BAHRAIN, Sept 29: The fourth Middle East refining and petrochemicals conference and exhibition (Middle East Petrotech 2003) got underway here on Monday morning. Inaugurated by Bahraini Oil Minister Shaikh Isa bin Ali Khalifa, the major regional conference features 129 companies from 21 countries worldwide.

The event aims at promoting the exchange of refining, gas and petrochemical field knowledge among managing, operating and supplying companies. Featuring a total of 228 paper and poster sessions, it will examine how the region’s hydrocarbon industry can fully realize its potential in a global market place.

Dr Mohammad Abid, Associate Professor of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Technology, is the sole participant in the event from Pakistan. He had a poster presentation on Monday afternoon and an oral paper presentation on Tuesday morning.

The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) are one of the major participants in the event. Representatives from the leading oil and gas companies of the region including engineers, managers and technicians are taking part in the biennial conference, which first took place in 1996.

In the conference taking place alongside the exhibition, over 1,000 delegates are taking part. The conference was officially opened with a ceremony on Sunday evening.

While addressing at the inaugural ceremony, Saudi Aramco SVP Engineering and Operation Services Salim S. Al-Aydh revealed the establishment of a high-level new business development unit within Aramco. The charter of the organization is to launch initiatives that grow revenue by adding value to Saudi Aramco’s oil and gas stream.

SABIC vice-chairman and CEO Engineer Mohamed H. Al-Mady gave an historical overview of where the Arabs were in the fields of science and technology and where they were now.

Professor Michael E. Porter of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School, suggested that after undergoing solid economic growth over the last decade, the Gulf economies need to move to the next stage of reforms. He stressed upon the need to minimize the adverse consequences of oil for the broader economy of the oil-rich Gulf economies. He suggested a move to cluster development as an economic development model and capture the benefits of economic coordination and integration between the neighbouring Gulf countries.