The Saudi Arabia Oil and Gas Exhibition (SAOGE) 2014, held at the Dhahran International Exhibition Centre in Dammam, was inaugurated on 24 November by HRH Prince Saud Bin Naif Bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province
Now in its sixth year, SAOGE has grown to become the best attended and premier oil and gas exhibition in Saudi Arabia, according to IES SRL - International Exhibition Services, who organise the event jointly with Dhahran International Exhibitions Company.
The only oil and gas exhibition to be held in the Eastern Province, home of the Kingdom’s oil and gas industry, it continues to receive increased interest both locally and internationally, with a total of 173 exhibiting companies this year from 22 countries; 43 per cent of exhibitors are from Saudi Arabia, 41 per cent international, with a particularly strong Chinese presence, and 15 per cent from the Gulf region.
Sponsors of this year’s event include Integrated Telecom Company, Draeger and Atlas Copco, while the event’s student programme is supported by King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and the University of Dammam College of Engineering.
“The Kingdom holds a quarter of the world’s proven oil reserves and plays a vital role in meeting global energy demands,” comments Mohammed H Al Hussaini, CEO of Dhahran International Exhibitions Company, in a welcome message. “SAOGE is the perfect platform to meet decision makers in the oil and gas sector and understand the industry’s opportunities and challenges in the Kingdom.”
Despite the uncertainties created by the plunging oil price, exhibitors, many of whom are supplying or representing suppliers to Saudi Aramco, were generally positive about business prospects, noting the Kingdom’s wealth, continuing industrial demands and significant number of ongoing projects as well as Saudi Aramco’s US$40bn a year investment commitment.
The first day of the event saw a steady flow of visitors and lively business to business discussions taking place.
“We are delighted to see a very good attendance of visitors with a total of 3,769 industry representatives at 5 pm today, so Day One has got off to a good start and we look forward to the next few days and to seeing how the industry is able to network, learn and strengthen relationships by utilising SAOGE 2014 as a platform for business,” said Piero A Zipoli, MD of IES SRL, at a well-attended reception closing the first day of the exhibition.
At the reception, Mohammed H Al Hussaini and Piero A Zipoli presented the SAOGE awards, with Qatar Petroleum receiving the Best Award for Design, Sawary Energy given the Best Award for Technical Content and Abdullah H Al-Shuwayer Sons Group of Companies scooping the Best Award for Innovation.
