Saudi
Arabian Ministry of Petroleum to host inaugural gas conference
Posted: 24 February 2004
Saudi Arabia is seeking to attract new private investment into
the Kingdom on the back of the recently announced upstream gas contracts.
The opening of the gas sector to foreign investment is intended
to generate significant opportunities for private sector business,
not only in energy but also in gas-fuelled petrochemicals, power
generation and water desalination.
To promote these prospects, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral
Resources is hosting The First Saudi Arabian International Gas Conference
from 15th-17th May at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce,
Dammam.
Speakers will include HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd, Governor of
the Eastern Province, HE Ali Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and
Mineral Resources, and Khalid Al-Falih, Vice President, New Business
Ventures, Saudi Aramco.
The conference will discuss in detail the aims and scope of the
new gas agreements, and the Kingdom's plans for gas utilisation
in its growing economy.
Topics will include:
- The regulatory environment for investment in gas
- Turning gas into power: Generation and desalination projects
- Attracting finance throughout the gas and petrochemical
value chain
- Emerging investment opportunities in primary and secondary
petrochemicals
- The role of services and technologies in maximising energy
industry potential
In November 2003, Shell and Total signed an historic contract for
gas exploration and production over 120,000 square kilometres in
the South Rub al-Khali, and at the end of January 2004 the winners
of three further contracts were announced: Lukoil, Sinopec and a
consortium of ENI and Repsol. These investments will involve gas
exploration totalling 120,700 square kilometres in the northern
Rub al-Khali area.
While the companies embarking on these projects hope to discover
lucrative gas condensates that can be sold to international markets,
the gas that will be fed into Saudi Arabia's domestic gas system
will feed major new petrochemical and power plants that the Kingdom
hopes will drive its industrial growth over the next twenty years.
For both Saudi and international companies, these present exciting
opportunities for partnership and investment.
For more information see www.thecwcgroup.com.
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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