The GCC’s petrochemicals industry has grown by 11 percent over the past decade, according to Bahrain’s Finance Minister Sheikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Al-Khalifa on Sunday.
His remarks came in the opening of the 9th Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals Conference and Exhibition (Petrotech 2014), which is expected to attract more than 3,000 participants.
The minister underscored the importance of the Arabian Gulf for the oil and gas industry, due to the fact it has some of the largest reserves in the world.
He also pointed out that development of the petrochemicals industry in Bahrain goes back to 1979 with the establishment of the Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) as a joint venture between Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. He lauded the role of the conference as a platform to explore new investment opportunities in Bahrain and the Middle East.
The event is under the auspice of Bahraini Prime Minister Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa and is co-organized by Saudi Aramco and the Arabian Exhibition Management in conjunction with Allworld Exhibitions and the National Oil and Gas Authority.
Companies from Bahrain, the Gulf and the world are sponsoring the event, which brings together a large number of international experts and engineers in the oil-refining and petrochemicals’ industry.
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