His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s personal representative His Highness Sayyid Assad bin Tariq al Said will formally break ground to mark the start of Oil & Gas West Asia (OGWA) 2012 on April 16 at the Oman International Exhibition Centre.

OGWA, now on its 8th edition, was launched in 1998, and has grown to become one of the biggest energy events in the Middle East region. It is also recognized as a prestigious event that has established itself firmly as a strong representative of the oil and gas industry over the years. His Highness will be accompanied by an entourage comprising executives of the SABCO Group, embassy officials, members of the diplomatic corps and other top officials of leading international oil and gas companies.

This year’s event will introduce the OGWA Forum, organized in cooperation with IIR Middle East, the leading event organizer in the region. It will also include a high-profile Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technical conference organized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the largest individual-member organization serving managers, engineers, scientists and other professionals worldwide in the upstream segment of the oil and gas industry.

“It is both a great honor and pleasure for us to welcome His Highness Sayyid Assad as our esteemed Chief Guest for this significant event. With the government’s full support, we achieve our objectives of serving as an avenue to help meet rising sector demands and provide proper information about trends, challenges, issues, market policies, and trade and investment opportunities both in Oman and in the region,” said Eihab Abutaha, CEO for Communications of SABCO Group.

OGWA’s project manager Gaith Aloul said, “The upcoming OGWA will attract a greater number of international oil and gas companies, in addition to the participation of over 100 leading local companies. To date, we have confirmed the participation of the pavilions of China, Italy, and United Kingdom, and are expecting more. OGWA is already an established event; but we are not wavering in our efforts to make it even bigger than the previous shows.”

He added that OGWA will be, once again, an event of global significance, capitalizing on the ever-growing demand for oil and the billions in dollars of awarded oil contracts, the increasing investment in power and hydrocarbon projects, and the new discoveries and expanded production of late.

OGWA 2012 is supported by The Ministry of Oil & Gas, Petroleum Development Oman, Oman Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Oman Society for Petroleum Services.

The show’s roster of partners includes IIR Middle East and Oman International Exhibition Centre (Strategic Partners), Society of Petroleum Engineers (Conference Content Partner), Agility (Official Logistics Partner), Gulf Energy (Lanyard Sponsor), and Intercontinental Hotel Muscat (Official Hotel).

For more information on OGWA 2012, you may call Mr. Gaith Aloul at +968 99712077 or send email to gaith.aloul@omanexpo.com. You may also visit the website at www.ogwaexpo.com to book online and register for the event.

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Contact: Melissa Daleja
t: +968 24660122 f: +968 24660125/126
Email: melissa.daleja@omanexpo.com