His Highness Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan opens ADIPEC 2008

The opening ceremony was attended by a number of high-ranking Sheikhs and Ministers from the GCC, including His Excellency Dr Abdul Hussain Ali Mirza, Minister of Oil and Gas Affairs, Chairman of National Authority for Oil and Gas, Kingdom of Bahrain and His Excellency Dr Mohammed Hamed Al Rumhi Minister of Oil, Sultanate of Oman.

International Ministers included the Honourable Ronald Gordon Stevens, Deputy Prime Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations, Government of Alberta, Canada. Other dignitaries and senior executives from some of the world's leading oil and gas companies were also present.

His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan conducted a tour of the exhibition stands, and was very keen to hear about the companies he visited, and to see demonstrations of the new technologies and services which will be offered to the industry.

Running from 3-6 November, ADIPEC 2008 is set to be the biggest show ever since it was launched in 1984 as a one day event. This, the 13th ADIPEC event, sees 1,500 exhibitors and an expected 40,000 visitors, in addition to the strongest conference programme ever featuring 250 top industry speakers.

Speaking at the inauguration, His Excellency Mohamed Bin Dhaen Al Hamli, UAE Minister of Energy paid tribute to HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nayhan as the architect of the advances made in the oil and gas industry in recent years. He went on to thank HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed for officially opening ADIPEC, in addition to ADNOC, ADNEC and dmg world media, the organizers of the event, and the exhibitors and visitors who will be attending the four day event.

His Excellency Mohamed Bin Dhaen Al Hamli, UAE Minster of Energy said, "The petroleum industry is characteristically a long term investment industry where prices rise and fall in response to market forces, but one basic constant never changes: the continuously growing demand for energy in the world where population density is increasing. The challenges facing world economy today should not prevent us from continuing investments in the petroleum industry but on the contrary it should serve as an impetus to prepare for the next cycle of growth.

"It is common knowledge that the age of easy oil is gone forever. Consequently, we need to seize the opportunities offered by new discoveries, increase recovery rates from existing fields, improve efficiency and streamline our operations to reduce costs. We meet once again at ADIPEC, an event that has become a milestone event in the region by virtue of the number of companies and countries that participate seeking profitable investments and seizing the opportunity to exchange views and perspectives on the future and importance of the petroleum industry.

"Recent events in global financial markets have had a substantial impact on the oil industry. Oil prices have plummeted sharply to hover around US$60 a barrel after unbridled rises in July of this year. However, in spite of the present market conditions, I would like to stress the importance of continued investment in the region's oil and gas industry.

"Continued investment in modern technologies requires a highly trained and experienced workforce capable of facing the challenges and able to acclimate themselves to these new technologies. New opportunities abound for nationals of the region to shoulder this responsibility. I would like to seize this opportunity to urge young men and women who think they are up to the challenge and possess the necessary qualifications to embark on a technical career in the hydrocarbons industry in order to contribute to sustainable development in their countries in a framework compatible with development and protection of the environment and take into consideration the needs of man."

He continued to speak about the theme of the ADIPEC conference,

"Working together to deliver sustainable growth", and added, "The role and importance of advancing renewable energy in the world economy should be acknowledged. It is imperative that we work together shoulder to shoulder to achieve sustainable development for our countries, our region, and the world at large."

Organised by dmg world media, ADIPEC 2008 has broken all previous records. This year's event takes up the whole space of the newly opened Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) with over 55,000sqm of exhibiting space indoors, 18,000sqm concourse area as well as outdoor space, dedicated conferencing space and more than 20 meeting rooms.

Ali Al Jarwan, ADIPEC Conference Chairman, said, "The oil and gas industry has a challenging time ahead, and the ADIPEC Conference is set to address some of the key issues which will have a major impact on our business. We are delighted to have 250 high level international speakers coming to Abu Dhabi especially to address this event. It is undoubtedly the strongest programme that ADIPEC has ever hosted and I am sure that there will be some interesting and policy-shaping outcomes as a result."