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Industry experts to highlight substantial investment and economic opportunities at Gas Arabia Summit 2011

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 15 November 2011 - Several global experts in the gas industry are confirmed to convene at the Gas Arabia Summit to explore intriguing investment and economic opportunities for both gas companies and Middle Eastern countries.

Organized by The Energy Exchange, the four-day Gas Arabia Summit 2011 will provide a comprehensive analysis on the entire gas value chain.

Arianna Neri, Project Director, Gas Arabia Summit, said: "Our aim is to provide attendees at the Gas Arabia Summit with a wide-ranging understanding of the current and future situation of the Gas industry. The caliber of speakers confirmed to participate assures us that the summit will be able to accurately demonstrate the potential opportunities to capitalize on in the gas industry, as well as detailed steps to mitigate the challenges that could inhibit the development a highly lucrative gas industry in the Middle East."

Prior to the commencement of the Gas Arabia Summit, will be the fourth annual Sour Gas Meeting Day. To be held on December 11, 2011, topics of discussion will include PDO 's Harweel development which is the first miscible sour gas re-injection project and OMV's sour gas project in Pakistan.

Speakers confirmed to participate on the Sour Gas Meeting Day include Muthir Kharusi, Manager Gas Operations, Petroleum Development Oman ( PDO ); Gjis Holstege, Evaluation Manager, South Rub Al Khali (SRAK);Shibab Barwani, Harweel Project Manager, PDO ; and Irfan Ramay,Operations and Maintenance Manager, OMV PAKISTAN.

Day one of the Gas Arabia Summit will focus on the geographic advantages of the Middle East in developing a successful gas industry. Mark Carne, Executive Vice President, MENA, SHELL will participate in a keynote panel with Christof Ruhl, Group Chief Economist and Vice President, BP , to provide a tactical analysis on how the Middle East can secure excellent and profitable business relationships with the forecasted gas demand from Asia, Europe and North America.

Dr Faleh Al Khayat, Former Director General of Planning, Iraq Ministry of Oil and Daniel Freifield, Senior Advisor, Office of the Special Envoy for the Eurasian Energy, US Department of State will investigate the vast value of Gas for the MENA region with Iraq potentially exporting 100 billion cubic Meters of Gas per year and the increasing demand with the continued development of the Asian market.

Joining Dr. Al Khayat for an interactive discussion, will be Abla Al Riyami, Gas Director, PDO and Dr Jonathan Evans, General Manager, BP Sultanate of Oman. These three industry experts will provide insights into the future of the gas market and what is to be expected by 2020.

Dr Jonathan Evans recently stated that there might be as much as 100 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of tight gas in glass within BP 's Block 61 concession in Oman.

Day two of the Gas Arabia summit will validate Dr Evans claims and highlight BP 's plans to capitalize on their findings. Furthermore, the economic opportunities due to gas will also be examined. Specifically referring to MEDGAZ, speakers will showcase how the completion of the MEDGAZ project has affected imports, exports and job creation in Algeria and the benefits derived in Europe.

Speakers on day two of the Gas Arabia Summit include Yousuf Al Ojaili, CEO, Oman Gas Company ; Juan Vera, General Director, MEDGAZ; Khalid Malallah Al Awadi, Gas Operations Manager, Emirates General Petroleum Corporation (EMARAT) and more.

After the Gas Arabia Summit, a Gas Flaring Reduction Day sponsored by Saudi Aramco will be held to discuss how to strategically move to zero flaring in the Middle East. 400 million metric tons of CO2 is emitted annually. The 2011 Key World Energy Statistics states that the Middle East accounted for 5.2 per cent of CO2 emissions of 2009.

Topics of discussion on the Gas Flaring Reduction Day will include Saudi Aramco's Flare Minimization Roadmap (FMR); Gas utilization and advantages; and flare minimization at Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KPNC) refineries.

Speakers confirmed to participate at the Gas Flaring Reduction Day include: Saad Turiki, Chairman, Gas Processors Association - GCC and Vice President, Southern Area Oil Operations, Saudi Aramco; Wael Al Blaies, Flare and Relief System Specialist, Saudi Aramco; Bryanne Tait, Senior Project Manager, E.ON Masdar Integrated Carbon; and Al Ghazzay Al Otaibi, Operation Section Head, Mina al Ahmadi Refinery Surplus Blocks and Utilities, KNPC.

The Gas Arabia Summit will be held from 11 - 14 December, 2011, in Muscat, Oman, and will be a highly dynamic and interactive programme with keynote presentations, an exclusive site visit, a gala dinner and two focus days dedicated to the future prosperity of the gas industry in the Middle East.

-Ends-

Event website: www.theenergyexchange.co.uk/gasarabia

For media enquiries please contact:
The Public Relations Company
Kay Braganza
Consultant
kay.braganza@tprc.ae
Tel: +971 50 7681684

THE ENERGY EXCHANGE
Arianna Neri
Project Director
a.neri@theenergyexchange.co.uk
Tel: +39 338 111 2103 | +971 2 401 2930

© Press Release 2011