JCCP NEWS
Newsletter of Japan Cooperation Center, Petroleum

TopicsNo. 106
March 2010
In this issue:
TopicsVisits to Russia and Kazakhstan
by Mr. Sase
1
Courtesy Visit with Omani Ministerof Oil and Gas
5
Courtesy Visit with ADNOC CEO
6
The 28th JCCP International
Symposium
7
The 18th Joint GCC-Japan
Environment Symposium
9
Recommencement of Technical
Exchanges with Iraqi Ministry of Oil 11
Vice President of Pertamina
Learning Center Visits Japan
12
Personnel Exchange Programs“Human Resource Management(HRM)” (Iran)
14“Refinery Maintenance Management
and TPM” (Iran and Saudi Arabia) 16“Environmental Managementin the Refinery” (TAKREER)
19“Refinery Maintenance Management”(Petrovietnam)
20
Survey of Downstream Trends
in UAE and Qatar
22
JCCP Counterpart in India
24
TC Program—Kuwait / Saudi Arabia 25
TC Program—Malaysia / Indonesia 27
JCCP Participants Surpass 19,000 30
JCCP Regular Courses Completed
October 2009 – January 201031
Technical Cooperation
The 10th Scientific Council Meetingwith UAE University
33
The 19th Saudi Arabia-Japan
Joint Symposium
35
The 11th Kuwait-Japan Joint
Symposium
36
Signing Ceremony in Kuwait
38
Announcement
Personnel Changes

40

Mr. Sase,
Executive Director of JCCP,
Visits Russia and Kazakhstan
JCCP is strengthening its relationship with countries of the former
Soviet Union, in recognition of the fact that they are potential sourcesof oil and energy supplies in the future. In fact, Russia was the sixthlargest crude oil exporter to Japan in fiscal 2008, following the Middle
East countries. It is an oil-producing country on par with Saudi Arabia,
and the largest gas-producing country in the world.
On October 22, 2009, Mr. Masataka Sase, Executive Director of
JCCP, had the opportunity to attend the First Joint Commission of
the Japan-Kazakhstan Government and Private Sector on Economic
Cooperation, which was held in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan.
Taking the opportunity of attending the conference, Mr. Sase also
visited major JCCP counterparts in Russia and Kazakhstan to holdpolicy dialogues with the top management of those organizations.
Since the last policy dialogues that were held with top management
personnel in countries of the former Soviet Union was in 1994, thisbecame the first time in 15 years that JCCP has held such dialogues
in those countries.

1. Russia(1) LUKOIL Co.
Since the birth of the Russian Federation in 1991, a total of 498
participants have visited JCCP. Among this number, as many as 140
participants were from LUKOIL Co., the largest oil company in Russia.
JCCP has been deepening its friendly relationship with LUKOIL
particularly in recent years. In mid-September 2008, a Customized
Program-Overseas (CPO) on “Energy Saving in Refineries” was held at
LUKOIL’s Nizhny Novgorod Refinery. About two weeks later in early
October, a Customized Program-Japan was held on the same topic.
JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Topics •1

On October 19, Mr. Sase visited the LUKOIL
Head Office and met with Mr. Pikhtovikov Yuri,
Deputy Director and GM of the Human Resources
Dept., Mr. Antonov Mikhail, Deputy Head of Global
Refining, and a number of other members.
LUKOIL has recently purchased two refineriesin Western Europe in a joint investment withanother company. Such advancements into foreigncountries are expanding large-scale investments
by the company, so that its primary challenge
now lies in the effective implementation of theseinvestment projects. In response to this challenge,
the Global Refining Department is in need of
specialists who have professional knowledge
about both technologies and the economy, and iscurrently concentrating on developing such humanresources. They are expected to have the technicalcapabilities to conduct market studies and derivecombinations of refining equipment that would
produce the required product, as well as the capacity
to calculate the anticipated economic effects of sucha project. In view of this situation, Mr. Mikhail
said he looks to JCCP’s further cooperation in the
future to accomplish LUKOIL’s major objectivesof effectively executing overseas projects anddeveloping technical/economic specialists.
Mr. Sase shared his view that it is important
to engage in mutual interaction and exchangesof views on a continuous basis by means of toplevel meetings, and to submit requests in order
to constantly achieve a new level of mutual
understanding and establish new courses of action.
He then responded to Mr. Mikhail’s expectationof JCCP by saying that JCCP wishes to promotetechnology exchanges that focus on increasing the

LUKOIL Head Ofﬁce

2• Topics •With Mr. Dmitriy Mamonkin, Deputy Director of Reﬁning
Dept. (third from left), at the ROSNEFT Head Ofﬁcevalue of petroleum products, and would also like toprovide the requested cooperation, as it is an area inwhich Japan has accumulated experience.
(2) ROSNEFT Oil Co.
On October 19, Mr. Sase visited the head officeof ROSNEFT Oil Co., where he was greeted by Mr.
Dmitriy N. Mamonkin, Deputy Director of Refining
Dept., Ms. Tamara G. Solovykh, Head of Personnel
Development HR Dept., and other members.
The ROSNEFT members first thanked JCCP for
all the extremely meaningful training programs thatit has offered in Japan up until last year. They thenexpressed their interest in the Kyoto Protocol as animportant influence in the rapid changes that are taking
place in regard to refineries today, and requested
future training programs related to environmental
management and energy conservation. They also
spoke about their plan to group all employees into
three levels—refinery level, middle level, and top
management level—and to train them according
to their respective level. Furthermore, they statedthat the company places emphasis on new refinery
construction projects and other upstream projects, aswell as on the ongoing Sakhalin Project. In addition to
the Customized Program-Japan (CPJ) that is currently
being considered for ROSNEFT, it wishes to discuss
the possibility of other themes, program details andtiming with JCCP, and hopes to receive even greater
cooperation from JCCP in the future.
(3) Japanese Embassy in Russia
In the afternoon of October 19, Mr. Sase visited theJapanese Embassy in Russia and met with Mr. Manabu
Miyagawa, Minister for Economic Affairs, and Mr.

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

Koji Toyoshima, Secretary for Economic Affairs. Mr.
Sase requested the embassy’s continued support after
explaining the purpose of his visit to Russia and thepresent status of JCCP activities in the country.
Mr. Miyagawa, for his part, provided highly
useful information on the recent state and outlookof Russia’s economy. For example, he explainedthat Russia’s economy hit bottom in summer 2009and has thereafter begun to show signs of recovery,
that an APEC conference is scheduled to be held in
Vladivostok in 2012, and that the main theme of that
conference will be development cooperation in the
Far East and Eastern Siberia. Besides securing large
resources, Russia is aiming to acquire advanced
technological capabilities, and hopes to obtain
Japan’s cooperation to achieve this goal.

2. Kazakhstan(1) CDB-OGI (JSC Central Dispatching Boardof Oil and Gas Industry)
Kazakhstan has a population of 15 million living
in a land area seven times larger than Japan. It is acountry endowed with abundant energy and mineral
resources, with 3.2% of the world’s oil reserves,1.1% of the world’s natural gas reserves (2009
BP statistics), and a wealth of mineral resources
including rare metals.
As the country is poised to become a major
resource supplier in the future, many foreign countries,
including Japan, are participating in diverse resource
development projects in Kazakhstan. JCCP has
received 165 participants to its courses between 1993
and 2008, though there was a period of discontinuation
during that time. Among the countries of the former
Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has sent the second-largest

With Mr. Yerbol Tulebaev, President of CDB-OGI (center)

number of participants to JCCP, after Russia.
CDB-OGI is an institution which analyzes trends
in the oil and gas industries inside and outside of
Kazakhstan and reports to the Ministry of Energy andMineral Resources. It also participates in regulationand standardization activities in the oil industry
On October 21, Mr. Sase met with Mr. Yerbol
Tulebaev, President, and Mr. Khassenov Askhat,
Director Technical Regulation.
JCCP and CDB-OGI had been planning on
holding a Customized Program-Overseas (CPO) in
Kazakhstan in September 2009, but the plan was
not realized due to mutual scheduling conflicts. Mr.
Tulebaev expressed regret at this postponement andreiterated once again his desire to see the seminar
implemented during the next fiscal year. The JCCP
side responded affirmatively, saying that it would be
happy to host the seminar if the timing is right on bothsides. Mr. Tulebaev also requested JCCP’s continued
cooperation in implementing training programs thatsatisfy advanced technology needs in Kazakhstan,especially in relation to the refinery expansion andmodernization projects that are slated to commence
hereafter between 2009 to 2015 in order to upgrade
the quality of petroleum products to meet Euro 4 andEuro 5 standards instead of Euro 2 and Euro 3.
(2) JSC NC KazMunayGas
KazMunayGas is an oil and gas company
100% owned and operated by the government of
Kazakhstan. It integrally undertakes a broad range ofoil and gas projects, from the upstream to downstream
sectors of the industry, based on the energy policies of
the country. In recent years, the steady developmentof the oil and gas industry has given a large boost to
Kazakhstan’s economic growth. As a company that is
at the core of oil and gas development in Kazakhstan,
KazMunayGas intends to continue expanding its
business in diverse directions, and is attracting thestrong interest of Japanese companies.
On October 21, Mr. Sase visited the company andmet with Mr. Daniyar Tiyessov, Managing Director,
Oil Processing and Marketing; Mr. Zhanbolt Zh.
Tuganov, Deputy Director of Oil Processing; and Mr.
Airat Shaanov, Deputy Director, HR Dept. A groupof JCCP graduates also attended the meeting.

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Topics •3

With Mr. Daniyar Tiyessov, Managing Director of
KazMunayGas (center)

Mr. Magauov A. Maratavich, Vice Minister (center),at the joint conference

Mr. Tiyessov, after expressing his deep appreciation
to JCCP for its many years of cooperation andassistance, noted that engineers from KazMunayGas
who have participated in JCCP training have cometo establish friendly cooperative relationships withmany Japanese companies, and said he would liketo continue sending engineers to JCCP in the future.
As KazMunayGas is actively seeking to modernize
its refineries, it specifically requested a humanresource development seminar that focuses on energy
conservation, TPM, and safety issues.
Mr. Sase told the KazMunayGas members that
JCCP wishes to strengthen its relationship with
KazMunayGas, and would be happy to receive
many participants from the company to its training
programs. He also assured them that JCCP will look
into any request or issue that KazMunayGas might
have and contribute through the implementation oftraining courses and technical cooperation.

speech by Mr. Magauov A. Maratavich, Vice
Minister of Energy and Resources, who articulated
his expectation of Japan’s cooperation in the oil,steel, medical, and machinery sectors, as well as theinformation technology sector, on which Kazakhstan
is placing particular emphasis today. On the Japanside, Mr. Hiroyuki Ishige, Vice Minister of Economy,
Trade and Industry (and conference chairman), said
it is important for Kazakhstan and Japan to mutually
cooperate in maximizing the benefits of Japan’s
reliable technologies. He also noted that personalconnections and relationships of trust are essential topromoting trade and investment, and said he hopes
the conference would provide a starting point forestablishing such connections and relationships.
The opportunity to attend the conference held
significant meaning to JCCP, as it allowed Mr. Saseto communicate with people from both the private
and public sectors in Kazakhstan. JCCP wishes toparticipate in this type of conference again in the
future as an effective approach to other potential
JCCP counterpart countries as well.

(3) First Joint Commission of the JapanKazakhstan Government and Private Sector
on Economic Cooperation
On October 22, Mr. Sase had the opportunity toattend the conference, which was held in the foreign
ministry conference hall in Astana. The conference
was held based on an agreement between President
Nazarbayev and then-Prime Minister Fukuda during
the president’s visit to Japan in 2008, which called forthe establishment of a public-private joint framework
for comprehensively discussing environmental
improvement and economic cooperation issues
relating to trade and investment expansion.
The conference commenced with an opening

4• Topics •Mr. Sase spent a day in Russia and one anda half days in Kazakhstan meeting with various
management-level people in the oil downstream
sector in the two countries. He reconfirmed JCCP’sfriendly ties with JCCP counterpart organizations
and acquired valuable opinions and views of future
JCCP activities. Based on the relationships of trust
JCCP has cultivated with various organizations
through the years, we intend to further enhance JCCP
training and technical cooperation programs.

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010<by Tetsuji Kubota, Training Dept.>Topics

Courtesy Visit with H.E. Dr. Al-Rumhi,
Omani Minister of Oil and Gas
On November 1, 2009, Mr. Morihiro Yoshida,
Managing Director of JCCP, paid a courtesy visit
to H.E. Dr. Mohammed Hamed Saif Al-Rumhi,
Minister of Oil and Gas in Oman.
Oman is situated on the coast of the Arabian
Peninsula facing the Gulf and is bordered by UAE,
Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. It is a country blessedwith abundant water and greenery compared toother countries in the Middle East. The country’s
capital is Muscat. Oman and Japan not only enjoy
a close relationship of trade in crude oil and naturalgas, but also engage in various joint R&D exchange
activities. A technical cooperation project brought
JCCP and Oman together in 1996 and formed thefoundation of a cooperative relationship that still
continues today.
Mr. Yoshida made the courtesy visit to Minister
Al-Rumhi to pay his respects as the new managing
director of JCCP as of last August. He also took
the occasion to give a general overview of JCCP
activities in Oman and to thank the Minister for his
understanding and cooperation in those activities.
Minister Al-Rumhi also voiced his appreciation
for the progress and results achieved through JCCP
activities that have been implemented to date, andexpressed his expectations of continued activities in
the future. He also gave a description of the warmand hospitable character of the Omani people andthe country’s beautiful natural environment uponlearning that this was Mr. Yoshida’s first visit to
the Middle East. He also added that he wishes todevelop the country through the effective utilizationof its natural environment.
When Mr. Yoshida mentioned a plan to holda ceremony for the currently ongoing JCCP
technical cooperation project on the “Treatment andUtilization of Oilfield-produced Water in Oman,”Courtesy Visit with H.E. Dr. Mohammed Hamed Saif
Al-Rumhi, Minister of Oil and Gas

Minister Al-Rumhi gave a forward-looking response
in regard to his attendance. The meeting was thus
held in an extremely friendly atmosphere thanks to
the minister’s kind and considerate disposition.
In addition to the Ministry of Oil and Gas, Mr.
Yoshida also paid courtesy calls on Prof. AmerAl-Rawas, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU);
Mr. Masoud S. Al-Msalmy, Oman Refineries &Petrochemicals Company (ORPC); and H.E. Mr.
Seiji Morimoto, Japanese Ambassador to Oman.
At each of the institutions he visited, Mr. Yoshidareceived many words of appreciation for theachievements and progress of JCCP activities, aswell as strong requests to continue implementing
the activities into the future based on a strong
cooperative relationship.
We wish to take the opportunity of this newsletterto extend our feelings of gratitude to everyone at
the Omani Ministry of Oil and Gas, SQU, ORPC,
and the Japanese Embassy in Oman, who gave theirtime and effort to receive Mr. Yoshida and the JCCP
delegation. Thank you all very much.
<by Kenji Ikushima, Technical Cooperation Dept.>

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Topics •5

Topics

Courtesy Visit with H.E. Mr. Yousef Omair
Bin Yousef, CEO of ADNOCOn November 3, 2009, Mr. Morihiro Yoshida,
Managing Director of JCCP, paid a courtesy call on H.E.
Mr. Yousef Omair Bin Yousef, Chief Executive Officer
of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), andother key figures in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is one of the sevenemirates of the United Arab Emirates, which wasformally established in 1972. It is situated facing
the Gulf, and is blessed with abundant oil and gas
resources that support its economy. To Japan, Abu
Dhabi is an extremely important crude oil supplier,providing crude oil supplies that are equivalent
to roughly 25% of Japan’s total oil consumption.
Given this situation, JCCP has provided continuous
cooperation to ADNOC and Abu Dhabi Oil Refining
Company (TAKREER) through the years since its
establishment in 1981 by implementing technicalcooperation projects and training programs.
In the courtesy visit to H.E. Mr. Yousef Omair Bin
Yousef, Mr. Yoshida first expressed his greetings as
the new managing director of JCCP appointed lastAugust. He then described JCCP’s contributions
to ADNOC and TAKREER, namely in the latest
technical cooperation project on flare gas recovery,
the TAKREER research center establishment project,
and the project on application of sulfur concrete
technology, and thanked the CEO for his continuous
understanding and cooperation.
H.E. Mr. Yousef Omair Bin Yousef offered words
of appreciation to JCCP for implementing technicalcooperation projects and training programs thathave contributed greatly to expanding businessand developing human resources at ADNOC and
TAKREER, and voiced his expectations for theirfurther continuation and development.
Mr. Yoshida also mentioned JCCP’s strong
desire to expand its cooperation in the areas ofenvironmental measures and energy conservation,in which needs are hereafter expected to grow in
UAE as in the rest of the global community. To
this, H.E. Mr. Yousef Omair Bin Yousef replied by
6• Topics •Courtesy visit with H.E. Mr. Yousef Omair Bin Yousef,
CEO of ADNOC
Mr. Morihiro Yoshida, Managing Director of JCCP (left)
H.E. Mr. Yousef Omair Bin Yousef, CEO of ADNOC (center)describing an environmental improvement projectthat is based on culturing coral reefs in seas nearoilfields and refineries, and said he would like JCCP
to cooperate if the opportunity arises.
After his visit to ADNOC, Mr. Yoshida paid acall on Mr. Jasem Ali Al-Sayegh, General Manager
of TAKREER. Mr. Al-Sayegh said he is grateful to
JCCP for its implementation of technical cooperation
projects and training programs in Abu Dhabi,
including the flare gas recovery project and the
TAKREER research center establishment project.
He then said that his participation in a JCCP course
in 1987, when he was young, and his experience inJapan has greatly benefited his career thereafter.
Mr. Yoshida also made a courtesy visit to theJapanese Embassy in the UAE and met with H.E.
Mr. Tatsuo Watanabe, Ambassador, to give a
brief account of the accomplishments of JCCP’scontribution to ADNOC, TAKREER and UAE
University over the years and an overview of thelatest projects that are being implemented in UAE.
Ambassador Watanabe, saying he is familiar with
JCCP activities, praised JCCP for the contributions
it has made in UAE, and encouraged JCCP to more
widely and actively introduce details of its activities
both inside and outside the country.
<by Shoichiro Yagi, General Manager, Middle East Ofﬁce>

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

Topics

The 28th JCCP International Symposium(Preliminary Report)“Innovation of Technology and Management in Oil Downstream—For Security of Oil Supply—”
The 28th JCCP International Symposium washeld on January 27 and 28, 2010 under the auspicesof the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry(METI). The two-day event drew an audienceof more than 350 people who are affiliated with
oil-producing countries, foreign embassies inJapan, government offices, and domestic firms andorganizations.

1. First Day (January 27):
Opening Ceremony
Mr. Yaichi Kimura, President of JCCP, opened
the symposium with a speech that emphasized
the focus of this year’s symposium. He noted that
oil is a vital yet limited source of energy, and wemust therefore use it wisely. The extent to which
we are able to utilize oil effectively depends on thetechnical capabilities and management power in theoil downstream sector, which is where petroleum
and petrochemical products are produced from oil.

That is why oil-producing countries and Japan mustcooperate in bringing innovations to technology andmanagement, Mr. Kimura stated. Such innovations
would make sure we use oil wisely and pass on the
precious resource to the next generation.
Following Mr. Kimura’s opening speech, Mr.
Masaaki Kimura, Director-General of the Natural
Resources and Fuel Department of METI, alsodelivered a speech as the guest of honor. This wasfollowed by keynote speeches. Mr. Nobuo Tanaka,
Executive Director of the International Energy
Agency (IEA), spoke about “Energy Security
and Sustainability” and Mr. Mohammed A. AlOmair, Executive Director of Saudi Aramco about“Management of Hydrocarbon Resources.” Guest
speakers representing ADNOC, SINOPEC, andPETRONAS also gave speeches on initiatives andthe future outlook concerning the effective utilizationof oil in their countries under the respective titles,“UAE Future Energy Supply Strategy,” “Status
and Outlook for China’s Oil Industry,” and “In

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Topics •7

Pursuit of Growth in the Challenging Hydrocarbon
Industry.”

2. Second Day (January 28):
Discussion Sessions
Two discussion sessions were held on the second
day: Session 1 in the morning (chaired by Mr.
Takeshi Kurosaki, Executive Corporate Officer,
Japan Energy Corporation) and Session 2 in theafternoon (chaired by Mr. Sei Tange, Executive
Vice President and CMO, JGC Corporation). In
Session 1, panelists representing Oman, UAE,
Indonesia, Nigeria, and Japan discussed the theme,“Management Innovation,” in reference to initiatives
that are being taken in their respective countries. In
Session 2, panelists representing Qatar, Iran, Kuwait
and Japan presented initiatives that are being takenin their countries in relation to the theme of thesession on “Technology Innovation.”
Mr. Kurosaki summarized Session 1 discussions
as follows: The increasing speed of changes in thebusiness environment is pitting companies against
each other in intensive international competition.
Under this situation, the concept that identifies“people” as the key to creating a competitive
company has emerged as a common factor in all
five presentations. Everything begins and ends withpeople. Thus, we must urgently begin changing
the way we think and ultimately change the way
we act.
Mr. Tange summarized Session 2 discussions asfollows: In both oil-producing and oil-consuming
countries alike, we are experiencing a change in theway we think about oil. The era in which we have
simply used oil by burning it is coming to an end andgiving way to a period in which we need to restrict

our usage of oil to more meaningful and advanced
purposes. Toward this end, it is necessary to produce
optimum facilities through the combination ofdiverse elemental technologies instead of dependingon simple technological combinations. The
refineries of tomorrow will require experienced
people who have the capacity to comprehensively
manage a broad range of technologies.
After the two days of discussions, Mr. Masataka
Sase, Executive Director of JCCP, delivered a closing
summary as follows: Whether from the perspectiveof an oil-producing country or an oil-consuming
country, we all share a common commitment toutilize oil and natural gas as efficiently as possible.
Each country has its own unique circumstances andits own characteristic approaches to various issues.
However, it is precisely because such differences
exist that there is meaning to engaging in mutual
exchanges and learning from each other. The oil
downstream industry in Japan wishes to share its
experience with oil-producing countries and to help
create a new era of refineries. JCCP will contributeits part by serving as a bridge between oil-producing
countries and Japan and tightening its bond of
mutual exchange.
This year’s symposium featured lectures andpresentations by people who are at the front lineof technical and management innovations in oilproducing countries and Japan, and offered a forum
for active exchanges of views among the panelists,
as well as between the panelists and participants.
From this fundamental standpoint of creating
mutual understanding, JCCP wishes to continue
promoting mutual exchanges among all actors in
the oil industry.
<by Hisayoshi Tanda, Administration Dept.>(* The names of panelists, an overview of their presentations, and other details of the Symposium program will be provided
in the next issue of JCCP News.)

8• Topics •JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

Topics

The 18th Joint GCC-Japan
Environment Symposium(Preliminary Report)
JCCP and the Bahrain Centre for Studies andResearch (BCSR) jointly hosted the 18th JointGCC-Japan Environment Symposium fromFebruary 8 to 10, 2010. The theme of this year’s
symposium was “Environment and Water Resources
for Our Future.”
The opening ceremony was held on the 8th, withthe attendance of 230 participants from the GCC
countries and Japan, including such prominent
figures as H.E. Dr. Mohammed J. K. Alghatam,
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of BCSR; Dr.
Abdulla M. Alsadiq, Secretary-General of BCSR;
Dr. Eion Turnbull, Deputy Chief Executive (Refining& Marketing) of the Bahrain Petroleum Company(BAPCO), which provided special assistance in
implementing the symposium; H.E. Mr. Hideo Sato,
Ambassador of Japan to Bahrain; and Dr. Junzo
Kasahara, Professor Emeritus at the Universityof Tokyo (leader of the Japanese Delegation). Dr.
Alsadiq, Dr. Turnbull, Ambassador Sato, and Mr.
Morihiro Yoshida, Managing Director of JCCP, eachdelivered an opening address.
The opening ceremony was followed by three
Keynote Speeches. From Japanese side, Dr.

Kasahara gave a speech titled, “An innovative
method for the 4D monitor of storage in CCS(Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage) and oil andgas reservoirs and aquifers.”
The main part of the symposium was divided
into four discussion sessions, which featured 19
presentations over a period of two days. Experts
from the GCC countries and Japan discussed“Energy and Gas Industry and Sustainability” in
Session 1 and “Water Resources and Environmental
Protection” in Session 2 held on the 8th. On the nextday, they discussed “Climate Change and Global
Warming” in Session 3 and “Future Perspective
for Energy, Water and Environment” in Session 4.
Active discussions were held in each session, with
the GCC experts expressing particular interest in thepresentations on Japan’s advanced environmental
technologies.
A closing ceremony was held on the 9th,
following the last discussion session. Dr. Mohammed
S. Al Ansari, Director of the Publication andData Warehouse of BCSR (and Chairman of theEnvironmental Symposium Organization), and
Makoto Nakamura, Manager of the TechnicalCommemorative photo at the opening ceremony

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Topics •9Key participants at the opening ceremony

Cooperation Dept. of JCCP, thanked all symposium
participants, BCSR and BAPCO for theircooperation in the successful implementation of
the symposium.
On the 10th, the Japanese Delegation, JCCPinvited GCC experts and many Bahraini people

visited a BAPCO refinery as a field trip. There
they understood BAPCO’s strong commitment toenvironmental conservation. JCCP hopes that thisEnvironment Symposium will continue to help
deepen relationships between oil-related companies
and organizations in Bahrain and JCCP.
The day before the opening of the Symposium, apress conference was given at BCSR. Dr. Alghatam,
Dr. Alsadiq, Dr. Al Ansari, Mr. Yukio Ishibiki,
Second Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in
Bahrain and six Japanese lecturers attended theConference, while the JCCP Secretariat gave a brief
overview of JCCP activities and the Environment
Symposium. The Press Conference and Symposium
were both widely covered by local media, andhelped increase public recognition of JCCP in the
GCC countries.
We would like to extend our sincerest appreciation
to everyone who has cooperated in making the
Symposium possible.
<by Makoto Nakamura, Technical Cooperation Dept.>(* The names of panelists, an overview of their presentations and other details of the Symposium program will be
provided in the next issue of JCCP News.)

10 • Topics •JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

Topics

Recommencement of Technical Exchanges
with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil
JCCP invited four executive officers from theTraining and Development Directorate of the Iraqi
Ministry of Oil to Japan from December 14 to 18,
2009, to discuss the recommencement of training
and technical cooperation programs.

1. Background

implementing technical cooperation projects as its
contribution to post-war reconstruction efforts in theoil downstream sector in Iraq. The recent meeting
was therefore held to gain mutual understandingof situations in the two countries and to reachan agreement on the requirements for project
implementation, toward re-establishing relations
between the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and JCCP.

The Iraqi Ministry of Oil and JCCP have engaged
in technical exchanges since JCCP was establishedin 1981. As of the end of fiscal 2008, JCCP had
received 360 participants to training courses inJapan and sent 26 Japanese experts to Iraq to holdlocal technical seminars. Between 1991 and 2003,
both the acceptance of participants and dispatch ofexperts were discontinued due to wars. However,training programs in Japan gradually recommenced
in 2003, mainly beginning with courses initiated by
JCCP member companies. A technical cooperation
project was also launched in 2003 in support ofreconstruction efforts in the country.
From this fiscal year on, JCCP is seeking to fully
recommence the acceptance of participants to JCCPinitiative courses and to examine opportunities of

The Training and Development Directorate of
the Iraqi Ministry of Oil is responsible for humanresource development and technical developmentin the entire oil industry in Iraq, and operates four
training centers and an oil technology development
center. The recent invitation to Japan was extended
to four executive officers from the Training andDevelopment Directorate: Mr. Iqdam M. R. Hashim
Al Shadeedi, Deputy Director General, Training
and Development Directorate (as leader); Mr. Jasim
M. Hameed, Manager, Technical Department,
Training and Development Directorate; Dr. Kareem
Abdulhasan Alwan, Director, Petroleum ResearchFirst Iraqi participant to a JCCP course after there-establishment of relations with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil

Exchanging of the MOU on the recommencement of
exchanges with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil

Mr. Sale Saeed Abdulla, Technical Manager,
North Oil Company (right)

Mr. Iqdam M. R. Hashim Al Shadeedi, Deputy Director
General, Training and Development Directorate (right)
Mr. Masataka Sase, Executive Director of JCCP (left)

2. Visitors

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Topics • 11

and Development Center; and Mr. Maher B. Antwan,
Manager, Petroleum Refining Division, Petroleum
Research and Development Center.

3. Main Points of the Discussion
On December 14, the executive officers fromthe Iraqi Ministry of Oil paid their respects to Mr.
Masataka Sase, Executive Director of JCCP, at
JCCP Headquarters, and then paid a courtesy visit
to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry. The Japanese side explained that it wishes
to provide post-war reconstruction assistance to theoil industry in Iraq through the implementation oftraining and technical cooperation programs. The
Iraqi side responded by saying that it wishes tore-establish its ties with JCCP and receive JCCP’s
cooperation in modernizing the oil industry in Iraq.
Through such dialogue, the two sides confirmed
their mutual desire to recommence personnel andtechnical exchanges with each other.
The executive officers then held a meetingwith JCCP and visited JCCP member companies
to respectively discuss the recommencementof training programs and technical cooperation
programs in specific terms. In regard to training
programs, a JCCP-initiative course (TR-17: Training
Management Course) had actually just begun

slightly in advance of this meeting, on November
24, with the attendance of a participant from the
Iraqi Ministry of Oil. Both sides therefore agreed
to the continued participation of Iraqi personnel
in JCCP courses in Japan from fiscal 2010 on, as
well. In regard to technical cooperation programs,
the JCCP side assured the Iraqi side that it will
work to acquire an accurate understanding of local
situations concerning technical issues confronting
the oil industry in Iraq, and the two sides promised
to hold information exchanges on a continuous basis
in the future.

4. Future Exchanges
The meeting allowed JCCP and the Iraqi Ministryof Oil to deepen their understanding of each other’ssituation and to confirm their mutual desire to reestablish friendly relations. In order for Iraq to makesteady progress in post-war reconstruction, it isvitally important to help stabilize oil supplies and toprovide support in bringing stability to people’s lives
and developing the industries. The Ministry of Oil
has plans to establish a supply system of oil products
by building more refineries and introducing modern
equipment, and JCCP is planning on supporting thiseffort through the implementation of training andtechnical cooperation programs.
<by Hisayoshi Tanda, Administration Dept.>

TopicsMr. Somantri, Vice President of
Pertamina Learning Center, Visits JapanOn December 21, 2009, Mr. Suwardi Somantri,
Vice President, Pertamina Learning Center, PT
Pertamina, visited JCCP. Mr. Somantri assumed
his current position in 2008, and as vice president
in charge of the Pertamina Learning Center, heis responsible for developing next-generation
leaders and otherwise promoting capacity-building
among employees. He is also in charge of sending
participants to JCCP-initiative courses.
12 • Topics •1. Courtesy Call on Mr. Sase
Mr. Somantri met with Mr. Masataka Sase,
Executive Director of JCCP, in the executive
reception room at JCCP Headquarters. JCCP has
received 1,485 participants from Pertamina andhas sent 383 experts to Pertamina from the timeof its establishment in 1981 to the end of fiscal
2008. “Pertamina is like an old friend to JCCP,”

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

said Mr. Sase, and expressed his wish to continue
maintaining their friendly relationship. Mr. Somantri
explained that Pertamina has launched large-scale
restructuring efforts in 2006 with the challenging
goal of becoming a world-class oil company, andthe government and relevant institutions are keeping
a close eye on the outcome. In order to achieve thisorganizational reform, Pertamina is counting on
JCCP’s cooperation, Mr. Somantri said, and the two
leaders confirmed their common view concerning
the development of their mutual relationship.
After the meeting with Mr. Sase, JCCP staff
members gave an overview of JCCP activities
and gave Mr. Somantri a tour of JCCP’s training
facilities.

2. Lecture on Pertamina’s Human
Resource Development Strategies
In the afternoon, JCCP asked Mr. Somantri togive a lecture on Pertamina’s strategies for humanresource development.
Pertamina was originally founded as a state-run oil
company in Indonesia. It was privatized in 2006 withthe aim of becoming a world-leading oil company
in 15 years’ time based on three series of Five-year
Plans. It is presently focusing on increasing corporate
strength, and employs a number of slogans for thispurpose, including “Strengthen corporate culture
through strong performance,” “Develop quality
leaders,” “Enhance technical capabilities as aninternational oil company,” and “Make a change froma bureaucrat mentality to a corporate mentality.”
Pertamina also strives to be a company that is
capable of developing domestic energy resourcesin Indonesia, including not only oil and natural gas
but also bio-fuels and geothermal energy. It also
aims to be a company that can comprehensively
satisfy energy needs in the country. It promotes
oil development abroad as well, through its offices
located in Libya and Sudan.
Based on the strong belief that corporate reforms
are supported by “people,” Pertamina has establisheda learning center for centralized management oftraining programs that are implemented in eachdepartment, and is directing a large part of its efforts
to developing young leaders who may perhaps
join the top management in the future. It has alsoestablished the Pertamina Center for Excellence
to strengthen technical development capacities,
and has begun to focus on improving frontline
technological capabilities by restructuring andstrengthening the functions of the HSE Training
Center and Maritime Training Center.
The development of young personnel who
will assume a leadership role in implementing
corporate reforms is a particularly important issue
to Pertamina. That is why Pertamina has especiallylarge expectations for the implementation ofpractical training programs by JCCP. For its part,
JCCP intends to satisfy Pertamina’s expectations
by enhancing its programs.
<by Hisayoshi Tanda, Administration Dept.>

Mr. Suwardi Somantri, Vice President,
Pertamina Learning Center (right)
Mr. Masataka Sase, Executive Director of JCCP (left)

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Topics • 13

Personnel
Exchange“Human Resource Management (HRM)
Seminar” Held in Iran

Seminar participants

From October 17 to 21, 2009, a Customized
Program-Overseas (CPO) on human resource
management (HRM) was held in Tehran, Iran.

1. Background
The request for a CPO on human resource
development (HRD) in Tehran was conveyed to
Mr. Masataka Sase, Executive Director of JCCP,
by members of the NIORDC Personnel Department
during Mr. Sase’s visit in October 2008. Thereafter,
specific details of the program were discussed
the following July with Mr. S. Mahjoubi, Deputy

Participants earnestly listening to a lecture

14 • Personnel Exchange Programs •Director, Production Coordination and Supervision,
when he visited Japan to participate in the FY2009
JCCP Program Seminar. NIORDC and JCCP thus
agreed to implement a CPO on HRM in October
2009 and a Customized Program-Japan (CPJ) on
HRD in Japan the following year.

2. Lecturers
Akio Hoshino (JCCP)
Mr. Kentaro Uozumi (Nippon Oil Corporation)
Mr. Koji Baba (JGC Corporation)
Mr. Hiroto Iida (Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.)

Japanese lecturers standing next to theseminar signboard

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

3. Seminar Details
The seminar was held over a period of five days.
The first two days of lectures covered general HRM
theories under the title, “Transition and the Statusquo of Japanese-style HRM.” On the third andfourth days, respectively, one member each from a
representative oil company and engineering company
in Japan, namely Nippon Oil Corporation and JGC
Corporation, took the podium to give a lecture on
their company’s HRM system. On the final day,
JCCP gave a lecture on “Kaizen General” during thefirst half of the day’s session, and a member from
Idemitsu Kosan spent the second half introducing
Kaizen examples that have actually been applied to
Idemitsu Kosan’s refineries. The final day’s session
was held as an aspect of personnel education fromthe perspective of “cultivating a Kaizen mind.”
The lectures on Kaizen made references to suchterms as “Jidoka” and “Just In Time,” which Toyota
Motor Corporation uses to describe its production
system. Some of the participants were familiar withthese terms, but the concept seemed to be new to themajority, who listened to the lectures with strong
interest.

4. Summary of the Seminar
The seminar was held at a training center of

National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company(NIOPDC) located to the north of Tehran, andwas attended by more than 20 management-classemployees from the National Iranian Oil Refining
and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Head Office
and refineries, including three female employees
from NIOPDC’s HR Department. Most of theparticipants were quite competent in English, andwere a group of extremely outstanding people who
raised many pertinent questions. The Japanese
lecturers were thoroughly impressed with theindustrious and serious manner in which theparticipants applied themselves to the seminar.
One of the participants, Mr. A. Chavoshi,
Managing Director of Arak Refinery, came up to thelecturers after the closing ceremony, seeking to hear
their views on an issue he is facing. The lecturers
therefore set aside about an hour to exchange views
with him.
All in all, judging by the participants’ responses
during and after the seminar, it seems the seminarsatisfied their expectations.
This was the first time for the four lecturers tovisit Iran. Through the seminar, they were able tointeract with the Iranian people on a deep level,
and gained precious experience in discovering
their sincere and honest nature, and the fact thatthey are very similar to the Japanese in their wayof thinking.
<by Akio Hoshino, Training Dept.>

Presentation of the completion certiﬁcate

Female participants and Japanese lecturers

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Personnel Exchange Programs • 15

Personnel
Exchange

Seminar on “Refinery MaintenanceManagement and TPM”
Held in Iran and Saudi Arabia
1. Iran
The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution
Company (NIORDC) is focusing its efforts on
upgrading facility maintenance technologies andimproving safety management at its refineries.
Mr. S. Mahjoubi, Deputy Director, Production
Coordination and Supervision, who attended the
FY2009 JCCP Program Seminar (TCJ) last July,
took the occasion of the program seminar to convey
to JCCP NIORDC’s request for a seminar designed to
introduce TPM (Total Productive Management) andother kaizen activities that are employed by refineries
in Japan. The principle aim of implementing sucha seminar, Mr. Mahjoubi explained, is to bringchanges in awareness among refinery engineers
in Iran. Responding to this request, JCCP sent a
three-member team to NIORDC’s Tehran Refinery
to conduct the requested seminar from November 7– 11, 2009. The members included a lecturer from
JCCP’s Training Department (F. Tone, lecturer) andtwo external experts (Messrs. Yoshisumi Tamao andAtsushi Ishizawa from Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.).
Mechanical engineers and process engineers were
eligible to apply, and 21 participants were ultimately
selected to attend the seminar from the NIORDCHead Office and its nine refineries.

A lecture on “Oil Industry in Japan” was given
first, to provide a general understanding of the current
situation in the oil industry in Japan. It particularly
focused on the structure of Japan’s dependency on
the Middle East region for crude oil, and hence theimportance for Japan to build a stable relationshipwith the Middle East. The lecture on “Overview
of Safety Management and TPM Activities in the
Refinery” introduced serious accidents that haveoccurred in refineries and petrochemical plants inJapan due mostly to poor maintenance management.
These examples illustrated the reason why there has
been a surge in voluntary improvement activities
and why TPM activities came to be introduced inJapan. The lecture also discussed ideal management
practices and the significant role of the manager
in increasing motivation in the workplace, andintroduced TPM and small-group activities that havebecome common practices in Japanese refineries. In
the lecture on “Case Examples of TPM Activities/
Improvement Activities for Refinery Management,”
the significance and achievements of TPM activities
were discussed in reference to step-by-step examplesof TPM activities implemented in two refineries ofIdemitsu Kosan, from the introduction to the resultsof those activities.
Group discussions were also held for the first

Seminar participants

16 • Personnel Exchange Programs •Group discussion

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

is to achieve an effective coordination not only ofequipment and tools, but also between managers andemployees.” Furthermore, a participant noted thatthe seminar had, as hoped, reminded him anew thatmaintenance is the steady accumulation of simple
and concise practices.

2. Saudi Arabia
Lecture session

time in a TPM seminar in Iran, as a means forallowing participants to actually experience themeaning of engaging in small-group activities. The
participants were given an assignment of “raising
an issue in their workplace, identifying the gap(problem) between the ideal image and reality, andcoming up with a measure for reaching a common
ideal.” As instructed, the participants divided into
small groups, and within their group they shared
an issue they face in their workplace. They thenselected an issue of high priority, analyzed theissue’s essential cause, and created an action plan
for resolving the issue as a group. The topics of
discussion varied from group to group, ranging fromissues related to energy consumption to discussions
on electrical shock accidents with electric drills,
and were discussed in detail using completion
diagrams and diverse factor analysis methods to
explain the fine points of the issues to each other.
The group discussion session thus turned out tobe a highly productive learning experience for theparticipants.
Mr. Mahjoubi summarized his impression of
the program by saying that it has planted seeds ofcompletely new management ideas in the minds ofthe participants and has given them a new vision.
Through this experience, many participants said
they feel they have acquired a better understandingof TPM. Other participants said they intend to apply
what they learned in this program to improving
their workplaces, based on the understanding that“cooperation between managers and employees
underlies the efforts of Japanese refineries to improve
productivity and profits,” and that “the goal of TPM

Saudi Aramco is striving to improve facility
maintenance technologies, and is focusing
on implementing activities related to safety
management and preventive maintenance. To
strengthen these activities, it requested JCCP’s
cooperation in acquiring knowledge about TPM
and other improvement activities and the latest in
maintenance management employed by Japaneserefineries so that it may improve and reformrefinery maintenance management technologies
in Saudi Arabia. In response to this request, JCCP
implemented a seminar last fiscal year on humanresource development centered on TPM and otherimprovement activities, and the second seminarof the series was held at Saudi Aramco’s Riyadh
Refinery from October 31 to November 4, 2009. A
team of four Japanese lecturers from JCCP’s Training
Department (F. Tone) and external companies (Mr.
Akio Higashi, Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K.; Messrs.
Yoshisumi Tamao and Atsushi Ishizawa, Idemitsu
Kosan Co., Ltd.) conducted the second seminar,
which was attended by 20 carefully selectedparticipants from Saudi Aramco’s four refineries
and two NGL Fractionation Departments.

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

Group presentation• Personnel Exchange Programs • 17

The main lectures on “Maintenance Managementin Japanese Refineries” and “Overview of Safety
Management and TPM Activities in the Refinery”
first introduced the reality and transition ofmaintenance management practices in Japan.
They then expounded on issues facing Japaneserefineries and the voluntary initiatives through which
they resolved those issues, before discussing thebackground to introduction of TPM in Japan. They
also discussed management principles in Japan andthe important role of the manager in raising worker
motivation in the workplace, as well as introduced
examples of small-group activities. Many of theparticipants seemed to find Japan’s “Point and Call”
practice highly interesting, and said they would
like to include it in their daily operations. In thesession on “Case Examples of TPM/Improvement
Activities for Refinery Management,” the various
case examples of refinery improvements achieved
through TPM activities captured the participants’strong attention. At the end, all participants voiced
their opinion that TPM activities are extremely
effective, and that there is a lot to learn from them.
In the small-group discussion session, each group
was asked to “raise an issue in their workplace,identify the gap (problem) between the ideal image
and reality, and to think of a measure for reachinga common ideal,” as in the session in Iran. Under
the guidance of the lecturer, the participants probed
deeper and deeper to identify the roots of an issue
and analyzed its essential cause to come up withspecific countermeasures. Some groups engaged inparticularly in-depth discussions on such challenging
issues as changes in maintenance systems, thePresentation of the completion certiﬁcate
Mr. Ali A. Al Hazmi, General Manager, Riyadh Reﬁnery(right)construction of a system that would enable theprocurement of raw materials as quickly as possible,
and issues relating to single equipment in theworkplace. Since the issues were common themes toall departments, the participants said they were able toengage in active discussions and exchanges of views,
and evaluated the session as highly meaningful.
At the end of the program, the participants notedthat they could perhaps more easily adapt the TPM
concept to their workplaces if they could gain a better
understanding of actual TPM activities through onsite
training. They thus requested the implementation of apractical TPM training program at a Japanese refinerythat practices TPM activities. The participants’ earnest
desire to more fully understand TPM activities andto apply them to improving and restructuring theirworkplaces was a significant change from theprevious seminar in 2008, in which participants
showed greater interest in holding group discussions
than in the TPM concept itself. The lecturers feel that
this change in focus clearly demonstrates the effective
outcome of the seminar.
<by Fumihiro Tone, Training Dept.>

Seminar participants

18 • Personnel Exchange Programs •JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

Personnel
Exchange

Seminar on “Environmental
Management in the Refinery”
Held at TAKREER (UAE)
1. BackgroundAs requested by Abu Dhabi Oil refining
Company (TAKREER) in UAE, JCCP held aseminar on “Energy Saving in the Refinery” last
spring, followed by a seminar on “Environmental
Management in the Refinery” this past November.

2. Seminar Overview
The seminar was held over a period of four days, from
November 22 to 25, 2009, at Le Royal Meridien Hotelin Abu Dhabi. The Japanese seminar team consistedof two lecturers from JCCP’s Training Department,
K. Kamijyo and S. Satake, and two external lecturers,
Mr. Tetsuro I from JGC Corporation and Mr. Masaaki
Sakurai from Toyo Engineering Corporation.
The majority of the participants were from the
Ruwais and Abu Dhabi Refineries, but there wasalso a participant from the head office, and a female
participant among the members from the Abu Dhabi
Refinery.

3. Details of the SeminarOn the first day, a brief lecture was initially given

Seminar participantson “Introduction of JCCP.” This was followed bylectures on “Environmental Strategies of Japanese
Oil Companies” and “Clean Fuel and Heavy
Oil Upgrading Technologies.” The first lecture
discussed the history of pollution in Japan andenvironmental regulations imposed on Japaneserefineries, as well as the social responsibility ofoil companies and their commitment to global
environmental conservation. The second lecture
introduced initiatives that have been implemented
by Japanese oil companies to produce sulfur-freefuel for the first time in the world, and outlined
their approaches to heavy oil upgrading. The
second day’s lecture covered various air pollution
prevention technologies, with an emphasis on SOx
and NOx treatment facilities. The participants
seemed especially interested in the description ofultra low-NOx burners that use fuel gas as fuel. On
the third day, wastewater management in refineries
was discussed in terms of technologies for primary
treatment to advanced treatment, and by providing
case examples of wastewater treatment measures
employed by Japanese refineries. On the last dayof the program, the participants divided into twogroups, the Ruwais Refinery group and the Abu
Dhabi Refinery group, and discussed environmental

Group discussions
Front table: Ruwais Reﬁnery
Rear table: Abu Dhabi Reﬁnery
JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Personnel Exchange Programs • 19

issues they face in their respective refineries. Time
constraints unfortunately prevented them fromengaging in deep discussions, but the members ofeach group seemed to share a deep sense of common
understanding of the issues.

We would like to extend our deepest thanks toeveryone and all companies who gave us their timeand cooperation in the seminar.
<by Kazuyoshi Kamijyo, Training Dept.>

4. Reflections
At the end of the seminar, the participants wereasked to provide their impressions and opinions of
the seminar. They evaluated the seminar as extremely
meaningful, and said they would like to participate
in a JCCP regular course in the future. In the closing
seminar, Mr. Jamshid Khan, Senior Safety & FireEngineer, and Mr. Ahmed Al Gattan, Training &Career Development Department manager, took
their time to deliver closing statements, and Mr.
Anwar M. G. Al Mutawa, Senior Training Officer,
also expressed words of appreciation to JCCP.

A TAKREER environmental management
manager (center) witnessing the presentation of thecompletion certiﬁcate

Personnel
Exchange

Seminar on “Refinery MaintenanceManagement” Held at Petrovietnam
1. Background
Last fiscal year, Petrovietnam and JCCP
agreed to further promote mutual understanding
and personnel exchanges between Vietnam andJapan in the future, on the occasion of a visit to
the Petrovietnam Head Office by a JCCP mission
headed by Mr. Masataka Sase, Executive Director of

At the Zung Quat Reﬁnery

20 • Personnel Exchange Programs •JCCP. As part of this agreement, JCCP implemented
a maintenance management seminar for the refinery
maintenance department at the Zung Quat Refinery
in central Vietnam, the country’s first comprehensive
refinery (commenced operations this February), as
requested.

2. Seminar Overview
The seminar was held over a period of fourdays, from September 8 to 11, 2009, at the Zung
Quat Refinery, located near Da Nang in central
Vietnam.
Lectures were given by two lecturers from
JCCP’s Training Department (S. Miyawaki and
K. Nakazawa) and two external lecturers, Messrs.
Katsutoshi Tanabe (JGC Corporation) and Takashi
Suzuki (Suzuki Technical Consulting Ltd.),
who were asked to speak on rotary equipment

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

Closing ceremony of the seminar

At the Petrovietnam Head Ofﬁce(with members of the HRD Dept.)

maintenance technologies and static equipment(water treatment), respectively.

was held in the presence of Mr. Pham Van Chat,
Deputy General Director (participant of a JCCP
course in 2001). The agenda of the four-day seminar
was completed as scheduled, with the presentationof a completion certificate to each participant. At thevery end, Mr. Chat expressed his appreciation for the
success of the CPO seminar and articulated his hopesof seeing further developments in the cooperative
relationship between JCCP and Petrovietnam
through Petrovietnam’s continued participation in
JCCP regular courses and other programs.

3. Details of the Seminar
The seminar was organized as a Customized
Program-Overseas (CPO) by request fromPetrovietnam, and was divided into two themes,static equipment and rotary machinery. Lectures on
the two themes were given simultaneously at two
different venues.
First, the Japanese lecturers were shown around
the Zung Quat Refinery site and given a descriptionof its facilities by JCCP graduates Mr. Duy(participated in a static equipment course in 2008)
and Mr. Quang (participated in a rotary machinerycourse in 2009).
The lectures on static and rotary equipment
both elicited many questions from the participants.
Active exchanges of views were held regarding
the optimum method of adopting the maintenanceand management practices of Japanese refineries
and achieving stable operations and efficiency at
Petrovietnam’s refineries in the future. Discussions
were also held regarding essential considerations
that need to be given when applying those practices
to Vietnam, based on the understanding thatrefineries in Vietnam greatly differ from each otherin terms of their environments.
On the last day of the seminar, a closing ceremony

4. Summary
Evaluations by the participants at the end of theseminar showed that the majority wish to participate
in a training program in Japan in the future, andindicated their high expectations of JCCP training
programs.
In a wrap-up meeting held at the Petrovietnam
Head Office, Mr. Tran Van Hoa, General Manager,
Training & HRD Division, thanked JCCP for
implementing the seminar, and said he hopes JCCP
and Petrovietnam will continue to strengthen theircooperative relationship and further promote mutual
exchanges into the future.
The lecturers of the seminar hope that
Petrovietnam will take full advantage of theknowledge provided through this seminar to further
develop its refineries.
<by Shintaro Miyawaki, Training Dept.>

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Personnel Exchange Programs • 21

Personnel
Exchange

Survey of Downstream Trends
in UAE and Qatar
From October 9 to 16, 2009, a survey ofdownstream trends was conducted in UAE andQatar, by S. Yagi, General Manager of the JCCP
Middle East Office, and K. Takayama, JCCP
Training Department, with the cooperation of Mr.
Masashi Onishi from Cosmo Research Institute and
Mr. Katsuhiko Sasao from JGC Corporation. The
four-member team mainly visited human resource
development departments to gain an overview oftraining facilities, programs, and other such aspectsof training institutions in the two countries, and to
identify needs for JCCP training programs.

1. UAE(1) ADNOC Technical InstituteIn the morning of October 11, the survey teamvisited the ADNOC Technical Institute (ATI), a
training center established by UAE to promote
opportunities for employment in the ADNOCGroup. After warmly welcoming the survey team on
its first visit to ATI by JCCP, Mr. Omar Al Hamed,
ATI Manager, and other members took the time to
explain about ATI’s training programs and to guidethe Japanese team on a tour of the facilities.

At Petroleum Institute(2) Petroleum InstituteIn the afternoon of October 11, the survey teamvisited the Petroleum Institute (PI), an industrial
college established by ADNOC as a center of
research and education for the oil and gas industry
in UAE. The opportunity to meet with Dr. Michael
M. Ohadi, Provost and Acting President, Dr. Dennis
A. Siginer, Assistant Provost and Director of Arts
and Sciences, and many other high-ranking officersof PI proved to be an invaluable experience to thesurvey team.
(3) TAKREEROn the following day, the survey team visited
the TAKREER Head Office in the morning to

At ADNOC Technical Institute22 • Personnel Exchange Programs •JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

At TAKREERAt QP Training Center

At the QP Mesaieed Reﬁnery

hold an interview with Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Al
Gattan, Manager Training and Career Development
Department, Human Resources and Administration
Division, and a number of other members. The
TAKREER members responded to the survey team’s
detailed questions with kind understanding.

for the establishment of a friendly cooperative
relationship between each of those institutions and
JCCP. With respect to TAKREER and QP, JCCP
has enjoyed longstanding friendships with the twocompanies, but the survey team felt a need for JCCP
to step up its efforts in order to better respond totheir specific needs.
Lastly, the survey team would like to take thisopportunity to thank everyone concerned for theirgenerous cooperation and effort in making thissurvey mission possible.

2. Qatar(1) Qatar Petroleum (Training Center)
On October 14, the survey team visited the Qatar
Petroleum Training Center and exchanged views
with Mr. Mohamed Normarzuki Bin Yaacob, Senior
Supervisor–Short Tech. Training, Corporate Training,
who attended to the survey team with kindness andcourtesy despite his extremely busy schedule.

<by Kazuko Takayama, Training Dept.>(2) Qatar Petroleum Mesaieed Refinery
On October 15, the survey team visited Qatar
Petroleum’s Mesaieed Refinery, where they met
with Mr. Abdulaziz M. Al-Khoori, Operations
Manager, Refining-Operations, and other members.
As a graduate of a JCCP course himself, Mr. AlKhoori spoke fondly about his JCCP experience.
He also talked about his requests and frank opinionsof JCCP, and made the meeting an extremely
meaningful one to the survey team.

3. Impressions
The survey team is hopeful that the visits to ATI
and PI for the first time have laid the foundation

Local newspaper article on
the survey team’s visit to ATI

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Personnel Exchange Programs • 23

Personnel
Exchange

JCCP Training Program Counterpart
in India
Two members from JCCP, S. Takahashi, Deputy
Manager of the Training Department, and A.
Yamanaka, Operations Department, visited India
from September 13 to 19, 2009. As there is no JCCP
training department counterpart in India, they paid
visits to four national oil companies and met withmanager-level officers in refining departments to
explain JCCP’s training activities and gain a senseof their interest.
First, they visited Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC), which controls a large
share of operations in the upstream sector, and met
with Mr. S. Ramachandran, Executive Director.
Mr. Ramachandran explained that ONGC has an
in-house training organization that also receives
trainees from other countries, and so far has no plansof sending its employees abroad to receive training
for the time being.
The two JCCP members next visited HPCLMittal Energy Ltd. and met with Mr. S. Joe Jeffords,
Chief Operating Officer, and a number of otherofficers. The HPCL-Mittal side did not indicate any

specific intention to participate in a JCCP course,
but JCCP is looking forward to hearing from themin the near future.
At Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL),
the JCCP members met with Mr. R. Ramachandran,Vice President, who expressed strong interest in
JCCP courses, as he himself visited JCCP as aparticipant of a JCCP member company course in
fiscal 2001.
Finally, at Indian Oil Company Ltd. (IOCL),
the largest national oil company in India, the
JCCP members met with Mr. B. N. Bankapur,
Director (Refineries). He was interested in sending
participants to a JCCP regular course (TR) on a
trial basis.
As course programs have been sent to the four
companies, JCCP awaits their applications to makespecific approaches regarding their participation.
Lastly, we extend our deepest appreciation to
everyone who contributed their time and cooperation
to this mission.
<by Akio Yamanaka, Operations Dept.>

At ONGC, with Mr. S. Ramachandran, Executive Director(second from right)

24 • Personnel Exchange Programs •At IOCL, with Mr. B. N. Bankapur, Director (center)

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

Personnel
Exchange

Report on the
Cooperation with Training Center Program—Kuwait and Saudi Arabia—

In Kuwait, the delegation’s main destinations
included the head office of Kuwait National
Petroleum Co. (KNPC), KNPC’s Mina Abdullah
Refinery, and the Leadership Development Center(LDC) and Petroleum Training Center (PTC) of
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).
Under the leadership of KPC, the oil industry
in Kuwait is promoting corporate reforms in aneffort to develop companies that are capable ofpursuing results and gaining a global competitiveedge. Human resource development, in particular, isregarded as an important part of corporate reform,
and initiatives are being implemented toward thedevelopment of human resources—from leaders tofield operators—with an emphasis on real ability.
At KNPC’s HR Department, which sends thelargest number of participants to JCCP every year
from Kuwait, Mr. Waleed Al-Hamad, AssistantManager, introduced to the delegation its humanresource development programs and a check sheetof strict standards that KNPC uses to evaluate theeffectiveness and results of refinery engineers.
At KPC’s Leadership Development Center(LDC), Ms. Salma Al Hajjaj, Director, described
LDC as an institution established specifically for the
purpose of developing top management personnel,
and explained that potential top management
candidates are registered in a database from early on
to provide education and training from a companywide perspective.
At the Mina Abdulla Refinery, managers who
participated in a JCCP course in the past shared
their expectations and requests with regard to JCCP
training. Mr. Mohammed G. Al Mutairi, Deputy
Managing Director, in particular, expressed deep
understanding of JCCP activities, as one who has
participated in JCCP training programs twice.
He spoke about his impression of the Japanesepeople’s work ethic and Japanese-style management
practices, and about how the knowledge he gained

At KNPC’s Mina Abdulla Reﬁnery
Mr. Mohammed G. Al Mutairi, Deputy Managing
Director (fourth from right), and other ofﬁcers

At KPCMs. Salma Al Hajjaj, Director, Leadership Development
Center, KPC (fourth from left)

A JCCP delegation visited Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia from October 11 to 21, 2009, under the
Cooperation with Training Center Program toexchange views with the counterparts of JCCP
regular courses regarding their evaluation of thecourses and future needs. The delegation especiallyemphasized that JCCP will launch long-term CPJ
programs and new regular courses in fiscal 2010, toprovide even more practical training than before.

KuwaitJCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Personnel Exchange Programs • 25

At the Saudi Aramco Head Ofﬁce
Ms. Huda M. Al-Ghoson, General Manager,
Training & Career Development (second from left)

At the Ras Tanura Reﬁnery
Mr. Al-Sultan, Maintenance Manager, RT Reﬁnery(second from left), and JCCP graduates

through JCCP personally benefited him in his
career thereafter, and expressed his strong desire
to continue sending as many refinery personnel to
JCCP courses as possible in the future.

operates very much like a real plant and large training
facility that is comparable to a vocational school inscale, while receiving detailed descriptions from
Mr. Al-Hamdan, Supervisor, NA Industrial Training
Dept., and managers of other departments.
At the Saudi Aramco Head Office, the JCCP
delegation exchanged views with Ms. Huda M.
Al-Ghoson, General Manager, Training and Career
Development, who explained that Saudi Aramco
is currently concentrating its efforts on developing
leadership. According to Ms. Al-Ghoson, Saudi
Aramco seeks two specific abilities in potential
leaders: the ability “to forecast the future of the oil
industry from a global perspective, establish concretetargets, and see those targets through to the end,”
and the ability “to efficiently organize and develop
younger workers who adhere to new values.”
At the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral
Resources, H.E. Mr. Yahya J. Shinawi, Director
General, spoke about the ministry’s initiatives forcapacity development of its staff members, with aview to creating environmental and safety criteria
for the oil industry in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia
In Saudi Arabia, the delegation mainly visited thefollowing five destinations: the Saudi Aramco Head
Office, the Ras Tanura Refinery, the Ras Tanura
Training Center, the Eastern Province Branch of
the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources,
and a Saudi Arabian government office in chargeof human resource development.
At the Ras Tanura Refinery, the JCCP delegation
held a meeting with JCCP graduates in the companyof Mr. Al-Sultan, Maintenance Manager, andobtained their views on how JCCP training is
helping them in their current workplaces, as wellas their expectations and requests for improvement
in regard to JCCP. There were those who said
they developed an interest in Japanese corporate
management as a result of their exposure to Japanesecompanies through JCCP training, and those who
said they wish to learn how to apply Japanese-style
management to Saudi Arabia. Others requested a
training program that not only offers classroom
lectures but places more emphasis on providing
practical knowledge.
At the Ras Tanura Training Center, the JCCP
delegation toured the center’s training plant that26 • Personnel Exchange Programs •The visits to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia yielded
the understanding that both countries place strongemphasis on human resource development as apriority issue, that they have a high regard for thebasic qualities of the Japanese people, culture andcustoms, and also for Japanese-style management.
Furthermore, the JCCP delegation noted that oil-

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

producing countries have strong interest in training
programs that include lectures on kaizen, TPM and
TQC activities. In light of such new needs in Saudi

Arabia and Kuwait, JCCP acknowledges that it must
further enhance and improve its training courses in
the future.
<by Masumi Kitahara, Administration Dept.>

With H.E. Mr. Yahya J. Shinawi, Director General of theEastern Province Branch of the Ministry of Petroleum andMineral Resources (second from left)

Personnel
Exchange

Report on the Cooperation with
Training Center Program—Malaysia and Indonesia—
A JCCP delegation visited Malaysia and Indonesia
from November 16 to 25, 2009, under the Cooperation
with Training Center Program. The objectives of thevisits were to introduce the FY2010 JCCP regularcourse program, explain, propose and seek theimplementation of customized programs, and to

Meeting at the PETRONAS Head Ofﬁce

exchange views with JCCP counterpart personnel.
A summary of the visits is presented below.

Malaysia
In Malaysia, the delegation visited the PETRONAS
Head Office; two training facilities operated by
PETRONAS—PETRONAS Management Training(PERMATA) and Institut Teknologi Petroleum
PETRONAS (INSTEP); and the Melaka Refinery.
At the head office, a meeting was held with Ms.
Nafisah Ali, General Manager, HRM HCU, andother members. When asked why there has been adecrease in the number of applications to this year’s
regular courses, the PETRONAS side replied thatthe decrease was due to a cost reduction strategy
and to the impact of the influenza epidemic. For

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Personnel Exchange Programs • 27

With Mr. Kairul Azaman Yasin, CEO ofPETRONAS-PERMATA (third from right)

With Mr. Mohd Zazali Bin Salim, General Manager,
at PETRONAS-INSTEP (fourth from right)

next fiscal year, the PETRONAS side requested theimplementation of a local seminar that specificallydeals with a specialized theme (i.e., maintenance).
At PERMATA, an institution under PETRONAS’
Education Department which provides management
and leadership training, the JCCP delegation firstreceived words of appreciation from Mr. Kairul
Azaman Yasin, CEO, for JCCP’s longstanding
relationship of cooperation with PETRONAS. They
then engaged in a meeting with Mr. Mohamed
Rosli Hamid, Senior Manager, and other staff
members, who explained that eight to ten training
programs are offered to each level of employees,
and introduced PERMATA’s spacious facility
that houses an extensive array of equipment. Mr.
Hamid’s word that “the motivation to study cannot
be instilled without a good environment” left astrong impression on the JCCP members.
The delegation next visited INSTEP, a top-caliber
training center that provides training programs tomore than 80 organizations including PETRONAS
subsidiaries. It has machining equipment that eventraining facilities of Japanese refineries may not have,as well as equipment for the processing and installationof electrical wiring. Most memorable was a statement
made by Mr. Mohd Zazali Bin Salim, General
Manager, that “a new building means nothing if theknowledge provided is old,” and therefore “teachingmaterials must be constantly reviewed.”
Both training institutions already have wellestablished programs and a complete array ofequipment, but they expressed the desire to continue
maintaining their cooperative relationship with
JCCP as an overseas training institution, because
by participating in a JCCP course, participants said
they can acquire an extremely valuable opportunity
to interact with participants from diverse countries
and mutually share various experiences.
In the meeting at the Melaka Refinery, officersof various departments voiced their request for a
local seminar that addresses issues confronting therefinery.

Indonesia

Meeting at the Melaka Reﬁnery

28 • Personnel Exchange Programs •In Indonesia, the JCCP delegation visited the
PERTAMINA Head Office and the PERTAMINA
Learning Center (PLC).
At the head office, a meeting was held with
Mr. Mamad Samadi, Senior Vice President, HR
Department; Mr. Suwardi Somantri, Vice President,
Pertamina Learning Center; and other members of the

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

personnel and training departments. PERTAMINA
is currently implementing large-scale reforms, andis particularly urgently seeking to develop leadersand young engineers. Therefore, the PERTAMINA
members strongly asked for JCCP’s cooperation inthis respect, and specifically requested a seminaron earthquake countermeasures in the refinery anda long-term course that also provides on-the-job
training (OJT), among others. PLC also emanatedthe same sense of commitment to employee training
as the head office. PERTAMINA has established an
HSE training center this season in Palembang, andlodging facilities for participants have also been
built within the PLC site.

outstanding programs and facilities which set good
examples that even JCCP might consider adopting.
Moreover, the two countries commonly requested
the implementation of local seminars designed tomeet their needs for the urgent development ofyoung engineers and leaders and to help resolve
issues they are facing. Based on this awareness,the delegation took to heart the urgent necessity ofincorporating the views obtained during this visit
into future programs, and of providing programs
that would be truly beneficial to human resource
development efforts in the two countries.
Lastly, the delegation wishes to extend its
deep appreciation to everyone who received andsupported it in the two countries.

In both Malaysia and Indonesia, the training
institutions the JCCP delegation visited had<by Mieko Onai, Operations Dept.>

At the PERTAMINA Head Ofﬁce
Mr. Suwardi Somantri, Vice President, Learning Center(front row, right)
Mr. Mamad Samadi, Senior Vice President, HR Department(front row, second from right)

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Personnel Exchange Programs • 29

Personnel
Exchange

Total Number of Training Participants
Surpasses 19,000!
On February 9, 2010, a JCCP regular course on“Energy Saving for Profitability Improvement” (TR19-09) commenced, and Mr. Talal Kurdi Abdullah,a participant from the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, became
the 19,000th participant to a JCCP regular course
since the establishment of JCCP.
Mr. Masataka Sase, Executive Director of JCCP,
commemorated the milestone by offering words ofcongratulation and a commemorative gift to Mr.
Abdullah.
As JCCP is working to strengthen its cooperative

relationship with Iraq, the fact that a participantfrom Iraq became the commemorative participant
seemed like a sign of good things to come.
Many graduates of JCCP regular courses now
hold important positions in their respective countries.
Finding encouragement in such achievements, wewill continue to do our best to respond to the needsof oil-producing countries and to establish ties ofmutual understanding and friendship that will create
the foundation for securing stable supplies of oil.

Message from the 19,000th Participant
Mr. Talal Kurdi Abdullah (Ministry of Oil / Iraq)
I was elated when I heard that I had been nominated to attend the Energy Saving for Proﬁtability Improvement
course in Japan. I knew it was going to be a rewarding experience, and it was. The course featured various
lectures, simulation practice, and visits to reﬁneries and facilities in Japan, which exposed me to new knowledge
and information particularly on how to conserve energy and achieve a proﬁt at the end of the day.
I wish to thank Mr. Masataka Sase, Executive Director of JCCP, JCCP staff members, and most of all Kamijyosan, the coordinator of the course, and his assistant Takahashi-san, for their tireless efforts in providing such an
outstanding program. I wish to also thank my colleagues from other countries with whom I shared this precious
experience. Thank you all.

30 • Personnel Exchange Programs •JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

JCCP Regular Courses Completed in October 2009 – January 2010
TR-11-09 Environmental Management for Refineries
Period:October 6 – October 23, 2009
No. of participants:
13
Country of participants: China, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya,
Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Saudi Arabia,
Thailand, VietnamTR-12-09 Project Management for Mechanical Engineers
Period:October 6 – October 23, 2009
No. of participants:
13
Country of participants: Colombia, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya,
Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,
Thailand, VietnamTR-13-09 Advanced Field Devices and Control
Period:October 6 – October 23, 2009
No. of participants:
14
Country of participants: Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Libya, Mexico,
Nigeria, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam,
Yemen

TR-14-09 Petroleum Marketing and Product Delivery
Period:October 27 – November 13, 2009
No. of participants:
14
Country of participants: China, Colombia, Indonesia, Iran,Kazakhstan, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Uzbekistan,
Vietnam, Yemen

TR-15-09 Gas Processing for LNG
Period:October 27 – November 13, 2009
No. of participants:
11
Country of participants: Iran, Kazakhstan, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria,
Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen

TR-16-09 Maintenance Management
Period:October 27 – November 13, 2009
No. of participants:
12
Country of participants: China, Colombia, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait,
Oman, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Personnel Exchange Programs • 31

TR-17-09 Training Management
Period:November 24 – December 11, 2009
No. of participants:
18
Country of participants: Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait,
Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia,
Thailand, UAE, Vietnam

TR-18-09 Quality Management of Refinery Products
Period:January 12 – January 29, 2010
No. of participants:
14
Country of participants: Bahrain, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan,
Libya, Mexico, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Vietnam,

IT-1-09

Advanced Technologies for Rotary Machinery–Reliability Enhancement–
Period:December 1 – December 11, 2009
No. of participants:
15
Country of participants: China, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Mexico,
Myanmar, Nigeria, Thailand, Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia, Vietnam

IT-2-09
Model Predictive Control
Period:December 1 – December 11, 2009
No. of participants:
15
Country of participants: China, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mexico, Myanmar,
Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia,
South Korea, Vietnam

IT-3-09
Petroleum Marketing & Physical Distribution
Period:January 19 – January 29, 2010
No. of participants:
14
Country of participants: China, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq,
Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nigeria, Thailand,
UAE, Vietnam

Total: 153 participants

32 • Personnel Exchange Programs •JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

TechnicalCooperation

The Tenth Scientific Council Meetingwith UAE University Held in Al Ain
The Tenth Scientific Council Meeting was held
on November 5, 2009, at United Arab Emirates
University (UAE University) in Al Ain, UAE, with
15 members on the UAE University side headed by
H.E. Dr. Maitha Al-Shamsi, Minister of State, and8 members on the Japanese side represented by Mr.
Morihiro Yoshida, Managing Director of JCCP.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. AlShamsi thanked JCCP for its cooperation in UAE
University’s research activities. In turn, Mr. Yoshidaspoke on behalf of the Japanese side as he reported
on the satisfactory results that are being achieved
through the cooperative relationship that has been
growing stronger between UAE University and
JCCP, and expressed his expectations in the project’s
future development. Thereafter, progress reports
were given on the two technical cooperation projects
that the two institutions are jointly implementing,followed by questions/answers and evaluationsof each. An overview of the projects is provided
below.

underway at UAE University is producing steadyresults. A module that can withstand long hours
of high pressure has been developed, albeit at thelaboratory study, and an experiment has succeededin almost completely removing CO2 and H2S fromacid gas at 50 bar. On the Japanese side, Nippon
Oil Research Institute Co., Ltd. is assisting in theimplementation of the project, and Dr. Masaaki
Teramoto and Dr. Hideto Matsuyama of Kobe
University are providing technical guidance. On
the UAE side, Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Limited(ADGAS) is participating and cooperating as atechnical advisor.

● Project on Removal of Acid Gases fromNatural Gas using Membrane Contactors,
Phase II
(Principal Investigator: Dr. Mohamed
Al Marzouqi)
The study of membrane contactors that is● Project on Development, Design and
Evaluation of Advanced Refinery Waste
Water Treatment Process(Principal Investigator: Dr. Muftah
El-Naas)Under this project, the optimum conditions
for applying a three-step treatment process(Electrocoagulation UnitBioreactor Unit
Adsorption Unit) to oil industry wastewater
treatment are being studied at UAE University. On
the Japanese side, Nippon Oil Research InstituteCo., Ltd. is assisting in the implementation of
the project, and on the UAE side, Abu Dhabi Oil
Refining Company (TAKREER) is participating

Mr. Morihiro Yoshida, Managing Director of JCCP
(second from right)

H.E. Dr. Maitha Al-Shamsi, Minister of State(second from left)

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Technical Cooperation • 33

Members of the Scientiﬁc Council Meeting(members from UAE University and Japanese-side members)

and cooperating as a technical advisor.
Owing to the participation and cooperationof ADGAS and TAKREER, the two projects gobeyond the scope of an academic study project tobeing a project whose results can be used to benefit
the oil and gas industries in UAE.
UAE University is rapidly increasing its
reputation as an outstanding university in the Middle
East region (increased its ranking from 496th in
the world in 2008 to 374th in 2009). Along withthis reputation, the awareness of the university as a
research institution based in UAE is also expected
to increase.
To support and further develop the friendly
relations between UAE and Japan, JCCP willcontinue to approach the oil industry in UAE throughthe implementation of joint research projects with
UAE University and contribute to the promotion of
joint industry-academia studies in UAE.
The 11th Scientific Council Meeting is scheduled
to be held in May 2010, in Abu Dhabi.

<by Nobuyuki Suyama, Technical Cooperation Dept.>

34 • Technical Cooperation •JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

TechnicalCooperation

The 19th Saudi Arabia-Japan
Joint Symposium—Oil Refining and Petrochemical Catalyst Technologies—
The 19th Saudi Arabia-Japan Joint Symposium
on “Oil Refining and Petrochemical Catalyst
Technologies” was held on November 8 and 9,
2009, under the joint sponsorship of King Fahd
University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in
Saudi Arabia and JCCP. The symposium took placein an auditorium at KFUPM in Dhahran.
With the Japan Petroleum Institute (JPI)
undertaking its implementation every year, thesymposium has taken root in Saudi Arabia as

an annual event at KFUPM. It enjoys the large
attendance and participation of researchersand speakers not only from KFUPM, but otheruniversities in Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco’s
R&D center as well.
At the planning and preparation stage of theseminar, the Overseas Cooperation Committee
established under JPI and headed by Dr. Koichi
Eguchi from the Kyoto University Graduate School
carefully decides on the seminar theme, speakers, andSpeakerAfﬁliation

Presentation Title

Dr. Yasuaki Okamoto

Professor, Shimane University(head of the Japanese group)

Preparation of Highly Active Co-Mo HDS Catalysts
by the Addition of Citric Acid as a Chelating Agent

Dr. Toshihide Baba

Professor, Tokyo Institute ofTechnology

Catalytic Propylene Production from Ethylene Using
Zeolite Catalysts

Dr. Wataru Ueda

Professor, University of Hokkaido

New Complex Metal Oxide Catalysts for Chemical
and Energy Conversion

Dr. Kotohiro Nomura

Associate Professor, Nara Instituteof Science and Technology

New Transition Metal Complex Catalysts for
Synthesis of New Polymers by Precise Oleﬁn
Polymerization

Mr. Keisuke Nishii

Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.

A Newly Developed & Introduced Process to Remove
Bad Smell from Petrochemical Naphtha

Mr. Hideki Ono

Nippon Oil Corporation

Production of BHD (Bio Hydroﬁned Diesel) with
Improved Cold Flow Properties

Symposium venue: KFUPM auditorium(Nov. 8, 2009)

Meeting with Dr. Khaled S. Al-Sultan, Rector of KFUPM(Nov. 7, 2009)

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Technical Cooperation • 35

their presentation topics as appropriate to the needs on
the Saudi Arabian side, to ensure that an academicallymeaningful symposium is implemented.
This year’s symposium was attended by anaudience of approximately 100, and featured morethan 20 presentations on the results of studies on
oil refining and petrochemical catalyst technologies.
They included presentations on desulfurization,
catalytic cracking, hydroprocessing, and olefin
production technologies, and elicited various

questions and discussions.
On the Japanese side, six researchers participatedin the symposium as Japanese speakers chosen
by the JPI Overseas Cooperation Committee andpresented their latest R&D achievements in theirrespective fields.
The secretariat of the symposium included Mr.
Shigeru Hojo from JPI; K. Nita, General Managerof the JCCP Riyadh Office; and K. Okumura fromthe JCCP Technical Cooperation Department.
<by Kazuhisa Okumura, Technical Cooperation Dept.>

Technical
Cooperation

The 11th Kuwait-Japan Joint Symposium—Corrosion and Material Behavior in
Petroleum Refining Industry—
JCCP, Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research(KISR) and Kuwait National Petroleum Company(KNPC) jointly sponsored the 11th Kuwait-Japan
Joint Symposium on “Corrosion and Material
Behavior in Petroleum Refining Industry,” onJanuary 19 and 20, 2010, at KISR’s Petroleum
Research and Studies Center (PRSC).
The symposium is implemented on commission by
the Japan Petroleum Institute (JPI), and was held forthe first time in fiscal 1993. It has been held basicallyevery other year after that, but from fiscal 2005, it has

Dr. Yasuyoshi Tomoe delivering a presentation(Jan. 20, 2010)36 • Technical Cooperation •taken root as an annual technical symposium in Kuwait.
Three themes relating to oil refining technologies havebeen taken up in order each year: heavy oil processing
technologies, clean fuel production technologies, andcorrosion and material behavior.
This year’s symposium opened with words ofgreeting from Dr. Mohammad J. Salman, Deputy
Director General for Research Affairs, KISR; Mr.
Mohammad Ghazi Al-Mutairi, Deputy Managing
Director, Mina Abdulla Refinery; and Dr. Shukuji
Asakura, Professor Emeritus at Yokohama National
University. Roughly 50 researchers and refineryengineers from Japan and Kuwait attended thesymposium, which featured presentations andactive discussions. The Japanese side gave eight
presentations. On the Kuwaiti side, KISR and KNPC
delivered ten presentations on issues such as trouble
cases in refineries and their countermeasures.
On February 21, the day after the two-day
seminar, the Japanese members visited the Mina
Abdulla Refinery, where they were introduced tothe activities of the refinery’s corrosion inspection
division and toured the refining facilities.
Five researchers and engineers participated in
the symposium as speakers, as shown in the table,

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010and gave presentations on the results of studies intheir respective areas, as well as cases they haveexperienced in the field and their countermeasures.

Mr. Shigeru Hojo from JPI and K. Okumura from
JCCP provided their cooperation as members of thesymposium secretariat.
<by Kazuhisa Okumura, Technical Cooperation Dept.>

Speakers

Afﬁliation

Presentation Title

Dr. Shukuji Asakura

Professor Emeritus, Yokohama
National University Graduate
School of Engineering(head of the Japanese group)

Electrochemical Monitoring of Metallic Corrosion by
Square Wave Method
Anti-corrosion Cement Accompanying the Functionof Cathodic Protection

Dr. Tadao Ishihara

Venture Academia Co., Ltd.

CF/SCC Interaction of Low Alloy Steel and StainlessSteel in High Temperature Water

Dr. Yasuyoshi Tomoe

INPEX Corporation

Corrosion and Corrosion Control in Oil and Gas
Production

Mr. Hiroyuki Anada

Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.

Polythionic Acid Stress Corrosion Cracking Behaviorof 347AP and its Performance in Hydrocracker andHydrotreater
The Effect of Stabilizing Period on Sensitization and
Polythionic Acid Stress Corrosion Cracking

Mr. Kazunobu Onishi

Nippon Oil Corporation

Corrosion Control in the Overhead System ofAtmospheric Crude Distillation Units
Guidebook of Corrosion Control Technologies for
Facilities in Reﬁnery

Local newspaper article on the symposium

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Technical Cooperation • 37

TechnicalCooperation

Signing Ceremony
for the Project on “Heavy Crude Oil
Upgrading” in Kuwait
On October 28, 2009, JCCP and Kuwait Institutefor Scientific Research (KISR) held a ceremony
for signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)
on the joint technical cooperation, “Heavy Crude
Oil Upgrading in Kuwait Using Thermal Cracking
Process.”

1. Project Backgroundupgrading facilities are needed to “upgrade” heavy
crude oil to light, low-sulfur crude oil, and toward
this end Kuwait is well aware of the need to explore
various measures.
Heavy oil upgrading projects have been applied
to unconventional oil resources such as oil sands
and Orinoco tar, but have never been applied toconventional heavy crude oil. Therefore, the process
of upgrading of heavy crude oil must be examinedfrom various angles, including experimental testing
and market studies.

Kuwait has an abundance of heavy crude oilwith high sulfur content and API gravity ranging
from 10 to 20 degrees. It is available in such large
quantities that the 15-year plan for increased crude
oil production, which was approved by the national
assembly in 2004, announced that roughly 20%of the 2020 target production of 4 million B/D(700,000 – 900,000 B/D) will be acquired fromnewly developed heavy oilfields. However, in
addition to the fact that heavy crude oil with highsulfur content is difficult to sell alone, even if it isblended with other light crude oils, its API gravity
must be lowered to offset the increased ratio of
heavy crude in order to export it. This means that

The said JCCP technical cooperation project
aims to create a business model for converting
Kuwait’s large quantities of high-sulfur heavy crude
oil to more useful light, low-sulfur crude oil, and toseek its potential for commercialization.
Candidate sites for the construction of the
upgrading facility include at the foot of an oil wellor near a refinery. The scale of the facility would be
relatively small in the case of the former and large

Signing the MOA
Dr. Naji M. Al-Mutairi, Director General, KISR (left), andMr. Morihiro Yoshida, Managing Director of JCCP (right)

Exchange of commemorative gifts
Dr. Naji M. Al-Mutairi, Director General, KISR (left), andMr. Morihiro Yoshida, Managing Director of JCCP (right)

38 • Technical Cooperation •2. Project Overview

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

in the case of the latter. The project’s potential forcommercialization will also be evaluated basedon a comprehensive assessment of various otherfactors, such as the properties of heavy crude oil,heavy crude thermal cracking tests, methods for theutilization of cracking residues, and the results ofmarket studies on reformed crude oil.

3. MOA Signing Ceremony
The signing ceremony was held with the presenceof Dr. Naji M. Al-Mutairi, Director General, KISR,
and members from Kuwait Petroleum Corporation(KPC), Kuwait National Petroleum Company(KNPC), and Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) on
the Kuwaiti side, and with Mr. Yukihiro Nikaido,
Minister, Embassy of Japan in Kuwait (representing
H.E. Mr. Masatoshi Muto, Ambassador); Mr. Yoshio
Yokoyama from Arabia Oil Co., Ltd.; Mr. Hiromi
Koshizuka from Chiyoda Corporation; and Mr.
Morihiro Yoshida, Managing Director of JCCP, on
the Japanese side. A large number of journalists werealso present to cover the important ceremony.
Dr. Al-Mutairi personally presided over the entire
ceremony, which included opening speeches by the
representatives of each participating company, thesigning of the MOA, and a technical presentationon the project. Active discussions were held withmembers of Kuwait’s oil industry in regard to thetechnical presentation, and the exchange of views
with KOC, the largest crude oil producer in Kuwait,

Local newspaper article on the ceremony(From left to right) Mr. Yukihiro Nikaido,
Dr. Naji M. Al-Mutairi, Mr. Morihiro Yoshida

was so stimulating that it continued even after
completion of the ceremony. All in all, members
from Kuwait’s oil industry and KISR, the counterpart
to the project, demonstrated an extremely high levelof interest and enthusiasm for the project.
Not only did local newspapers feature a large
article on the signing ceremony the next day, but
video coverage was also broadcast on TV, andcontributed to increasing public recognition ofJapan’s technical cooperation in Kuwait.
JCCP extends its deepest appreciation to everyone
at KISR, the Japanese Embassy in Kuwait, Arabian
Oil Company, and all other institutions concerned,
who generously provided their cooperation inholding the signing ceremony.
<by Hiroshi Iida, Technical Cooperation Dept.>

Mr. Yukihiro Nikaido, Ministerof the Japanese Embassy in
Kuwait, delivering a speech

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010

• Technical Cooperation • 39

Personnel Changes
Outgoing Personnel

Incoming Personnel

Shigeru NANBARA

Toshifumi AMEMIYATechnical
Cooperation
Department

Japan Cooperation Center, Petroleum (JCCP)
Headquarters
Sunshine 60 Building 58F, 3-1-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170-6058, Japan• Administration Department• Operations Department• Training Department• Technical Cooperation Department

TEL. +81-3-5396-6000
TEL. +81-3-5396-6001
TEL. +81-3-5396-6909
TEL. +81-3-5396-8021

FAX. +81-3-5396-6006
FAX. +81-3-5396-6006
FAX. +81-3-5396-6006
FAX. +81-3-5396-8015

Overseas Offices• Middle East Ofﬁce#904, Al-Ghaith Ofﬁce Tower, Hamdan St.,
P.O. Box 51828, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
TEL. +971-2-627-4410 FAX. +971-2-626-2166

URL: http://www.jccp.or.jp

40 • Announcement •• Riyadh Ofﬁce
Al-Dahlawi Building, King Fahad Rd., Tahlia St., Olaya,
P.O. Box 61356, Riyadh 11565, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
TEL. +966-1-462-5121 FAX. +966-1-461-0983

E-mail: webmaster@jccp.or.jp

JCCP NEWS No. 106 March 2010