Opec International Oil Exhibition and Ministerial Symposium to kick off Opec Summit Week

This will be followed by a Ministerial Symposium for the Governments of Opec Member Countries.

This four-day exhibition will feature prominent exhibitors, including national oil companies of OPEC member nations, major international oil companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, Nippon Oil and Shell, among many others along with business and cultural exhibitions from OPEC member nations.

In addition to showcasing oil capabilities from member states and oil companies, cultural exhibitions will organized by Member Countries. The cultural exhibitions are another mechanism through which cultural exchange and understanding is being promoted among OPEC states.

Additionally, the Ministerial Symposium will bring together Opec Ministers, influential OPEC and industry leaders and some of the world's leading petroleum industry analysts to discuss global oil and gas markets, the future of oil in the global energy mix, Energy and the Environment, Energy for Sustainable Development and the key role OPEC plays in the global economy.

Among the prominent industry leaders and analysts confirmed for participation in the symposium are:

Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy & Industry, Qatar

Dr. Hussain Al-Shahristani
Minister of Oil, Iraq

Gholamhossein Nozari
Acting Minister of Petroleum, Islamic Republic of Iran

Abdalla Salem El-Badri
Current OPEC SG Secretary General OPEC

Dr. Daniel Howard Yergin
Chairman, Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA)

Dr. John Vernon Mitchell
Royal Institute for International Affairs UK

Extending on the ideals of cultural exchange, the Opec Summit Organizing Committee has invited prominent journalists and opinion leaders from around the world, on an unprecedented opportunity to tour strategic areas within Saudi Arabia, visit premier industrial facilities and talk with CEOs and other top corporate executives. Journalists have the option of visiting all four of the tour destinations or selecting the ones which interest them most. The tours will precede the Third Opec Summit and be held from 11 through 14 November.

The four tours will consist of visits to: The Makkah Province, which includes a stop in Rabigh to visit PetroRabigh and the old souk in Jeddah; The Riyadh Province, which includes a stop by King Abdul Aziz city of Science & Technology, SABIC headquarters and King Abdul Aziz Cultural Center and National Museum; The Eastern Province, this includes a tour of Jubail Industrial City and Saudi Aramco headquarters in Dhahran; and finally Rub' Al-Khali Province which will include a tour of Saudi Aramco's Shaybah production facilities.

Opec was created in 1960 and has emerged as one of the world's most reliable and important energy providers. Opec members currently supply some 40 percent of the world's oil, and have proven reserves with some 80 percent of the world's oil.

Opec's mission is to work to stabilize global oil markets in a way that serves the interests of petroleum producers and petroleum consumers alike, and benefits the global economy.

Opec's 12 member states are: Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Its headquarters are in Vienna, Austria.