About 500 delegates from around the world are to meet in Bahrain next month to discuss non-destructive testing (NDT) and inspection methods in oil and petrochemical industries, reported the Gulf Daily News on Saturday.
The first Middle East Conference and Exhibition on NDT is organized by the Bahrain Society of Engineers (BSE), with the American Society for NDT- Saudi Arabian Section.
The event will be held from September 24 to 26, said the paper.
It is titled Non-Destructive Testing Technologies for Improving Safety and Reliability of the Oil and Petrochemical Industries.
"The inability to detect defects in materials due to lack of techniques and availability of appropriate equipment, has been felt in many and diverse industries, especially in oil and gas, and petrochemical industries," said BSE vice-president Abdul Majeed Al Gassab.
"Due to its wide operating temperature ranges, high humidity, corrosive atmosphere, and high sulphur oil and gas products in some areas, the Middle East and largely the Arabian Gulf area, experience various types of corrosion related problems.
"When taken in the context of the magnitude of the Gulf's oil production facilities and industry, the result is intense interest in defects detection, sizing, identifying and classifying, preferably through NDT."
The conference, said Al Gassab, will feature presentations by experts in NDT technology.
There will be about 50 speakers, and the topics will include pipeline NDT technologies, advanced radiography, and inspection of storage tanks.
"Exhibition space at the venue has been completely sold out long in advance, with a record number of more than 50 companies having confirmed their participation," continued Al Gassab.
"The exhibitors are from India, the US, the UK, Canada, Italy, Denmark, Spain, South Africa, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. More than 100 delegates have already registered, and we hope the number will reach 500."
The conference aims to help pool the skills and resources of NDT experts to form a set of new enhanced practices and procedures for quality processes - Albawaba.com
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