artists, took part in card games, competitions and cosplay activities and photo ops.

The 200 stakeholders and participants enjoyed the interactions and activations attracting over 8000 visitors to the mall to view their shows, demos and to win prizes and comic books.

COMICAVE™ is the world’s largest store of its kind as a haven for manga enthusiasts, comic book aficionados and film and TV series buffs as the unique store brings to life a gathering of pop culture icons, superheroes, merchandise, comics and manga via high-end collectibles, apparel, novelty items.

Saudi Arabia: Hosted by the Royal Commission in Jubail Industrial City, The Asset Integrity and Process Safety Conference & Exhibition – KSA Edition, concludes at the King Abdullah Cultural Center in Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The conference dealt with the main issues related to extending the life of assets and improving maintenance strategies, which will improve the integrity and reliability of assets while maintaining production capacity and reducing operational cost.

Eng. Abdullah bin Mahmoud Kashgari inaugurated the conference on behalf of the CEO of the Royal Commission in Jubail, Dr. Ahmed bin Zaid Al-Hussein. More than 500 participants from experts and specialists in the energy and resources sector participated in the conference, including asset managers, engineers, HSE professionals, and maintenance experts.

The conference brought together over 500 professionals from the energy and resources industry, including asset managers, engineers, HSE professionals, and maintenance experts. The event provided a platform for participants to share their experiences, insights, and solutions on critical issues in asset life extension and optimization of maintenance strategies via keynote speeches, technical sessions, panel discussions, and an exhibition showcasing the latest technologies and solutions in asset integrity and process safety.

The event provided insights from industry experts such as Eng. Khalid Sheltami, Chief Engineer at SABIC Manufacturing Center of Excellence, Eng. Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, Executive Vice President (Manufacturing) at NAMA Chemicals, Eng. Muhammad Javed Zahooruddin, Lead Engineer Corrosion, Integrity & Inspection at SASREF, Mr. Thomas Heckmann, Global Senior Business Architect at IFS, Mohammed Abufour, Advanced NDT Supervisor at Saudi Aramco and Mr. Martin Robinson, CEO – IRISS.

Khalid Sheltami, Chief Engineer at SABIC Manufacturing Center of Excellence said, “I am delighted to be a part of the Asset Integrity and Process Safety Conference & Exhibition. This event provided us a platform for professionals in the energy and resources industry to share our experiences and best practices in asset management and maintenance. The conference was a great opportunity to learn about the latest technologies and solutions that can optimize production while maintaining the integrity and safety of assets. I look forward to attending future editions of this event.”

Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, Executive Vice President (Manufacturing) at NAMA Chemicals added, “Attending the Asset Integrity and Process Safety Conference & Exhibition was a great learning opportunity. The event provided valuable insights on how to improve asset reliability, maintain safety, and optimize production. It addressed chronic issues related to asset integrity and process safety and presented advanced strategies and technologies to optimize production. I appreciate the organizers for bringing together industry experts to knowledge and explore innovative solutions to complex challenges.”

“It is crucial to meet industry peers and have knowledge sharing sessions to achieve Asset Integrity Management System (AIMS) goals and improve profitability. By setting and maintaining IOWs, organizations can effectively manage risks, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and optimize production while minimizing maintenance and replacement costs. The Asset Integrity and Process Safety Conference & Exhibition provided valuable insights into the latest advancements in IOW management, and I am confident that these strategies will continue to drive improvements in asset integrity and profitability for years to come,” said Muhammad Javed Zahooruddin, Lead Engineer Corrosion, Integrity & Inspection at SASREF.

The event explored ways to improve asset reliability, prevent unplanned shutdowns, and optimize production while maintaining the integrity and safety of assets. The event also highlighted the importance of asset management and maintenance in ensuring the long-term reliability, safety, and efficiency of assets.

• Focus is on ‘advanced strategies and technologies to optimize production.’
• Chronic issues related to asset integrity and process safety to be discussed.
• Discussions to improve asset reliability and preventing unplanned shutdowns.

Saudi Arabia: Great Minds Event Management announces that the Asset Integrity and Process Safety Conference & Exhibition – KSA Edition will take place from the 2^nd to the 4^th of May 2023 in King Abdullah Cultural Center, Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The conference will address the key issues of asset life extension and optimization of maintenance strategies that improves the integrity and reliability of assets while maintaining production capability and reducing operational cost.

The technical workshop will take place on the 2^nd of May while the conference will be on 3^rd and 4^th of May at the same venue and will provide an effective platform for Asset Integrity, Process Safety, Reliability, Inspection, NDT & NDE, Corrosion Control, HAZOP, Operations and Maintenance professionals to interact, share knowledge, and exchange best practices to effectively manage assets and showcase the latest technological advancements to tackle faced challenges.

Amro Hassanein, Lead Engineer Corrosion & Inspection at SABIC said, “Asset integrity and process safety are essential for the petrochemical industry to protect personnel, prevent equipment failures, comply with regulations, protect the environment, and preserve assets. Smart inspection techniques are important because they can help organizations improve efficiency, safety, reliability, data quality, and sustainability. Adopting these techniques, organizations can enhance their operations, reduce costs, and improve their overall performance. My session on Smart Inspection will help delegates benefit from staying informed about new technologies, regulations, and best practices, which can help them stay competitive and adapt to changes in their field.”

Dr. Husain Al-Muslim, Piping/Pipeline Engineering Consultant at Saudi Aramco added, “Due to the hazardous nature of most fluid services in the petrochemical, oil and gas sector, ensuring the integrity of critical assists is of paramount importance. A minor leak from a hazardous fluid can lead to major consequences impacting people and assets. Most of the unfortunate incidents in the oil and gas industry could be avoided with appropriate asset integrity management. My session will cover Pipeline Integrity Management and how to utilize the ever-limited resources to achieve spill-free and error-free operation. The presentation will be an overview of the pipeline integrity management system in accordance with international best practice and will also address the role of 4IRC in data analytics, digital twin, and machine learning.”

Speaking at the conference is Syed A. Ghufran, Method & Reliability Management Head at SATORP who adds, “For the oil and gas industry the main emphasis of process safety and asset integrity is to prevent unplanned releases which may lead to a major incident. In todays’ world, all improvement processes are data driven. Most difficult part in data management is data accuracy and data credibility. My session at the conference will cover data management for maintenance, reliability, and asset integrity. It goes without saying that “you can’t improve, if you can’t measure”. In this session, I will share our success story in managing maintenance, reliability, and asset data at SATORP.”

Asset integrity and process safety management is the critical practice to ensure seamless operations with the ability for a plant to function effectively and efficiently for continuous productivity, and a safe work environment.

This is crucial especially for oil, gas and petrochemical assets which can include highly complex infrastructures and legacy facilities requiring advanced inspection and monitoring to prevent failures, hazardous incidents, and unplanned shutdowns to achieve smooth operations and prevent production interruption.

However, the industry still struggles with attaining excellence in asset integrity and process safety due to key challenges, such as the change in operating parameters versus design stage, material degradation, corrosion, fatigue, and deviations from the fundamental principles of HAZOP. The three-day event brings together thought leaders across different sectors and industries.

The interactive conference highlights six main themes that include current market dynamics in asset integrity to increase safety, performance, and profit; international NDT standards and the critical innovations; digitalizing asset integrity and process safety to increase efficiency and asset lifecycle; Identifying risks and how to address them with hazard and operability study (HAZOP); designing predictive and preventive maintenance programs that suit your facility and mitigating risks through advances in corrosion control.

There will be more than 500 attendees, experts from the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors, over 30 speakers, with more than four industry led panel discussions and over 30 exhibitors will be showcasing their products, technology and innovations.

The event is organised by Great Minds Event Management, a Dubai-based multi-faceted event management company of international repute, having organized numerous successful Forums and exhibitions that highlight critical issues faced by various economic sectors and industries across the MENA region.