Shell and Sultan Qaboos University sign Shell Eco-marathon Agreement
Aug 30, 2016
Shell Oman signed a contribution agreement with Sultan Qaboos University to allow students to participate in Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2017
30 August 2016 – MUSCAT, Oman -Shell and Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) have signed a contribution agreement under which students from SQU’s College of Engineering will participate in the Shell Eco-marathon Asia in 2017. His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Saud al Bemani, Vice-Chancellor of SQU, signed the agreement with Chris Breeze, Shell’s Country Chairman in Oman and Mohammed Mahmood Al Balushi, Shell Oman Marketing Company’s Managing Director at a function held at SQU.
Students from the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering of the College of Engineering at SQU participated in the 2015 and 2016 competitions that were held in Manila, Philippines with prototypes of fuel efficient vehicles. Based on the new agreements, SQU’s team will participate in the Shell Eco-marathon competition scheduled to take place in Singapore, in early 2017.
Shell’s Eco-marathon competition encourages students to either design a prototype vehicle which focuses on maximum efficiency, or an urban concept vehicle, which encourages more practical designs for every-day life. Throughout the history of the competition, the most fuel efficient car ever designed by a Shell Eco-marathon student team was achieved in 2009 in Europe, and was capable of driving 3,771 km on a single litre of fuel - the equivalent of driving from Muscat to Ankara.
Chris Breeze, Shell’s Country Chairman in Oman, said “We are very pleased to see that Sultan Qaboos Univeristy is set to compete in Shell’s Eco-marathon for the third time. I hope the competition will help develop students’ talents and make a contribution to sustainability in Oman” adding that “We are also very proud of SQU team’s achievement in this year’s challenge where they achieved 5th place in the Prototype Gasoline category by completing 281 kilometers per liter of gasoline, breaking the Arab record in the history of the competition. I wish the students all the best in the 2017 challenge that will be part of a bigger innovation event called ‘Make the Future’ in Singapore.”
Also commenting on the event, Mohammed bin Mahmood Al Balushi, CEO of Shell Oman Marketing, stated “Shell Eco-marathon is part of Shell Oman’s commitment to support innovation efforts in mobility and fuel efficiency. It is an excellent opportunity for the new generation of Omani innovators and engineers to develop their skills and turn their vision on sustainable mobility into reality."
Dr. Nabeel Al Rawahi, Mechanical Engineering Head of Department in SQU, stated “Shell Eco-marathon has now become one of the final year projects in SQU’s college of Engineering. One of the biggest benefits of enrolling our students in this global competition is the fact that they get to work with other teams from across the world. In addition, the students learned a lot of technical skills under the competition’s strict technical rules and guidelines. I’m very proud of the team’s achievement in this year’s challenge of 281 km/liter in addition to them being the first team to pass the technical inspections phase. I thank SQU and Shell for their continuous support to our students.”