Fujairah, Sept. 17th, 2015 - Fujairah, the only emirate that lies on the eastern side of the UAE with direct access to the Indian Ocean, is well placed to offer the Gulf States a gateway to lucrative Asian markets as an extension of an ever increasing integrated energy infrastructure, industry experts and officials said.

The Abu Dhabi-Fujairah oil pipeline is the latest piece of critical regional connectivity that offers export channels from the Port of Fujairah direct to India and beyond to Asia, and presents a template for other exporting countries to consider. The infrastructure-led approach has gone some way towards fostering greater economic integration between GCC states, with the regional electricity grid and the Dolphin gas pipeline network that culminates in Fujairah being cases in point.

The top 200 energy industry officials and executives from the GCC's national oil companies, including ADNOC, ENOC, Aramco, KPC and Qatar, met with their international industry peers, including Vitol, Platts, EON, Total and Gulf Petrochem, at The 5th Gulf Intelligence Energy Markets Forum in Fujairah yesterday for what was the first regional debate after a turbulent summer on the international oil markets.

"Fujairah sits at the heart of the new South-South energy corridor at the spearhead of an integrated infrastructure opening up the East of Suez region to Asia, "  HE Dr. Matar Al-Neyadi, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Energy and Chairman of the Gasoline and Diesel Prices Committee, told the intimate gathering of energy industry leaders. "Not only is Fujairah a world-scale bunkering and storage center, it is now an important crude oil export center and emerging as a downstream destination thanks to a unique mix of geography and strategic vision," HE AL-Neyadi said.

After years of stability above $100 a barrel, Brent crude oil has lost half its value over the last year, with three dramatic 50% swings in the interim period. The uncertain outlook has triggered the cancelation of many projects, jeopardizing much-needed investment in long-term oil production capacity.

The Gulf Arab States should combat this period of extreme volatility in the oil and gas markets by accelerating the integration of their regional energy infrastructure and extend the network's connectivity to include regional neighbors in South Asia such as India and Pakistan, industry leaders and analysts said.

"In order to minimize the risks associated with oil price volatility, oil companies are adapting, expanding across the energy value chain and diversifying operations to become fully integrated oil and gas companies," said Petri Pentti, Chief Financial Officer, Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC). "Integration is the answer for stability as it reduces dependency on other industry players, while allowing them to partner, compete, and grow alongside the leading international and regional national oil companies," he added.

"Greater integration of the region's energy infrastructure is certainly one winning strategy to tackle volatility," H.H. Sheikh Saleh Bin Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Chairman of the Department of Industry and Economy, Fujairah & Chairman of the Board of Port of Fujairah, told the audience at the commemorative 5th anniversary Energy Markets Forum.

The commemorative 5th anniversary Energy Markets Forum was hosted by H.H. Sheikh Saleh Bin Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Chairman of the Department of Industry and Economy, Fujairah & Chairman of the Board of Port of Fujairah The annual event attracted energy officials from India, Pakistan, Iran and China, who presented their visions on how best to integrate the  infrastructure of the South and Central Asian region for the advancement of all economies, which would in time, put the Gulf industry one link away from half the world's population.

-Ends-

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The Gulf Intelligence Energy Markets Forum took place in Fujairah on Sept.17th 2015, and International Feature Guests included:

  • HE Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Chairman, Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah Foundation for Energy & Sustainable Development

  • Dr. Aldo Flores-Quiroga, Secretary General, International Energy Forum

  • Nawal Al-Fezai, OPEC Governor for Kuwait

  • Sheikh Imranul Haque, Managing Director, Pakistan State Oil Company Limited

  • Narendra Taneja, Chairman, Energy Security Group, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

  • Xiaojie Xu, International Advisor, National Energy Administration, China

His Excellency Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah is the Chairman of Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah Foundation for Energy & Sustainable Development. Formerly, he was the President of the Qatar Administrative Control and Transparency Authority as well as the President of COP18/CMP8 Doha and the Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee. Al-Attiyah, born in Qatar in 1952, has more than 30 years' experience in the energy industry and has held a variety of senior leadership positions within the government of Qatar. In 1992, Al-Attiyah was appointed Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum, before being entrusted with the additional responsibility of Second Deputy Prime Minister in 2003. Four years later he was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister and, in 2011, was appointed Chief of the Emiri Diwan. Al-Attiyah has served as Chairman of Qatar's Planning Commission and was elected Chairman of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in 2006. Currently, he serves as chairman of the board of a number of organizations, including Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation, which among other environmental projects is exploring the use of solar energy for electricity supplies.

Dr. Aldo Flores-Quiroga is Secretary General of the IEF since January 2012. The IEF is the neutral facilitator of the global energy dialogue. Promoting energy security for all, the IEF engages Ministers and experts from its 89 member countries, which together represent 90% of the world oil and gas market, in a structured conversation on the world's key energy challenges. Strongly committed to market data transparency the IEF also coordinates the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI), in which it collaborates with six other organisations to deliver timely and credible data for oil market analysis. Before joining the IEF Dr. Flores-Quiroga served in the Mexican government as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the Ministry of Energy, and as Assistant Secretary for Bilateral Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was also a professor of political economy at the Claremont Graduate University in California. He studied Economics at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, in Mexico and earned his Ph.D. in Political Science-International Political Economy, at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ms. Al-Fezai is currently the Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs (Ministry of Oil), Kuwait and the Kuwait National Representative at OPEC. Previously, she was Director of Energy Studies (2001-2006), Director of Local Researches and Information (1995-2001), Energy Studies Supervisor (1991-1995), Pricing and Relative Values Supervisor (1984-1991), Senior Economist (1982-1984), Economist (1979-1982). Ms. Al-Fezai has completed several International Oil and Energy Economics studies, in particular on Oil Markets (Current and Forecast), Oil and Energy Prices, Crudes Oil Relative Values, Crude Oil Prices Differentials and local studies on local Energy Economics.

Sheikh Imranul Haque is currently Managing Director, Pakistan State Oil Company Limited and CEO of Engro Vopak Terminal Limited, a joint venture of Royal Vopak and Engro Corporation and a state-of-the-art liquid chemical storage terminal. He is also CEO of Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited, a 100% owned subsidiary of Engro Corporation which is developing Pakistan's first LNG import infrastructure in 335 days to cater to the growing energy needs of Pakistan. Its vision is to be an aggregator and infrastructure developer with a mandate to develop the business with reputable organizations in the sector both locally & internationally.

Mr Narendra Taneja is the Chairman, Energy Security Group, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He is also President of the World Energy Policy Summit. He is India's leading expert, thinker and commentator on national and international energy issues and developments. Mr Taneja has authored a large body of articles and commentaries on energy business, policy, diplomacy, geopolitics, security and energy poverty and empowerment since 1980. He has also authored two books and edited several publications. He served as the South Asia Bureau Chief for "Upstream", the international oil and gas newspaper published in multiple geographies, for  Xiaojie Xu, the Chief Fellow of the annual World Energy China Outlook and heads up the World Energy Division (since April 2009) at Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing; Senior Advisor to National Energy Administration and most state owned energy firms based in Beijing, the chair of CICA Non-governmental Forum's Energy Security Roundtable, a Member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda on future Oil and Gas (2014-2016), a senior advisor to China Energy Fund Committee.

© Press Release 2015