Innovation is a hallmark of our identi- ty, enhancing the value of our activities, boosting our productivity, optimizing our processes and raising efficiency and the quality of our products.
Our Research Centre conducts projects for the company s production centres and commercial units, while providing techni- cal support to customers as and when re- quired.
In 2018, the Refining and Petrochemi- cals and New Materials from the Cen- tre identified a number of catalysts to optimize the production cycles of the refineries and chemical plants in Andalusia, minimizing the number of stoppages.
We are also working on two projects, LABOL and REOLAS, to gain in-depth know-how on tensioactivity when line- ar alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS) and alcohols interact simultaneously, after adding this latter product to our port- folio.
The Research Centre has an upstream department dedicated to innovating the projects in this business. This year, it has worked on two major projects for the RKF field in Algeria examining the connectivity between the injec- tion well and production wells and variations in the response of different tracers, along with another project to develop enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques at the SARB & ULL wells in the United Arab Emirates.
Our Engineering activity enables us to lead on and develop large projects such as constructing new installations and re- vamping and increasing the value of our industrial facilities production.
In 2018, the detailed engineering activi- ties and purchase phase of the Bottom of the Barrel project at the Gibraltar San Roque refinery has started, which will boost the output of distillates with higher added value and increasing the facility s production flexibility. At the same site we have also started the Mx-Sorbex II project, which will allow us to increase petrochemicals pro- duction.
New upgrade projects have also been initiated in several refinery units to in- crease their profitability and improve safety.
The Engineering team has also as- signed the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) to construct the new Ruwais chemical plant, in partner- ship with ADNOC, which will enable us to estimate the development cost thereof, and the redevelopment of the Rhoude el Krouf oil field in Algeria.
All these projects will see us remain- ing at the cutting edge of technical ex- cellence, continuing to develop efficient, safe and environmentally friendly pro- cesses, working on new forms of energy, and pushing ahead with extremely valua- ble projects.
5.4 INNOVATION
UPSTREAM DEPARTMENT FOCUSED ON INNOVATION
752018 ANNUAL AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY REPORT
A milestone in this respect was the ne- gotiation in 2018 of Cepsa s Partial Group Agreement, which applies to over 1,500 of our employees and includes a specif- ic section on health and safety at work, and the creation of a new Committee to jointly oversee health and safety matters in the Cepsa Tower building.
Furthermore, our Health and Safety Committees deal with matters related to employees' health and safety togeth- er with their legal representatives. The agreements reached by these Commit- tees, in which 92% of Cepsa's employ- ees are represented, are recorded in their minutes.
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