Organisers of OGS 2009 have stated that gas demand in the GCC will grow at 6.66% annually from 2007 to 2012, while oil demand is expected to grow at nearly 3% during the same period.
With over US$196 billion worth of oil and gas projects being undertaken all over the GCC, the event organisers say that the oil and gas segment has been appropriately retooled to serve as a strategic link between the upstream and downstream value chains.
“Three of the top five countries with the biggest natural gas reserves in the world are located in the GCC, while neighbouring Iran ranks second on that list. Certainly, this key statistic represents an enormous investment potential for various gas projects, which will subsequently open a wide range of business opportunities across the entire energy value chain,” said Anselm Godinho, managing director, International Conferences and Exhibitions (IC&E), the organisers of OGS.
“As such, OGS 2009 will particularly cater to emerging business prospects and networking opportunities related to numerous developmental and exploration projects being undertaken in Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia as these countries are expected to collectively account for up to 81% of the total gas supply in the GCC,” adds Godinho.
With gas reserves estimated in 2008 to reach 25.7 trillion cubic metres (TcM), Qatar has the third largest gas reserves in the world behind Russia (44.6 TcM) and Iran (28.5 TcM). Collectively, the Middle East has the world’s biggest gas reserves with 73.21 TcM followed by Europe, making the Arab World a crucial link in the global gas trade. Several large-scale projects are now underway to boost capacity of existing gas fields in Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
OGS 2009 will be the 16th edition of the oil, gas, renewable energy and automation event and will be staged in Dubai from 27th to 29th October.
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