More than 2,000 oil and gas professionals are in Bahrain to attend the 10th Middle East Geosciences Conference and Exhibition (GEO 2012) which opens today.

The four-day event, at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre, is being held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

The event, under the theme 'Shaping the future of geoscience in the Middle East region', is organised by the Arabian Exhibition Management, in co-operation with the National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) and support of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Dhahran Geoscience Society, the Bahrain Geoscience Society, the Geological Society of Oman, Emirates Society of Geoscientists, the Qatar Geological Society and a committee of regional and international oil company representatives.

Energy Minister Dr Abdulhussein Mirza, who will open GEO 2012, will deliver a speech on the history of oil and gas in the region and the world, the use of geoscience in the oil and gas sector and the growing demand for oil in the world.

He will also shed light on the latest oil industry developments in the kingdom and Noga's plans for the future.

Dr Mirza said the kingdom welcomes the hosting of specialised events, adding that GEO 2012, held every two years in Bahrain, has always been successful.

'The kingdom is proud to host such a large number of experts and representatives from leading oil and gas companies, which is proof of the security and stability enjoyed by the kingdom during the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad,' he said.

An associated exhibition of oil and gas exploration industry products and services will open in a separate ceremony tomorrow.

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 three 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.

According to organisers, more than 150 companies from 27 countries will be in attendance at the exhibition, which covers all areas of petroleum geosciences.

Main 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 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,' said Arabian Exhibition Management sales and marketing director Fawzi Al Shehabi.

'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 said.-TradeArabia News Service