International Oil & Gas Leaders Gather in Kingdom
SAOGE marked as the region's leading Oil & Gas event
The 2nd Saudi Arabia Oil & Gas Exhibition & Conference (SAOGE) was officially inaugurated by Zareb bin Sa'eed Al Qahtani, Deputy Governor of the Eastern Province. Held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Fahad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Inauguration was attended by several senior officials including Joseph A. Kenny, US Consulate General, US Consulate, Dhahran who gave a speech at the Opening Ceremony, and other industry leaders.
In its 2nd edition, SAOGE, played host to 274 companies from 31 countries which included an Italian and a Chinese Pavilion. Co-organised by International Exhibition Services (IES) and the Dhahran International Exhibitions Company (DIEC), it enjoyed a 30% growth in the number of companies exhibiting in comparison to SAOGE 2008. Covering a total of 9200sqm the exhibition saw global participation from all continents with 40% of exhibitors from the GCC and 60% of exhibitors from international countries.
This year has surpassed expectations with over 6800 industry representatives, visiting the exhibition, quite an achievement given the economic downturn that we have been witnessing.
Following the inauguration, Piero Zipoli, President, IES gave a welcoming speech, thanking all SAOGE 2009 sponsors and media partners for their support and said. We are honoured to be holding SAOGE 2009 under the Patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Fahad Bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province.
He added that. We strongly believed in the validity of an Oil and Gas show based in Saudi Arabia, and the increased demand for the 2009 show proves that given its prominent position in the oil and gas sector, Saudi Arabia is the perfect location. We are extremely encouraged by this global participation and feel it is a great achievement to have reached in just 2 years, and to be building an Oil and Gas show in the Eastern Province.
Also speaking at the opening ceremony, Lord Digby Jones in his opening address said. We are at the fulcrum of the world - where the world is in economic balance. It hinges on the Region that is how important this (SAOGE) is.
Dr Randy Gossen, President of the World Petroleum Council, followed Lord Digby's speech adding that. We at the World Petroleum Council recognize the key importance of Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco for the global oil and gas industry and reiterated H.E. Ali Al Naimi's, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, key address at the 19th World Petroleum Congress.
The 3-day Conference covered an expanded agenda with an international panel of speakers discussing alternative energy and sustainability, the challenge of fluctuating oil prices, exploration potential and future opportunities and the role of technology.
IES & and the DIEC (Dhahran International Exhibitions Company) were also pleased to work with King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals and King Faisal University, College of Engineering who supported the new "Industry Meets University" initiative. Senior HR representatives from JESCO (Jubail Energy Services Co) and South Rub Al Khali Co Ltd had also dedicated themselves to address student questions and provide them with an overview of the career opportunities available in the industry.
Ali Abdel Wahab Al- Hawthi, 5th year student studying petroleum engineering at KFUPM participating in the initiative commented on his experience "this initiative helped me gain more insight into the industry on an international level. We discovered a lot of career opportunities especially since the Kingdom was not largely affected by the economic crisis. The sessions held were a motivation for the students to interact and excel. This is my first time taking part in something like this and we would like to see more sessions such as these".
Bader Imad Al-Saleh a freshman at Al Faisal University majoring in construction engineering who had a presentation on how a construction engineer can serve the oil and gas industry felt the sessions were very helpful and was impressed by the number of companies, CEO's and General managers who were present. "It was really beneficial to see how the actual tools (for production & exploration) used today function and how things actually happen"
Dates for SAOGE 2010 have been scheduled for October 10-12, 2010. Building on the further success of SAOGE 2009, exhibitors have already begun booking their places for SAOGE 2010.
