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Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain the 9th Middle East Refining & Petrochemicals Conference and Exhibition (Petrotech 2014) was held from May 18 to 21. The event was organized by the Arabian Exhibition Management Company, Allworld Exhibitions, and supported by Saudi Aramco and the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA). His Royal Highness the Prime Minister delegated His Highness Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the Deputy Prime Minister to open Petrotech 2014, held at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre on May 19.

H.H. Shaikh Ali toured the exhibition accompanied by His Excellency Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance, Minister in Charge of the Oil and Gas Affairs, who briefed him about the exhibits showcasing latest technologies in the oil refining and petrochemicals industry.

The Deputy Prime Minister expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Prime Minister for his constant support of the oil and gas sector, and his continued directives to develop it and enhance its role in the national income.

He said that the keenness of the Prime Minister to continue to patronise the event since its inception in 1996 established the government’s total support for the oil refining and petrochemical industry, and quest to develop investments in the oil industry to add value to the national economy. He added that the government’s interest in trade exhibitions and conferences contributed to increasing commercial and tourist movements to Bahrain and highlighted the Kingdom’s potential and attractive investment opportunities.

H.H. Shaikh Ali said the vision of the Kingdom in the development of the oil industry stemmed from the importance of positive returns and being the key contributor to the national economy, pointing out the government’s intention to develop oil facilities and upgrade productivity through a range of new projects, and the grand strategy to search for new reservoirs to increase oil production.

He commended the organisers of the Petrotech exhibition, which witnessed a growing presence of major regional and international oil companies, and the ability of the Kingdom of Bahrain to host specialized exhibitions in the light of its economic openness and secure investment environment, making it a major centre for regional and international conferences and exhibitions in the Middle East.

He said that the exhibition provided an opportunity to develop and raise the efficiency of oil and gas sector in Bahrain by taking advantage of regional and international experiences and presented a networking arena for agreements, as well to showcase the latest technologies in the field of exploration, drilling and oil production.

The Prime Minister delegated H.E. Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance, Minister in Charge of the Oil and Gas Affairs for the opening of the conference on May 18 at the Ritz-Carlton-Bahrain. H.E. Shaikh Ahmed expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for his patronage and the government’s keenness to boost investment in the oil and gas sector to meet the growing energy demand.

He also expressed his gratitude to H.H. Shaikh Ali for opening the exhibition. He said the expo was a leading international event in the development of the oil and gas and petrochemical industries in the Kingdom of Bahrain and was an opportunity to be introduced to various developments in the refining and petrochemical industries.

He pointed out that the exhibition, which saw the participation of a large number of international oil companies, other than local companies in Bahrain and those in the Gulf; from United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Romania, Singapore, Turkey and Britain.

He said the NOGA was keen to attract more specialist conferences and international exhibitions related to oil, gas and energy, in line with the strategic plans of the authority and as per the directives of the Bahrain government, which would strengthen its position on the map of global events to achieve a technically excelling workforce and stimulate the human resource, which the leadership believes is the real national capital of Bahrain.

The Minister said the opening of the Gulf region, which has some of the world’s largest oil and gas reserves, to global oil economy made it an important centre for refining. He pointed out that the GCC petrochemical industry had been growing annually by 11 % over the past 10 years, with several new refineries in Asia and the Middle East. The opportunities and growth prospects available to the petrochemical sector in the region looked promising, so was the investment opportunities in the Middle East oil sector. The gas sector had reached record levels and continued to grow in unprecedented rates, he said. Investments were expected to grow over the next five years, with the continuation of joint investment projects in this sector offered a real added value to shareholders.

The Minister pointed out that the development of the petrochemical industry in Bahrain dated back to 1979 with the establishment of Gulf Petrochemicals Industries Company (GPIC), a joint venture between Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. He said the conference provided a platform to explore more investment opportunities in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Middle East in the rapidly growing sector, and helped take informed decisions.

The opening session was attended by H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al Jasser, Minister of Economy and Planning, Saudi Arabia, and Mr. Khalid Al Falih, President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, who participated in the discussion on ‘Insights on current and future downstream investment opportunities in the GCC’.