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SATURDAY, JAnUARY 16, 2010

OMAN DAILY Observer

The partnership between PDO and SQU in scientific research has produced, and will continue to produce, a number of scientific

successes in the Sultanate’s oil and gas industry. PDO, the premier oil and gas recovery company in Oman, produces 550-580,000 b/d from a stagger-ing 120 fields. Because many of these are matur-ing, this has opened new horizons for collaboration with SQU faculty in a bid to find solutions to prob-lems which hamper the improvement and develop-ment of oil recovery systems. Such solutions are vital and of strategic importance to sustain produc-tion over the coming decades. Consequently, the two institutions have worked together to preserve and strengthen the links between them. PDO gains from the various SQU teams conducting campus research to develop new technologies while SQU gains access to opportunities to test such technolo-gies in a real oil industry working environment.

PDO supports joint projects and experiments with an annual budget of $ 2 million. engineer Sheikhan al Khaduri, in charge of PDO’s New Technology Implementation, says that the com-pany’s support for oil and gas research conducted by SQU faculty enhances the research agreement between the Company and SQU, which has ena-bled the company to upgrade its capabilities in strategic areas like enhanced oil recovery and water shutoff techniques using chemical and mechanical materials.

Laboratory experimentsAl Khadury says that SQU’s contribution to the

improvement of work mechanisms at PDO is ex-emplified by the many laboratory experiments con-ducted by SQU faculty in the last few years aiming to meet the Company’s needs in the area of water shutoff techniques which have already achieved in-ternational standards. In these experiments, chemi-cals are first tested at the laboratory, then injected into the wells, a step which lessens danger and en-hances the possibility of success. Thus the continua-tion of this joint co-operation will strengthen SQU’s potential for scientific research by making it acces-sible to students and researchers, and will keep PDO

in a pioneering position in new technology testing. Al Khaduri adds that the solid expandable tu-

bular facility, financially supported by PDO, has recently been put to work to test the expandable tu-bules before they are dropped into the wells, which will maximise the opportunities for oil recovery . Dr Ali al Bimani, SQU’s Vice Chancellor, and John Malcolm, PDO’s Managing Director inaugurated the facility in May last year. It is the second of its kind in the world and the first in the Middle east.

Microbial enhanced Oil RecoveryAl Khaduri goes on to say that Microbial en-

hanced Oil Recovery is a vital, strategic and ongo-ing project which will present its results and rec-ommendations in the middle of 2010. This project is the only of its kind in the Gulf region. It attracted

the attention of interested parties in the UAe when representatives of PDO and SQU were invited to Abu Dhabi in 2008 to give a briefing on the project, which was commended for its accomplish-ments. During the last ten years, Al Khaduri points out, fifty joint research projects have been mutu-ally conducted. In 2009, the two sides supported more than 10 joint research projects dealing with the following topics:l Chemical or mechanical for keeping water out

of a well while letting oil inl The effects that microbes can have on the flow

of oil through underground rock formationsl The possibility of increasing oil production

from rock formations by igniting some of the crude oil in the formation itself

l The possibility of using polymers to enhance

production and shut off unwanted water in oil producing wells

l Building capability at SQU to conduct PVT analysis of various crude oils in order to pro-vide commercial competency with international service providers;

l The monitoring and analysis of barely percep-tible earth tremors to determine underground stress orientations.

Smarter Oil FieldsAl Khaduri goes on to say that the current efforts

to make the Company’s fields ‘smarter’ are at the heart of collaborative research between PDO and SQU. As technologies are identified and matured they are immediately implemented, offering quick returns in the form of higher production, lower

costs, and, ultimately, enhanced recovery from oil fields. The close collaboration and partnership between the two sides has resulted in increased re-search capacity in both organisations. As a result, both PDO and SQU are recognised as regional centres of excellence in mission-critical areas such as mechanical profile control, enhanced oil recov-ery and microseismic measurement and analysis. The two sides administer these projects through a joint co-ordinating committee which holds regular meetings.

Al Khaduri concludes by saying that this dis-tinguished partnership , would not have succeeded and prospered without the backing, personal sup-port, and supervision of Dr. Ali al Bimani, SQU’s Vice Chancellor, and John Malcolm, PDO’s Man-aging Director.

Dr Mohammed Al Abri of the Sleep Medicine Unit at SQU has conducted several studies on Sleep Apnoea

Sleep Apnoea symptoms are easy to diagnose

SleeP Apnoea is a sleep disorder characterised by pauses in breathing dur-

ing sleep. each episode, called an apnoea (Greek: aπνοια (ápnoia), lasts long enough for one or more breaths to be missed, and such episodes occur repeatedly throughout sleep. The standard definition of any apneic event includes a minimum 10 second interval between breaths, with either a neurological arousal, a blood oxygen desaturation of 3-4 per cent or greater, or both arousal and desaturation. Sleep Apnoea is diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called a polysomnog-raphy or a “sleep study”.

Clinically significant levels of sleep apnoea are defined as five or more episodes per hour of any type of apnoea (from the polysomnogram). There are three distinct forms of sleep ap-noea: central, obstructive, and mixed (ie, a combination of central and obstructive).how-ever, the most common form of sleep apnoea is the obstructive one. Breathing is interrupted by the lack of respiratory effort in central sleep apnoea; in ob-structive sleep apnoea, breath-ing is interrupted by a physical block to airflow despite respi-ratory effort. In mixed sleep ap-noea, there is a transition from central to obstructive features during the events themselves.

History of Sleep ApnoeaThe first reports in the

medical literature of what is now called obstructive sleep apnoea date only from 1965, when it was independently described by French and Ger-man investigators. however, the clinical picture of this condition has long been rec-ognised as a character trait,

without an understanding of the disease process. The term “Pickwickian syndrome” that is sometimes used for the syn-drome was described by the famous early 20th-century physician, William Osler, who must have been a reader of Charles Dickens. The descrip-tion of Joe, “the fat boy” in Dickens’s novel, The Pickwick Papers, is an accurate clinical picture of adult obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome.

The early reports of ob-structive sleep apnoea in the medical literature described individuals who were very se-verely affected, often present-ing with marked hypoxemia, hypercapnia and congestive heart failure. Tracheostomy was the recommended treat-ment and, though it could be life-saving, post-operative complications were frequent in these very obese and short-necked individuals.

however, the management of obstructive sleep apnoea was revolutionised with the in-troduction of continuous posi-tive airway pressure (CPAP), which was described for the first time by Colin Sullivan and associates in Sydney, Aus-tralia in 1981.

Prevalence Although the condition

may occur in all age groups, including children, the focus has largely been on the mid-dle-age population. Snoring

has been reported in up to 60 per cent of adults. however, the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea might be as high as 4 per cent in men and 2 per cent in women, nevertheless, 24 per cent of the US male population and 9 per cent of women aged between 30 and 60 years may have sleep ap-noea without sleepiness.

Symptoms and signs of obstructive Sleep

ApnoeaDaytime sleepiness is a

cardinal feature of obstructive sleep apnoea which could be assessed by using a question-naire such as epworth sleepi-ness scale (eSS). Nocturnal features include snoring and witnessed apnoea (observed by the bed partner). In addi-tion, patients may complain of choking, restlessness, nocturia and reflux. Other associated symptoms may include de-pression, daytime fatigue, de-

crease of libido, and impaired concentration.

DiagnosisThe diagnosis is usually

confirmed by an overnight sleep study for subjects sus-pected of having sleep apnoea. The study involves measuring sleep stages as well as breath-ing pattern during sleep.

TreatmentOverweight patients should

be asked to lose weight since obesity is the major risk factor for obstructive sleep apnoea. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the stand-ard treatment for most of the cases. It is delivered via a well-fitted mask applied to the nose or nose and mouth. The mask is attached to a machine that generates continuous pressurised air adjusted for the individual patient. CPAP pre-vents the collapse of the upper airway during sleep and that allows the subject to breathe in and out with no interruption. however, there are other treat-ment modalities available such as dental appliances which could be used for mild cases. Patients are also advised to avoid drinking alcohol because it may decrease tone in the up-per airway muscles.

ComplicationsUntreated sleep apnoea

may lead to serious compli-cations such as hypertension,

ischemic heart disease, diabe-tes and depression. Sleep ap-noea patients are at greater risk of car accidents as a result of excessive sleepiness and lack of concentration. The costs of untreated sleep apnoea reach further than just health issues. It is estimated that the average untreated sleep apnoea pa-tient’s healthcare costs $1,336 more than an individual without sleep apnoea. If ap-proximations are correct, 17 million untreated individuals account for $22,712,000,000 in healthcare costs.

The situation in OmanThe first sleep laboratory in

the sultanate was established in 1995 with one bedroom only in the Department of Clinical Physiology, Sultan Qaboos University hospital. It was a diagnostic lab with no clinical assessment or follow-up of pa-tients. The lab was renovated in 2008 with the opening of the country’s first sleep clinic in. The lab also was expand-ed to 3 study rooms and one control room.

Currently there is one spe-cialised sleep physician and four sleep technologists work-ing in the lab. Around 300 patients were counselled and investigated during the year 2008. however the lab still does not offer free CPAP treat-ment for sleep apnoea patients, which may leave some patients untreated.

The sleep lab also runs a couple of research projects as well as training programmes for physicians, medical students and technologists who are interested in sleep medicine.

The forecast for sleep med-icine in Oman is that there will be an increase in demand for sleep investigation and treat-ment.

One study has shown that the major risk factor for ob-structive sleep apnoea in the Omani male population is obesity and that even relative-ly young male subjects have been referred for management of sleep disorder breathing.

SQU and PDO: many years of joint research collaboration¬ SQU offers ideas and staff, PDO offers an opportunity for application ¬ A Solid Expandable Tubular Test Rig Facility

is the second of its kind in the world ¬ The Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery Project is very promising

Obstructive Sleep ApnoeaProfessor Hani M Duedar, Dean of College of Law, SQU

NOWADAyS, research has become an essential tool

for the measuring the progress and prosperity of nations, in other words their national success is basically determined by the level and quality of the research they have produced. Within the framework of the Renaissance pursued under the leadership of his Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, research has become a major priority at SQU, not only as a way of serving teaching, but also as a means of assisting Omani society.

The College of law has a significant role to play in this regard because research is not restricted to theoretical study that can be applied to technological advancement; it also includes all systematic methodical study which somehow serves humanity, citizens, society, and the state when people’s basic and higher needs are satisfied and their desires for progress and advancement are fulfilled. Pursuing the law’s major function which is to draw strategies to be implemented by government, one can say that the many laws decreed by the Sultanate in the last fifteen years have reflected the wonderful Renaissance which the nation has experienced in all sectors. These laws need to be analysed, and rooted in Omani tradition so they do not contradict the community’s inheritance, or appear to be at loggerheads with the basic principles and convictions of Islamic Sharia (law).

In spite of the great

importance of legal research, the College of law is still taking its first steps in this field. Its programmes are restricted to offering the MA degree and PhD studies are not yet available. Furthermore, the MA programmes are restricted to four types of law: general, private, criminal, and commercial. Since these programmes do not give proper attention to the theses which students have to complete in order to receive this degree, their applied and theoretical aspects must to be reconsidered.

The best way to improve the position of legal research in the College is horizontal expansion of the MA programmes to include new ones like administrative and financial law, marine law, intellectual property law, and international relations law. To maximise the level of follow-up and supervision of MA theses, the University has taken the rightly decided decision in restrict the number of applicants to be accepted in these programmes.

A future decision may well be can be the establishment of a PhD programme in the College, but this entails the meeting of many difficult requirements. The University will certainly do its utmost to help the College in this endeavour, but first we must make sure

that the basic constituents of this programme reflect recent developments in doctoral study international universities.

The most important constituent is an insistence on the successful completion of both academic courses and a dissertation whose topic, approved by the supervisor, will be decided in the light of the candidate’s MA thesis. Such courses must be designed to fulfil the need for specialised study in particular legal issues of law, and must of course be of a higher level than those offered by the BA and MA programmes. Such courses may include jurisprudence, legal methodology, applied research, the laws of interpretation and the adaptation of legal phenomena.

Supervision of dissertations entails the recruitment of a Professor or Associate Professor in each of the ten specialisations in the College, taking into consideration that the increasing graduate students numbers in the number of students means that there will have to be more Professors and Associate Professors in order to give each faculty member a fair share in the supervision of PhD dissertations.

These considerations above-mentioned are some of the reasons limiting the College’s research horizons. Consequently, the College must create detailed frameworks for its various research programmes and present them to the University for approval. It is hoped that by achieving its goals, the College of law will contribute to the advancement of research levels not only at SQU, but also throughout the whole Sultanate of Oman.

Research Horizons in the College of Law at SQU