ConocoPhillips and GE Power & Water, a unit of General Electric Company, have announced the official opening of their joint Global Water Sustainability Center (GWSC) in Doha.

The center, located at the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), will research and develop innovative water solutions primarily for the petroleum and petrochemical sectors, but also will focus on municipal and agricultural solutions.

Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry, State of Qatar, inaugurated the new centre on Tuesday.

The launch ceremony was attended by Dr Mohammed Saleh Al-sada, the Qatari Minister of state for Energy & Industry Affairs; Dr. Ibrahim B. Ibrahim, secretary general, the General Secretariat for Development Planning (GSDP); Dr Stephen R. Brand, senior vice president, Technology, ConocoPhillips; Christine Furstoss, chief technology officer, Water and Process Technologies, GE Power & Water; Dr Tidu Maini, Science and Technology advisor to Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Misned, chairperson of Qatar Foundation, executive chairman of Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP); Bill Bullock, ConocoPhillips president, Mena and Dr Samer Adham, managing director, GWSC.

Lauding Qatar Science and Technology Park, GE and ConocoPhilips for new initiative, Al-Attiyah said, 'We are confident that the good work in this center will support our industry and our environment.'

'The world energy and petrochemical industries - at large and particularly in Qatar - will benefit from the Global Water Sustainability Center’s research on various desalination processes, the removal of heavy metals and hydrocarbons as well as the evaluation of cost-effective ways to recycle industrial and municipal water for beneficial purposes,' the minister remarked.

About 75 per cent of the GWSC’s work will focus on the petroleum and petrochemical sector and about 25 per cent on non-industrial sectors, primarily municipal and agriculture. On average, approximately three barrels of water are produced for every barrel of oil produced worldwide, the companies said.

However, this water usually contains residual components that limit its use without extensive treatment. Proposed uses for treated water could include recycling within treatment processes, industrial cooling, crop irrigation, livestock watering, and wildlife habitats, potentially leaving more fresh water available for domestic use.

“The GWSC couples ConocoPhillips' industrial applications and field expertise with GE’s leading-edge technologies in chemicals, equipment and advanced membranes to develop innovative water solutions for our operations and the communities in which we operate,” stated Stephen R. Brand, senior vice president, Technology, ConocoPhillips.

“ConocoPhillips has pledged to conserve and protect water resources, and we are proud of our substantial technological and financial commitment to water research,” he added.

GE's Christine Furstoss said the company had a long running collaboration with ConocoPhillips for over a decade, and the GWSC was a natural extension of its relationship.

“This collaboration will harness our collective strengths to explore solutions that address not only the world’s most pressing water challenges, but the region’s as well. With its goal of developing solutions to help meet Qatar’s need for a sustainable water supply, the GWSC also reflects GE’s growing commitment to invest and partner in the infrastructure development of the Middle East,” she added.

'The Qatar Science & Technology Park offers great opportunities for various technology research centers to collaborate,' stated Dr Tidu Maini.

'It is rewarding for us when major companies such as ConocoPhillips and GE have teamed up to create the Global Water Sustainability Center. This indicates that industrial clusters in a science park can provide ground breaking solutions,' Dr Maini added. 

According to him, the GWSC will also sponsor sustainable development projects that benefit the local community such as programs to encourage water conservation, exhibitions and public or industry workshops.

A visitor center set within GWSC will promote water conservation and technology applications to the residents of Qatar within the context of a national awareness campaign.

It will further target education and training, knowledge sharing and public outreach.  Workshops will be offered that will focus on key issues for water scarce regions such as water conservation and municipal water recycling.-TradeArabia News Service