The influence of China on the Middle East and the impact of falling oil prices were key areas of discussion Metech 2014
The future success of the oil & gas and refining industries in the Middle East will hinge on closer collaboration between producers and refiners.
Key challenges facing the oil & gas and refining industries in the forthcoming year, such as China’s influence on the region, the reduction in global demand for new cars and the impact of falling oil prices, were all touched on by Andy Gibbins, vice president Middle East, Euro Petroleum Consultants, during his opening speech to Metech 2014.
Metech 2014 primarily focussed on the downstream sector but there were plenty of issues that had a strong baring on upstream business.
Many analysts agree that tightening profit margins in the industry will drive National Oil Companies (NOC) and refiners to work more closely together.
As the sessions progressed, Sanjay Sharma, managing director at IHS, elaborated during his speech: “Middle East companies, the National Oil Companies, have realised the benefits of refining and petrochemicals.
Saudi Aramco, Qatar Petroleum and even Adnoc, in an indirect way, are moving towards petrochemicals. They know the benefits. We believe there is a case to be made for more integration and I can tell you that the NOCs are definitely looking at this going forward,” he said.
The programme of events on day two was split into two distinct streams for refining and petrochemicals. Highlights included session on ‘Technological Developments in Sulphuric Acid Alkylation’ by DuPont, ‘Challenges in Distribution’, ‘Optimisation and Inventory Management’ by Honeywell and ‘Achieving Operational Excellence’ by Euro Petroleum Consultants.
As well as the lectures and presentations, Metech 2014 also had a small exhibition space. The exhibition room served as a venue for group networking oportunities and some more informal question and answer sessions.
“I particularly enjoyed the technology presentations. I feel that the Metech conference offers a broad range of subjects, on a single platform; from oil & gas production to the refining process,” said Advait Dande chief engineer at Borouge.
