Looking ahead to Gastech 2006

The 21st Gastech, which closes today, has attracted a record number of delegates and visitors; and more exhibiting companies than ever before.

"We are thrilled that ADNOC - the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company - and their group of companies, particularly ADGAS and GASCO will be hosting the 2006 event," says Ian Stokes, Managing Director of dmg world media (uk) ltd, organisers of the Gastech series. "The move to Abu Dhabi reflects the tradition of staging Gastech alternately in importing and exporting countries - hence Bilbao in 2005 and then our move to the UAE in 2006."

"We are honoured to be hosting this prestigious conference, and I'm sure the visiting delegates will find our hospitality and business opportunities to be excellent" says Abdulla Nasser Al-Suwaidi, Deputy CEO & Director Exploration & Production at ADNOC and a member of the Supreme Petroleum Council. "The gas business in Abu Dhabi will almost double in the next five years as gas processing capacity exceeds 7 bscfd, and we see that trend continuing for many years to come.

"The United Arab Emirates is one of the world's leading owners of gas reserves, which ADNOC has developed both onshore and offshore for export as LPG and LNG, supply to local electricity and water utilities, supply to other industries including petrochemical plants, and for re-injection into reservoirs to improve oil and condensate production."

Recent Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) reports have emphasised that gas consumption in the Arab world is set to overtake oil demand in 2005 as many regional countries switch to the cleaner source of energy in power generation and other sectors, and that the bulk of the demand growth will be recorded in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries with relatively high energy consumption and steady growth in their industrial sectors. Between 2005 and 2015 gas demand in the Arab world is expected to surge by 3.5 per cent per year from 3.5 million bpd equivalent to around 4.9 million bpd/e.

Expectations are that the share of the gas in the Arab energy market will rise from 48.9 per cent in 2005 to 53.3 per cent in 2015 to overtake the oil share, which will decline from 47.4 per cent to 42.8 per cent.

"Our potential exhibitors at Gastech 2006 will be interested to hear about business opportunities in the region," says Ian Stokes. "In a study last year OAPEC said Arab states need to invest at least $100 billion to expand their oil and gas sectors to face growing demand in the local and foreign markets. The bulk of the expansions are expected to take place in the Gulf, which controls more than 60 per cent of the world's total recoverable oil reserves and 40 per cent of the global gas wealth."