Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry will mark its 50th anniversary with the organisation of a prestigious oil and gas conference in May.
The conference will be held on May 21 and 22 on the chamber premises near Dammam.
"This type of conference has been chosen due to the fact that the oil and gas industry is inextricably linked to the growth of the chamber and the Eastern Province," a chamber spokesman said.
The Eastern Province comprises the towns of Dhahran, Al Khobar, Dammam, Qatif, Hofuf and Jubail. It was here that oil was first discovered in Saudi Arabia in the 1930's. Before the discovery of energy resources, Dammam and Al Khobar were no more than small fishing villages, Dhahran did not even exist, the spokesman said.
"The rapid development of the Eastern Province as a centre of the world's oil and gas industry is an amazing achievement in the space of just over half a century. The next 50 years in the Eastern Province's history are on track to be even more exciting," he said.
"The chamber, set up by local businessmen with the support of the government in 1952, has played the role of a catalytic agent in the transformation of the area into the heart of the Saudi Arabian energy industry. The chamber is the only the organisation representing all spheres of the private sector in the Eastern Province as well as both local and international organisations," he said.
The headquarters of the chamber is located close to Dammam in a new purpose- built complex featuring a 500-capacity conference room.
The conference will focus on the opening of the kingdom's upstream hydrocarbon sector to foreign investment and the resulting gas deals that were signed in June 2001 between eight oil majors and the Saudi Arabian government, the spokesman said.
The main topics will concentrate on the next stage of the projects that are expected to be finalised within the next six months including integrated gas, power and water desalination activities. Special attention will be paid to the core ventures located in the province, notably South Ghawar and Shaybah.
Eminent speakers will be invited to the event from the Ministry of Petroleum, Ministry of Commerce, Saudi Aramco, senior members of the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Sabic as well as the major international investors in the Saudi Arabian energy industry, the spokesman said.
The conference will be co-organised by ITE Group, a global events organiser.
