A total of 166 exhibitors from 24 countries displayed products, technologies and services for the onshore and offshore oil, gas and petrochemical industries at the recently concluded Arab Oil & Gas Show (AOGS).

The biennial AOGS at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre drew a record number of buyers from across the region with several international trade enquiries coming from Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and countries in Central Asia and North Africa.

Exhibitors were united in saying that the show’s strong performance conveyed a positive outlook for the region’s oil and gas business.

“The show had a lot to offer for serious buyers of instrumentation and control,” said Brij Suhri, regional manager at Abdulla Haider BM, a distributor of instruments for Dickson-USA, Kern-Germany, and Tesa-Switzerland.

“It generated a lot of awareness on the best options currently available in the markets and proved to be very beneficial for us.”

Mangleshwar Verma, senior manager of production at Oman Cement Company, said: “The show provided a good platform for sellers and buyers to build strong foundations for long-term business relationships.”

Greg Jeter, international territory manager at American Augers / GEFCO, a manufacturer of oil and gas and water well equipment and machinery, said: “The show provided an excellent venue for meeting clients that we have been targeting in the UAE. It also helped us productively engage with our business peers from other countries.”

A highlight of AOGS 2011 was the Sustainability, Energy & Environment Conference that was held in conjunction with the UAE Society of Engineers, and attended by 150 delegates.

AOGS 2011 also facilitated the introduction of the Energy Job Fair 2011 - an exclusive event that brought together education and industry to support the training and recruitment of engineers and other professionals within the energy sector.

“This was an important contribution to the continued success of occupational education in the region. It ensures that regionally-educated engineers are absorbed into the workforce; promotes Emiratisation and reduces recruitment costs for employers in mainstream industry,” said International Conferences and Exhibitions (IC&E), organisers of the event. – TradeArabia News Service