Leading figures from oil and gas industry will be in Doha this December to discuss the huge challenges in the energy sector at the The International Petroleum and Technology Conference (IPTC).

The conference, to be held from December 7 to 9, will act as a platform to address the major implications the global economic crisis has had on the world’s energy sector and to find solutions.

The IPTC, which returns to the Middle East from Kuala Lumpur in 2008 and has now been established as a biennial event is endorsed by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).

Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, will inaugurate the conference and exhibition in the presence of Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry for Qatar.

The theme for the fourth edition of the IPTC is ‘World Energy Challenges: Endurance and Commitment,’ said Khalid Al-Hitmi, manager Gas Development at Qatar Petroleum and co-chairman for the IPTC conference.

The opening executive plenary session will focus on how the sector’s leaders can mitigate the negative effects of global economic and political volatility, and how the financial crisis can be turned into an opportunity for the industry to devote resources to increase efficiency in the production and use of fossil fuels, he added.

Delegates will be called upon to confirm their commitment to explore more efficient ways to produce energy and cleaner fuels to alleviate greenhouse gas emissions, as well as stimulate discussions on investing in new extraction and processing technologies in order to exploit unconventional hydrocarbon resources.

Furthermore, the discussions will address sustainable energy solutions and stable investment conditions, particularly from more difficult and unconventional resources, and the need to recruit and retain skilled and experienced people.

“In light of the global economic crisis, the energy sector is entering a new phase of its growth and we are all facing huge challenges,” Al Hitmi explained.

“An industry event such as the IPTC, one of the few multi-disciplinary events of its kind in this region, helps our colleagues come together to discuss how we face these challenges and more importantly, devise strategies to overcome them,” he added.

“We have seen a dramatic reduction in hydrocarbon prices which has led to the reconsideration of investment conditions,” said Olivier Dubrule, director of Total Research Centre – Qatar (TRC-Q) and co-chairman for the IPTC Conference Programme.

"Yet we know there is a long-term energy demand which will continue to surge as the global population grows beyond 7 billion and standards of living in China and India continue to rise."

“These factors all combine to make this one of the most exciting phases of the energy sector’s development and the outcomes from the IPTC will have global resonance,”  Dubrule pointed out.

ITPC is the only event in the region organised and supported by all of the oil and gas industry’s leading societies.

The 2009 IPTC exhibition, which runs alongside the conference, will offer industry professionals from around the world a platform to showcase the latest technology, services and products to a targeted oil and gas audience.-TradeArabia News Service