| 2007: Iraq Oil, Gas, Petrochemical & Electricity Summit concludes |
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September 10, 2007 The leading figures from within the global energy sector gathered in Dubai on 2-4 September 2007 for the Iraq Oil, Gas, Petrochemical & Electricity Summit, the world's first event organized to consider the future of Iraq's abundant energy resources through direct consultation with the international private sector. The summit was the first of its kind to bring senior Iraqi officials to a specific event in order to engage in direct consultation with global energy corporations. It was opened on Sunday 2 September with addresses from the Iraqi Minister of Electricity H.E. Kareem Wahid and the Iraqi Minister of Industry & Minerals H.E. Fawzi Hariri. These were complimented by an address from the KRG Minister of Electricity H.E. Hoshyar Sowaily and the Iraqi Government Spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh. The morning conference continued with a crucial session on Iraq's Oil Strategy, chaired by Ibrahim Bahr-Alolom, a former oil minister and led by Thamir Ghadbban, also a former oil minister and Chairman of Iraq's Oil Commission. After detailed deliberations by both of these key oil figures, the session continued with presentations by the Governors of Kirkuk, Najaf and Missan, each of whom described the various prospective opportunities to be found within their respective provinces. With the afternoons on each day given over to roundtable meeting sessions between the various Iraqi bodies and the attending corporations, much was achieved in terms of enabling direct face-to-face discussions and the chance for companies to speak specifically about the contribution they could make to Iraq's energy sector. As has become ever clearer over the last few months, Iraq's energy sector is heavily dependent on the result of the various deliberations regarding the proposed hydrocarbon law. Attending the summit to offer the perspective of the Iraqi Parliament were Dr Abdulmadi Al-Hasani, Deputy Head of the Iraq Energy Committee, Dr Kamal Field Al-Basri, senior economic adviser to Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and executive director of the Iraq Institute for Economic Reform and Sammy Al-Askary, a member of parliament and a senior advisor to the PM. These officials led a hugely informative session on the present status of the law, expectations in light of parliament's imminent return from recess and predictions for when it is expected to be passed in the coming weeks. The morning continued with a special session led by Khaldoun Subhi, Director General of Geological Survey within the Iraqi Ministry of Industry & Minerals, before a special session on Iraq's Petrochemical Sector, led by Dr Mustafa Al-Jerrah, Director General within the Ministry and also featuring presentations from Nasir Naiam, Director General for Petrochemicals, Faris Taha, Director General for Petrochemical Industries and Haifa Abdulhameed, Director General for Petrochemical Investments. This session proved hugely beneficial in outlining requirements for the petrochemical sector, covering issues such as refinery and petrochemical integration, feedstock flexibility and production availability for petrochemical production. With so much of Iraq's energy reserves unexplored, the opportunity to discuss with the attending Iraqi delegation potential deals for entering into the sector was one not be missed, with some of the pre-eminent operators holding consultations on the afternoon of Day Two also. These deliberations were held with the likes of Chevron, BP, Conoco Phillips, Marathon Oil, Total, Exxon, Lukoil, Statoil, GE, Cummins, ONGC, Reliance Industries, Dana Gas, Oracle, Raytheon, Crescent Petroleum and Hawker Beechcraft. Day Three of the summit concluded with a special session on Project Finance, led by Timothy B. Mills, President of the Amercian Chamber of Commerce - Iraq and featuring Zaid A. Mahdi, Business Development Director at the Trade Bank of Iraq and Robert Pingeon, President of Meistre Associates, who gave a special presentation on insurance issues. The summit was concluded by the Iraqi Ministry of National Security Affairs, for whom Hadi Ibrahim Hani, Director General for National Security and Issa Jaffar Jabir, Director General, Economic Security both gave addresses on the implications held for the energy sector with the volatile security situation in Iraq and in particular the protection of power stations, pipelines, refineries and other associated energy facilities and the various security provisions required. Overall, much was achieved at the summit, with three days of insightful content and crucial dialogue exchange. A follow-up to the summit is expected to take place in 2008, by which time Iraq's hydrocarbon law will have been approved. |