Client: Petroleum Development Oman
Production: Bruns bv, Nederland
Design: Jelle van der Toorn Vrijthoff, Matthijs Neven, Richard van Herwijnen en Radbout van Beekum.
Project management: Jelle van der Toorn Vrijthoff
In the year 2000, Total Design received its initial request from Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), an equivalent to the Netherlands’ NAM. Notably, Shell holds a significant stake in PDO, and the company employs many individuals from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Oman, despite being a relatively small oil producer, relies heavily on advanced technology to extract oil. As a result, Oman serves as a testing ground for Shell, where they experiment with new techniques.
Every five years, PDO undertakes a project to give back to the community, and this required conceptualization and execution. During this period, an international tender was issued, and Total Design was invited to participate. Out of five design agencies from various countries, Total Design’s approach was chosen, and we embarked on the project. It’s worth noting that our selection may also have been influenced by a Dutch engineer overseeing the project. His family remained in the Netherlands, and this opportunity allowed him to visit them more frequently while checking project results and traveling back to the Netherlands as necessary.
This marked Total Design’s first major project in the Middle East and marked the beginning of a positive and productive relationship with both PDO and the local workforce. Subsequently, two more significant projects were successfully completed in Oman
