The associated 14,000 square metre exhibition of oil and gas exploration industry products and services will open in a separate ceremony on Monday 5 March under the patronage of His Royal Highness the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.
The conference opening session on 4 March assembles a panel of high ranking industry figures who will deliver their own perspective on this year’s theme ‘Shaping the Future of Geoscience in the Middle East.’ The theme focuses on the current challenges facing hydrocarbon exploration, with emphasis on future technology and opportunities. Speakers on the occasion include His Excellency Dr. Abdul Hussain bin Ali Mirza, Minister of Energy, Bahrain; Intisaar Al Kindy, GEO 2012 Chairperson & Exploration Director, Petroleum Development Oman; Paul Weimer, President, AAPG; John Underhill, President, EAGE; Bob A. Hardage, President, SEG; Abdulla Al Naim, Vice President Exploration, Saudi Aramco; Andrew Gould, Chairman & CEO, Schlumberger; Marc Blaizot, Senior Vice President Global Exploration, Total; Matthias Bichsel, Director, Shell Projects and Technology, Member of the Executive Committee of Royal Dutch Shell and Nicholas Gee, Senior Vice President, Formation Evaluation & Construction, Weatherford
More than 360 technical and poster presentations designed to share the knowledge and experience of managing, operating and supplying companies will follow over the subsequent 3 days of the conference. Topics range from human resources, technologies to solve complex reservoir challenges, reservoir characterisation, advances in geophysics, integration and next generation technologies, petrophysics, geological studies and basin modelling, new play concepts in exploration, harvesting unconventional resources, environment and safety in addition to special sessions.
GEO 2012 will also offer five panel sessions led by presidents, vice presidents, CEOs, deputy managing directors, and chairmen of key players in the industry such as CGGVeritas, Chevron, Daleel Petroleum, Dana Gas, Dolphin Energy, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Petroleum Development Oman, Saudi Aramco, Schlumberger, Shell, Tatweer Petroleum, Total and WesternGeco. These sessions will cover new exploration frontiers, geoscience and the environment, multi-disciplinary approaches to hydrocarbon exploration and development, emerging trends in research and development and maximising recovery from reserves.
Ancillary events held alongside GEO 2012 will provide delegates with further opportunities to learn and integrate. These include a variety of short courses, field trips and a series of special workshops and networking events for students, covering oil and gas fundamentals, CV and business writing, and presentation skills.
The GEO 2012 conference programme is supported and developed by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE), the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), the Dhahran Geoscience Society (DGS), the Bahrain Geoscience Society (BGS), the Geological Society of Oman (GSO), Qatar Geological Society (QGS) and the Emirates Society of Geoscience (ESG) in collaboration with a committee of senior regional and international industry figures. In 2012, the programme committee is chaired by Petroleum Development Oman’s Director of Exploration Intisaar Al Kindy.
More than 150 companies from 27 countries will be in attendance at the GEO 2012 exhibition, which covers all areas of petroleum geosciences.
Principal participants include all six GCC national oil and gas companies – Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Bapco, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Petroleum Development Oman, Qatar Petroleum and Saudi Aramco – who will be exhibiting alongside supermajors including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and Total. Service industry giants BGP, CGGVeritas, Halliburton, Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Schlumberger, Tatweer Petroleum and Weatherford; national groups from North America and the UK; and numerous smaller independent specialist suppliers and distributors from across the globe complete this lineup.
“With a rich technical programme and a comprehensive exhibition, companies and delegates alike can utilise GEO 2012 to learn, forge trading relationships, share expertise and knowledge, and create new technologies,” Arabian Exhibition Management’s Director of Sales and Marketing Fawzi Al Shehabi, said.
“Since this event first took place in 1994, it has played a significant role in the development and growth of the industry and oil and gas resources in the Middle East,” he added.