23/04/2014 06:59 AST
High-level government officials and industry leaders have confirmed their participation in the 9th Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals Conference & Exhibition (Middle East Petrotech 2014) being held from May 18-21 in Bahrain with the support of Prime Minister of Bahrain Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.
Bahrain’s Minister of Finance and Minister in Charge of Oil & Gas Affairs Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa will preside over the Middle East Petrotech 2014 opening ceremony by giving a welcome address to delegates and visiting the exhibition floor.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Economy and Planning Muhammad Al-Jasser and Saudi Aramco’s President and CEO Khalid Al-Falih will speak at the executive plenary session on May 18 at the Ritz Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa. The executive plenary session is considered an opportunity for top-level executives to discuss the 2014 conference theme — Downstream value chain integration opportunities — and provides delegates with an over-arching perspective of the industry.
The Middle East Petrotech 2014 agenda at the Ritz Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa on May18 includes a high-level investment forum entitled “Opportunities and Incentives for Enabling Downstream Industrialization.”
The forum will explore investment opportunities and government incentives in the Gulf via 4 panel sessions led by CEOs of major companies and investment authorities.
Invited forum speakers include Abdul Rahman Al-Mufadhi, secretary general, Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund; Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, industrial expert; Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, executive vice president, performance chemicals, SABIC; Al-Sharif Khaled Al-Ghalib, senior executive vice president, corporate banking sector, National Commercial Bank (AlAhli); Jonathan Robinson, regional head of banking, MENA, HSBC; Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Bahrain’s minister of transportation and acting chief executive, Bahrain Economic Development Board; Khaled Alohali, vice governor, SAGIA; Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, director general, Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority; Mohammed Al-Mutairi, CEO, KNPC; Mosleh Al-Otaibi, CEO, Royal Commission for Jubail; Motassim A. Al-Ma’ashouq, vice president, new business development, Saudi Aramco; Warren Wilder, executive director, chemicals, Saudi Aramco; and Zuhair Allawi, president, DOW Saudi Arabia.
“Middle East Petrotech 2014 is deliberately positioned to highlight the region’s lucrative and fast-growing business environment. Fueled by unprecedented public and private regional spending schemes, investment opportunities have reached levels never seen before in any part of the world. Spending in the region, including investment incentives, is budgeted around $1 trillion over the next five years. With new facility refining and petrochemical construction at record- setting levels of investment, the prospects available for investment and growth opportunities are astonishing,” said the Middle East Petrotech 2014 Chairman and Saudi Aramco’s Executive Director of Refining & NGL Fractionation Omar Bazuhair.
“The conference and exhibition will bring together investors and decision-makers, enabling access to key personnel and critical information. In addition, Middle East Petrotech
2014 will offer a platform for technical operatives to network, share best practices and benchmark. The technical program will be rich and varied, covering technology utilization, process optimization and plant integrity and reliability,” he continued.
Over 100 peer-reviewed papers to be presented in 21 technical sessions will follow during the subsequent 3 days of the conference at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre from May 19-21.
Arab News
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