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Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, the Middle East Geosciences Conference and Exhibition (GEO 2014) kicked off in the Kingdom of Bahrain on March 9, up to 12, at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre. The event was attended by more than 1700 researchers, officials, executives, engineers and specialists from Bahrain, other GCC countries, Middle East, US, EU, Asia and elsewhere. More than 130 international companies specializing in the field of geological and geophysical science and technology as well as exploration and production, representing more than 21 countries, participated in the event.

The conference was opened on March 10 by His Excellency Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance, Minister in Charge of the Oil and Gas Affairs on behalf of the Prime Minister, on being delegated. The Minister expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the Premier for his keenness to support the grand oil initiative and for patronizing it since its inception in 1994. The GEO conference has become one of the most prominent international events in the field of geological and geophysical science and technology, exploration and production. He praised the Prime Minister for his continuous support and encouraging guidance to the key event.

The Minister pointed out in his opening speech that though fossil fuels would continue to dominate the global energy market, we have to ensure environmental safety and explore new energy sources such as deep, sour gas and oil and shale gas in order to secure availability for future generations. We should expand research on alternative sources of renewable and non-conventional energy, increase investment in the vital sector and ensure the implementation of the best management practices.

Shaikh Ahmed pointed out the prominent role played by the GEO series in reviewing some of the best modern technologies in the field of oil exploration and geological sciences which affected the oil sector in the Middle East, specially the Gulf region. He said the event supported the industry, contributed to the development of the region and prepared national competencies in the oil and gas sector in Bahrain. This in turn helped boost the confidence of international and regional companies in the financial and business environment in the Kingdom, which reflected positively on the national economy.

He said that the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA) was working in all earnest and incessantly to make Bahrain a leading energy center, attracting global oil events.

As delegated by His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister His Excellency  Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance, Minister in charge of Oil and Gas Affairs of the opening of the Middle East for Geosciences (GEO 2014), which was held on Monday, March 10. Shaikh Ahmed said that the Prime Minister’s patronage of the global event contributed significantly in attracting many international oil companies to participate, including Chevron Corporation, Weatherford, Total, Shell, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Occidental and Exxon Mobil as well as the oil companies in the GCC, including Saudi Aramco, Petroleum Development Oman, Qatar Petroleum, Al Khafji Joint Operations Company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Many other international companies from all over the world including Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UAE, UK, US, and North America participated in the exhibition held over 8,000 square meters of exhibition space.

The Minister thanked the conference organizers and sponsors for their commendable efforts, and for choosing Bahrain to host the GEO series, which he called as one of the top events of global influence in the oil and gas sector.