HBKU AI spin-out, Qatar Shell partner for reservoir research
QSRTC-QASR collaboration to transforms energy reservoir analysis
#Qatar #energy - Qatar Shell has entered a 12-month strategic collaboration with local AI startup QASR Technologies to advance artificial intelligence-driven reservoir analysis for oil and gas operations. The partnership connects multinational energy giant Qatar Shell's research capabilities through Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre (QSRTC) with Qatar-based technology company QASR Technologies, a Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) spinout specialising in AI-powered subsurface reservoir simulation. The collaboration aims to enhance underground pressure and flow data analysis using AI, significantly reducing analysis time while improving decision-making accuracy for reservoir management systems.
SO WHAT? - GCC research universitas are becoming increasingly focused on creating programmes and intellectual property (IP) that can be commercialised and become economic contributors to the national economy. Now CEO of QASR Technologies, Dr Ahmad Sami Abushaikha led a research team to develop a oil and gas reservoir simulator following funding from Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF)’s National Priorities Research Programme (NPRP) in 2018. The success of the Qatari Advanced Simulations for Reservoirs (QASR) research programme resulted in the spinning-out of the simulator project as the new startup QASR Technologies.
Some key points about the QASR-Shell partnership:
Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre (QSRTC) has announced a 12-month strategic collaboration with Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) spin-out startup QASR Technologies, to harness AI for improved analysis of underground pressure and flow data.
Hamad Bin Khalifa University spinout QASR Technologies was founded by Dr. Ahmad Abushaikha and was incubated at Qatar Science & Technology Park based on HBKU’s research on AI-powered subsurface reservoir simulation.
The Qatar Shell-QASR partnership aims to enhance underground pressure and flow data analysis using AI, aiming to reduce the time required to understand complex subsurface systems.
Resulting from a Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) funded HBKU research programme beginning in 2018, QASR Technologies specialises in modelling and simulation methods for carbonate reservoirs, enhanced oil recovery, CO2 sequestration, groundwater flow, and fractured reservoir systems.
Founded in 2008, QSRTC operates with $100 million decade-long funding commitment and is as anchor tenant at Qatar Science & Technology Park.
Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre collaborates with local and international academic community as part of Shell's wider R&D network including Amsterdam and Houston facilities
Industry partnerships provide local innovators with opportunities to grow and scale ideas while fostering knowledge transfer, research, and development capabilities within Qatar's energy sector.
ZOOM OUT - QASR Technologies emerged from the QASR (Qatari Advanced Simulations for Reservoirs) research programme at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, which began developing advanced reservoir simulators in 2018, supported by Qatar National Research Fund support. The original research team, drawn from members of HBKU, Delft University and Stanford University, developed state-of-the-art simulation models specifically designed for Qatar's carbonate reservoir characteristics. The research focused on enhanced oil recovery, CO2 sequestration, and fractured reservoir modelling using advanced discretisation schemes and geo-chemical modelling.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
Sources: The Peninsula