Abu Dhabi: The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has confiscated over 27, 600 devices in its ongoing pursuit and the efforts to seize unauthorised devices.

The TRA said in a statement today that the move comes in line with its policy to protect the telecommunications market in the UAE from the use of unsupported telecommunication devices which are non-compliant with the specifications.

Engineer Ahmad Al Shamsi, Director of Type Approval in the TRA, asserted that the TRA is moving forward in the regulatory campaigns to reduce the increasing number of unauthorised telecommunication devices. This is achieved by refining the capacities and developing the skills of inspectors through training courses; hence, controlling the telecommunications market in the country through developing effective inspection and education programmes along with on ground presence of inspection teams.

He added that the campaigns carried out by the TRA during the first half of the year resulted in the confiscation of over 35,000 sets including multiple and different types of unauthorised devices. Al Shamsi emphasised on the seriousness of the spread of such devices in the telecommunications market since technical problems may disrupt the telecommunication networks causing, for example, frequency interference affecting the telecommunication services’ subscribers.

For his part, Majid Sultan Al Mesmar, Deputy Director General of the telecommunications sector in the TRA, noted the prominent role played by the strategic partners of the TRA in its support for the formation of a competitive digital regulatory environment, which is safe, sustainable and a global leader in the telecommunications and information technology sectors within the UAE.

He added that in the past two years, the TRA promoted frameworks of close coordination and joint efforts with strategic partners, led by local economic departments in all of the Emirates with the objective of consumer protection in the first place where the TRA is intending, in cooperation with them, to carry out regulatory campaigns in the area of telecommunications gadget sales and take action to prevent the spread and use of unauthorised devices through the adoption of standard and international specifications for the registration of local and international manufacturers, licensed operators, and companies importing telecommunications devices. “This is in addition to issuing warnings or imposing fines that may reach in some cases to license suspension.”

Manama: The GCC petrochemical capacity is estimated to increase from 77.3 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) to 113 MTPA at the end of 2015 according to the Gulf Petrochemical ‘&’ Chemicals Association (GPCA), with both long and short term opportunities. SAS-AIChE Chairman, Mr Abdulmohsen Al Majnouni recently spoke to The World Refining Association explaining how to capitalise on these opportunities whilst highlighting the vulnerabilities of this sector.

The petrochemical industry in the GCC has been vulnerable to financial crisis, as it has consistently seen up and down cycles in recent years. It has been revealed that these cycles follow the refining industry cycles with a six to twelve month lag, however with recent advances in the petrochemical industry, the cyclic effect may not be the case anymore.

“The introduction of specialty or performance chemicals has differentiated the refining from petrochemical industries,” said Al Majnouni. “The more creative manufacturers are in developing new enhanced products, the more sustainable they become. The more efficient the petrochemicals industry becomes, the less susceptible and less prone to financial crisis they are.” The GPCA reports that the GCC petrochemicals production capacity grew 13.5 per cent last year to nearly 116 billion tonnes, where Saudi Arabia alone was responsible for more than half of the US$100 billion in sales generated by the GCC petrochemical sector.

According to the Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz), Saudi Arabia tops the list with US$12 billion of projects under execution and another US$41 billion in future projects. Furthermore, petrochemical projects worthUS$19 billion are under execution in the GCC providing opportunities in both the long and short terms.

Mr Al Majnouni, said: “The major short term opportunities are in more integrated speciality and performance chemicals. These are basically secondary and tertiary industries. This is especially true for the Middle East countries as the supply of cheap feedstock is questionable.” He further continued to state that in the long term, the opportunities will be found in the compounding industries, detergent basics, pharmaceuticals, rubbers and tires.

Previously, companies operating in the GCC have enjoyed subsidised feedstock and less competition in the petrochemical area, however, now, competition and the availability of feedstock are two factors that demonstrate promise and excitement to the SAS-AIChE Chairman.

“Now, not only has the feedstock become scarce and limited, but the entrance of many international companies in the business has made it very competitive. Companies have become smarter, energy efficient, cost effective and more sustainable,” said Mr Al Majnouni.

AIChE was founded in 1908, and 80 years later the Saudi section was born. The company has taken stringent strides on helping Saudi Arabia’s quest to execute its nationalisation strategy and secure the future leaders of the petrochemical sector.

SAS-AIChE Chairman, Mr Al Majnouni, is confirmed to participate at the seventh annual PETCHEM Arabia summit alongside executives from leading petrochemical players including: Saudi Aramco, SABIC, ORPIC, Chevron Phillips Chemicals, NOGA, EQUATE, TASNEE, QURAIN PETROCHEMICAL and SIPCHEM amongst others which will be held from 30 September – 3 October 2012 in Manama, Bahrain under the patronage of His Excellency Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance, Minister in charge of Oil and Gas Affairs, Chairman, National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA).

London: Salt removal and wastewater recycling technologies are expected to become an essential ingredient in operational strategy, growing by 11.4% over the next five years to reach a total market value of $11,963bn by 2025, the latest report from UK-based Global Water Intelligence (GWI) predicts.

The report is a timely study of the vital relationship between the water sector and global economic growth. It confirms that industry is now taking significant steps to address the issues of scarcity and sustainability and that it is also recognising that embracing new technologies can be good news for the bottom line The report, Industrial Desalination ‘&’ Water Reuse: Ultrapure water, challenging waste streams and improved efficiency, focuses on the demands of eight major water-using industries: Oil and gas, Refining and petrochemicals, Power generation, Food and beverage, Pharmaceutical, Microelectronics, Pulp and paper, and Mining. Within these industries the market forecast focuses on three principal areas where desalination/demineralisation technologies are employed: Ultrapure water (UPW), Seawater desalination and Wastewater desalination.

The 270 page report includes a market and technology overview and provides forecast data by technology / system, by year and by country, depicted in many charts and tables.

The report explains that, in addition to scarcity of water, global economic growth is also challenged by the need to develop new sources of energy and mineral resources, by increased demand on agricultural productivity and by the call to better management of carbon emissions. Indeed, the role of treated water itself is becoming more important as, within the move towards recycling, it becomes the vector for energy and materials recovery. However, removing salt from water and turning low quality wastewater and raw water sources into high quality process water, are the key drivers of water efficiency for the global economy. Desalination and water reuse technologies are unlocking the potential for growth – and will also be the main beneficiaries.

Within the oil and gas upstream energy sector, the report sees four key growth markets: Firstly, shale gas and coalbed methane (CBM) production in many regions is limited by the disposal options for the flow back water from hydraulic fracturing, and CBM production is challenged by the huge volumes of water that are brought to the surface. Desalination and water reuse technologies are therefore potential solutions and might re-write the future for the fossil fuel industry. The report suggests the strongest market currently will be in the Australian CBM sector due to the low price of gas in the U.S.

Secondly, as oil producers try to develop new deep-sea resources, and also squeeze more out of existing reservoirs, they must remove sulphates to protect the quality of the oil from salt damage, and are also now able to increase recovery using low salinity water to wet’ the sandstone. The report suggests that the use of NF and RO technologies for seawater flood could become this industry’s fastest growing sector.

Thirdly, recycling produced water for steam enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in the heavy oil sector is also an area for greater investment, relying on water recycling systems in general and evaporation technology in particular. Canada’s oil sands represent the largest oil reserve in the world but these technologies will increasingly become a feature of production in the Arabian Peninsula.

Fourthly, the oil industry produces 39 million m?/d of water – far more than the oil it brings to the surface – and the vast majority of this is re-injected straight back into the ground. A small amount (around 3%) is reused for beneficial purposes and the report argues that this proportion will increase.

The total growth in the market is expected to rise by 14.2% by 2017, reaching $5,508.5bn by 2025.

Power generation is the largest industrial user of water, and at the same time as requiring greater water efficiency, customers are putting a growing emphasis on the consistency, reliability and specification of their ultrapure water systems. The report argues that tighter regulation of coal emissions, ageing infrastructure, lower gas costs and the switch away from nuclear power may lead to accelerated investment in new and upgraded gas power stations. The future looks good in this sector for desalination and water reuse technologies, including reverse osmosis, ion exchange (IX), low pressure membranes, electrodeionisation (EDI) and evaporators. Total growth in the market is expected to rise by 17.1% by 2017, reaching $1,950bn by 2025.

Abu Dhabi: Each Gulf state needs to strengthen its efforts in extending the same facilities to nationals of other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries be it investment, employment, education and property ownership as per the principles agreed to make the Gulf Common Market (GCM) a reality, a UAE paper commented.

The six-member GCC has established the GCC Customs Union in 2003 and the GCM in 2008 as part of its quest to create the GCC Monetary Union. Although progress has been made to create a single European Union-type entity, the GCC countries also have a long way to go in achieving these goals, Gulf News said in its today’s editorial.

In this regard, the latest report by UAE Ministry of Finance outlining the country’s progress in extending facilities to GCC nationals is an eye-opener for its neighbours. Property registration by GCC nationals has jumped 32 per cent last year over the same recorded in 2010 while employment of GCC nationals in the UAE increased 22 per cent. Currently, 212,020 GCC investors are trading in UAE stocks.

The number of business licences granted to GCC nationals grew 10.2 per cent last year to 28,909. The report reflects the UAE’s openness in attracting investment while at the same time offering employment and extending opportunities in real estate investment.

On these lines, the UAE is also promoting Gulf Nationality’ a policy that extends full rights and facilities to other GCC nationals enjoyed by the nationals of the home country as per the GCM.

“The GCC also needs to expand the physical infrastructure to allow greater cross-border mobility that could help trade, tourism and retail sectors. In this regard, the GCC Power Grid and the GCC Railway need to be fast-tracked.” With its progressive and business-friendly environment, the UAE has undoubtedly become the preferred destination for investment and doing business. However, the rest of the GCC countries also need to catch up. Otherwise, the GCM will remain a dream, let alone the single currency and the GCC Monetary Union, the paper concluded.