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His Excellency Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance, Minister in Charge of Oil and Gas Affairs opened the 1st Energy Management Conference and Exhibition 2013 on Monday evening, December 9, 2013. The event was hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain for the first time from December 9 to 11, 2013 at the Gulf International Convention Centre, Gulf Hotel, under the theme ‘Towards Energy Sustainability’, and is being organized by the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), Bahrain Society of Engineers and Arabian Gulf University (AGU), in coordination with Saudi Aramco, National Bank of Bahrain, Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), Gulf petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC), Bahrain National Gas Company (Banagas), Terra Sola and others, with the support of Ministry of Finance, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Energy Institute – Middle East, and with the strategic partnership of Tamkeen.

The minister also inaugurated the exhibition, which was attended by a number of specialized companies, who showcased the latest technologies that contribute towards energy conservation and management in order to achieve sustainability in the area.

The Minister delivered the opening speech, welcoming participants, wishing them a pleasant stay in Bahrain, and wishing the conference great success, praising the chairman and members of the organizing committee for their great effort.

H.E. Shaikh Ahmed said that, in pursuit of energy sustainability, the Kingdom of Bahrain has continuously adopted many steps and constructive initiatives towards effective conservation and energy management. He noted that the present annual global investment in alternate energy has crossed a trillion U.S. dollars. He stressed the need to focus on energy efficiency and conservation through rational use and economizing in order to achieve the goal of sustainable energy by 2030.

The minister drew the attention of the audience to the many initiatives in the Kingdom in the field of energy conservation and promotion of efficiency, including the energy efficiency programme (Keep) to ensure optimal use, which was recently launched in collaboration with the World Bank. Another project is the residential sector lighting in the Kingdom, which includes replacing all traditional bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).

The Minister underscored the concerted efforts by the Bahrain government, industry experts, serious investors and academia to maintain the achievements of the Kingdom in rational use of energy and achieve related goals.

H.E. Mr. Abbas Ali Al Naqi, Secretary General of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), Ahmad Al Khowaiter, Executive Director, New Business Development, Saudi Aramco and Dr. Khalid Abdul Rahman Nasser Al Ohaly, President of the Arabian Gulf University also delivered speeches at the opening session, which concluded with a speech by Engineer Abdul Majeed Al Gassab, President of the Bahrain Society of Engineers.

A number of specialists, researchers as well as local and international policy-makers in the oil and gas sector, energy and banking sector and others involved in the production process participated in the opening ceremony, in addition to a large number of energy sector employees from the GCC countries.

The accompanying exhibition provides a great opportunity for participants and visitors to exchange experiences and review recent technological developments and innovations in the vital sector. It will support and intensify energy conservation efforts to ensure optimal investment in natural resources and help achieve greatest returns. It also allowed professionals to discuss a number of important topics including energy efficiency and demand in the future, assess options for alternative supplies, and the effects of economic, environmental and social policies for alternate energy.

A total of 36 speakers, led by Dr. Mohamed Al Sabban, an economics professor at the University of Jeddah, Advisor to the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and head of the Saudi delegation (former chief negotiator for international negotiations on climate change) will be sharing their ideas at the conference. Among them are Mr. Nabil Nuaim, Director of Kingdom Economic and Energy Analysis Department, Saudi Aramco, and Mr. Edmund O' Sullivan , Chairman of MEED Events, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and Mr. Tahir Hakim, General Secretary, Energy Institute, Middle East Branch, Dubai, U.A.E., and Professor David Hood , Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Technology, Queensland, Australia, and Mr. Kishan Khoday Regional Practice Leader for Energy and the Environment in the Arab region UNDP Regional Centre in Cairo, and other experts and professionals who will enrich the conference with scientific and practical experiences.