Page 1 of 2EIC Connect Middle East 2015 hailed a huge success with more than 95 per cent of delegates who attended the event confirming their objectives were met
Major operators and contractors joined more than 500 delegates at EIC Connect Middle East for a full day of conference sessions, contractor briefings and more than 300 one to one supplier-buyer meetings.
The event, which took place in the fabulous surroundings of the 5* St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi saw a record attendance in both exhibitor and delegate numbers.
The event began with a British themed reception, sponsored by Orion Group, taking place on the evening prior to the event and provided rich networking opportunities for the speakers, exhibitors and VIPs in attendance. The reception was opened by Philip Parham, British Ambassador to Abu Dhabi with accompanying speeches from BP, Orion Group and respected author David Heard who shared his experiences of the history of the oil & gas industry in the UAE.
Keynote speakers, Philip Parham and Ali Al-Jarwan, CEO of Adma-Opco set the theme for the day by discussing the five year outlook for the oil, gas and power industries in the opening plenary session, highlighting the importance of bi-lateral trade between the UAE and the UK.
The conference programme, sponsored by Salford University, was chaired by Edmund O’Sullivan, chairman of events at MEED who brought a wealth of knowledge and insight over the day. Commenting on the event Edmund said ‘EIC Connect Middle East exceeded expectations in all areas. Top policymakers addressed the delegates about the key oil projects in the UAE and were supplemented by senior representatives from the energy supply chain. The exhibition, one to one zone and networking areas were buzzing with activity throughout the day. In total, it was a big success.’
The theme was further developed throughout the conference programme as panelists from ADNOC and BP discussed the oil price impact on oil & gas opportunities in the morning conference session.
Supporting the conference programme, EIC specialists Neil Golding, head of oil & gas and Thomas Hoefling, regional analyst (Middle East) delivered a presentation on the upcoming project opportunities in the GCC region highlighting Saudi Arabia and the UAE as the key areas for project spend in the downstream and upstream sectors.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE also showed the same strength in the power sector along with Kuwait, with an estimated spend of more than US$5,000 CAPEX millions in the next five years.
