Camcon Oil, the Cambridge UK based oil industry innovator, has strengthened its hand in the Middle East as it prepares to deliver technology that in trials has extracted higher production yields from wells.

Nabil Alalawi is to join the Camcon board as a non-executive director. Alalawi is the CEO and co-founder of Al Mansoori Specialized Engineering, one of the Middle East’s leading oilfield services companies and recently won the Lifetime Achievement award at the 2011 Oil & Gas Middle East Awards.

APOLLO, part of Camcon’s Digital Intelligent Artificial Lift (DIAL) solutions portfolio and shortly to complete field trials with a leading oil & gas operator in Oman, will provide operators with accurate gas injection control and flexibility from a single asset.

This is achieved through a series of digitally operated valves which enable the real-time setting of injection rates.

Through this, operators can look forward to increased recovery from existing oil fields. Camcon claims that recent tests have found that APOLLO can deliver as much as 1,000 BOPD (Barrels of Oil per Day) more oil production from a typical well and, in one scenario, a 110 per cent increase in production compared to traditional gas lift equipment.

“To persuade someone of the calibre and experience of Nabil Alalawi to join Camcon’s board is a tremendous coup for us,” said Danny Chapchal, Camcon’s CEO & deputy chairman.

“We look forward to leveraging Nabil’s immense knowledge of the upstream oil & gas technology industry, particularly in the Middle East, as we bring APOLLO to market.”

After helping establish Al Mansoori in Abu Dhabi in 1977, Alalawi has spent the past 35 years overseeing its expansion. Today, the company is the leading regional provider of oilfield services in the Middle East and has over 2,000 employees working in 19 countries.

In October 2010, Camcon signed a partnership agreement with Al Mansoori for the rights to sell, install and support Camcon Oil products throughout the Middle East.

Nabil Alalawi said: “There is a clear gap in the market for a digital gas lift solution that allows operators to access real-time information and set injection rates without intervention.

“Camcon clearly has the innovation and technologies to meet this need and, as the company gets closer to full market roll-out, I look forward to supporting Camcon in any way I can.”

Camcon Oil is part of a federation of companies set up to support the development and commercialisation of the BAT technology with patent protection being sought through a close partnership with UK patent attorneys, Nash Matthews.

Camcon Technology was formed in 2000, with Camcon Oil being incorporated in 2009 to specifically concentrate on product development for the oil & gas industry. Today, Camcon’s BAT technology has applications in the automotive, life sciences, and process control industries. More solutions for the oil & gas industry are in the pipeline.