Background
Dr. Omar Bekri, graduated from the University of Bordeaux I, France and the University Mohamed V, Rabat, Morocco. His PhD thesis, focused on the characteristics and properties of the oil shales of Timahdit and Tarfaya. After twenty years of experience within BRPM and ONAREP (now ONHYM), where he notably held the position of Head of the R&D Department and Head of the Oil Shale Division, Dr. Omar Bekri created in 1996, the consulting firm CHAPEM. CHAPEM’s vocation is to develop projects with local and international partners in the fields of mining and energy with a focus on oil shale and construction materials.
Expertise
- Management of laboratory studies and pilot tests of numerous oil shale projects.
- Active participation of Dr Bekri in feasibility studies carried out by major oil companies such as OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL, JAPAN NATIONAL OIL CORPORATION, PETROBRAS, and renowned engineering companies such as BECHTEL Engineering and Construction.
- Management of R&D activities in OCP GROUP, the world phosphate leader and largest mining company in Morocco.
Dr. Omar Bekri is an expert in the development of oil shale projects. He specializes in managing the R&D projects for energetic and non-energetic use of oil shale. Dr. Bekri studied Moroccan oils shales for his PhD and has been working in the field since 1975. He is one of the most renowned national experts in the oil shale world. He has published many original articles in peer reviewed scientific journals. In addition to his contributions to develop Oil shales R&D projects for energetic use, Dr. Bekri and his colleagues at the Hassan II University developed a process of purification of used and polluted water using activated oil shale. This new use of oil shale earned them the 1998 Hassan II Grand Prix for Innovation. The production of Portland cement from Tarfaya oil shale also represents an important and very promising R&D area of non-energetic use of oil shale. Dr. Bekri has been for nearly three decades advising prestigious companies operating both in Morocco and abroad. He has served as Head of Oil Shale Division in ONAREP, R&D Director in OCP GROUP SA and CEMOS GROUP Plc.