One of the key goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 is to identify and implement transformative projects that promote industrial diversification. The rationale behind the grand scheme is that such transformative projects, mainly driven by innovation and focussed on advanced manufacturing, will in turn attract investment towards the Kingdom and across its various industrial sectors.
Organisers of the Saudi Arabia International Oil and Gas Exhibition (SAOGE), the biggest event of its kind in the Kingdom, believe investments have already started pouring in – particularly in the country’s oil and gas sector – and have breathed fresh life into the industry, which has been otherwise struggling due to depressed crude oil prices.
Formally announced on 26 April, 2016 by Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the strategy envisages the diversification of the Kingdom’s economy by utilising its oil and gas sector as a strategic asset to help the planned economic diversification and investments programme. With a raft of sector experience and an abundance of hydrocarbons supply, KSA is well-placed to walk the path outlined in the blueprint.
With planned international investment opportunities, sector restructure and privatisation, as well as a divestment of Aramco assets, the Saudi oil and gas industry is set to play a key role in mitigating KSA’s exposure to global hydrocarbon fundamentals risk. As other producers come on-stream, or seek to consolidate their position in a tight market, KSA – as OPEC and the Middle East and North Africa region’s leading oil producer – is seemingly well-placed to maintain its position as the leading global petroleum and gas exporter.
Italy-based International Exhibition Services (IES), one of the prime organisers of SAOGE, says the eighth edition of the trade fair has been positioned to help the cause of Vision 2030. “To this end, SAOGE 2016 is a key component in this strategy, as a centre for promoting cutting-edge technologies, best practice and senior stakeholder networking,” the organiser states on the event’s website.
Held under the patronage of Prince Saud Bin Naif Bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province, SAOGE is taking place from 17-19 October (from 6am till 9pm), in Dammam, the Kingdom’s industrial hub, located in the Eastern Province. This year, SAOGE will host approximately 100 participating companies from 25 countries and expects a footfall of more than 10,000 visitors.
Set against the backdrop of reduced global demand and depressed prices, the need to ensure full asset optimisation and efficiency has never been greater. As the foremost hydrocarbon producer in the world, and with a number of mid-life assets, the Saudi and broader GCC oil and gas sector plays a pivotal role in supplying global demand. Thus SAOGE, strategically hosted in Dammam, which is the centre of the Saudi oil industry, “provides a truly unique platform to assess the key fundamentals and drivers forging the global markets”, according to the organisers.
SAOGE this year will be run concurrently with the Machine Tools Exhibition (MTE). Products and services displayed at MTE enjoy significant synergies with the oil and gas industry, and numerous buyers from the upstream operators will be in attendance.
