CAIRO: Businesspeople and experts will converge in Cairo today for the opening of the InterGas Conference and Exhibition. The fifth annual conference, running through May 14, will serve as a meeting point for industry professionals from Egypt and the world. The conference will tackle current issues in the field, and provide companies with the tools to develop business in Egypt's oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors through a series of panel discussions and presentations covering the exploration, production, transportation and distribution of oil and gas products. Today's agenda will kick off with the opening ceremony featuring remarks by Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy and Azerbaijan's Minister for Industry and Energy Natik Aliyev. The opening ceremony will also include special addresses from top figures in the oil and gas industry including BP's Senior Vice President for North Africa Ian Hewitt, Shell's Managing Director for Egypt Ahmad Atallah, and President of Dana Gas Egypt Hany El-Sharkawi, among others. Speeches will also be given by M. Mukhtar Al Lababidi, director of the technical affairs department at OAPEC as well as a panel discussion and several presentations on various issues in the field. A special focus will be given to mobilizing private sector finance for oil and gas ventures in a speech by Emmanuel Mbi, the World Bank's regional director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti. A dual conference agenda will be presented on day two, with one group of sessions targeting gas and hydrocarbon issues and another covering production and marketing of oil and gas products. Kamel Bennaceur, chief economist at Schlumberger, will speak about the MENA region's role in world energy supply. ExxonMobil Egypt Chairman and Managing Director Thomas Walter, Shell Egypt HSE Manager Augustine Igbuku and Social and Sustainable Development Consultant Kate Meadows will also give presentations. The alternative schedule is set to include remarks by Hany Soliman, president and chairman of ECHEM, a panel discussion on the regional petrochemical industry, and presentations by Total Egypt Managing Director Jerome Dechamps, and head of LNG at OMV Gas & Power Fortunato D. Constantino. Two sets of technical sessions will be held throughout the day on Thursday. The day's schedule will also feature the presentation of technical papers on topics ranging from production engineering to drilling technology. Various sessions will discuss the impact of the financial crisis on Egypt's oil and gas industry, project management techniques and reservoir evaluation. Session two will feature a presentation on deepwater well construction by Chris Garcia, a development manager at Schlumberger, as well as speeches on gas handling technology and asset integrity. With this year's conference scheduled to host over 1,300 international delegates, 470 exhibitors, 70 international and regional speakers and 12,000 participants, the conference is a must-attend event for international and local players in the industry.
