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ECOLOGICAL SURVEYS AND RESEARCH IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Aquatonics Ltd have a keen interest and involvement in ecological surveys and ecological research in the Middle East. Combined with the expertise of our Associate (Dr Simon Wilson) we can offer a wide range of expertise relevant to a variety of developments in the Middle East. These include infrastructure, housing and commercial developments, tourism and oil & gas.

OMAN

Professor Anne Smith (Anne Brown) is a Director of Aquatonics Ltd and also an Emeritus Professor at Exeter University. She was the co-supervisor of PhD research by Dr Mansoor Al-Jahdhami (Sultan Qaboos University, Oman) into non-invasive monitoring of stress in Arabian oryx during translocation and release to the wild from the Jaaluni reserve. Click here for Anne's CV. Further information on the Arabian oryx, including photos and videos, is available at ARKIVE and from the UNESCO World Heritage web site.

Photos from our 2007 trip to Oman are available on our Photos page.

Dr Phil Smith has undertaken the following work in Oman:

WS Atkins and Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Sultanate of Oman (1987) Three-month secondment to assist in EIA requirements of various projects in Oman, including offshore oil and gas, aquaculture and aquifer recharge dams.

Triton Energy (UK) Ltd (1996) Environmental legislation relating to seismic surveys in Omani coastal waters.

Symonds Travers Morgan (1996) Assistance with scoping an EIA for a port development in Oman.

Dr Simon Wilson is an Associate of Aquatonics Ltd, based in Oman. He is an expert on tropical marine ecology, especially corals, and has worked on a wide range of EIAs in Oman and elsewhere in the Gulf. Click here for his CV.

QATAR

Aquatonics Ltd has carried out the following contracts in Qatar, all on oil and gas developments:

QATAR - FIELD WORK

CH2MHILL/Shell (2004) Survey of a proposed pipeline route and adjacent habitats including mangrove. Surveys of fauna in mangroves and seagrass beds and other intertidal and shallow subtidal habitats near Ras Laffan.

CH2M HILL/Shell International E & P (2004) Quality Assurance of benthic samples from marine surveys in Qatar.

QATAR - DESK STUDIES

Adelphi Environmental/Qatar Petroleum (2002) Advice on water quality, sediment quality and tissue guidelines for a marine survey for Qatar Petroleum.

CH2MHILL/Phillips Petroleum (1998) Ecological and marine inputs to an EIA of a petrochemical complex in Qatar

Photos from our 2004 survey in Qatar are available on our Photos page.

EGYPT

Dr Smith has worked on a World Bank project in the Red Sea: MacAlister Elliott & Partners / World Bank (1997) Global Environment Facility Project - Red Sea, Egypt. Advice on oil and gas exploration and oil spills.

MacAlister Elliott & Partners / World Bank (1998) Global Environment Facility Project - Red Sea, Egypt. Public Awareness of the Red Sea Project.

SAUDI ARABIA

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (1998)

Dr Phil Smith was invited to present Plenary Lecture on "Environmental Impacts of Offshore Oil and Gas" at a meeting on Marine Pollution held at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. 26-27 April 1998.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Site Investigations

Surveys of marine invertebrates and fish

Terrestrial ecology

Chemical analysis of water quality

Chemical analysis of sediments

Literature reviews of specific toxic compounds

Health, Safety and Environmental Aspects of Oil and Gas Exploration & Production